[Modern Family] Ch: 27 [Perfectly in Sync] (Patreon)

[Jason's Car]

After lunch, Jason and Alex returned to the Nissan and settled into their seats. Neither of them seemed interested in leaving yet because they still had unfinished business from the museum.

Jason opened a fresh note on his phone and typed both their names at the top, leaving the score at zero. Alex opened Chrome on her phone so that they could search the answers immediately after responding and placed it on the dashboard.

Jason adjusted himself against the seat and looked toward her. "Alright, Professor Dunphy. Ten questions each, one point for every correct answer, and we verify everything online before awarding the point."

Alex nodded as she opened a fresh search tab. "And no changing your question after realizing I know the answer."

Jason placed one hand over his chest. "I'm deeply offended that you think I'd commit quiz fraud during our second date."

"You tried distracting me with a kiss before lunch."

"That was completely unrelated academic misconduct," Jason replied with a grin. "Besides, you seemed pretty happy about the distraction."

Alex's face warmed slightly, though she refused to give him the satisfaction of looking away.

"Keep talking, and I'll make all ten questions dates."

"That sounds unnecessarily violent."

Alex smiled and rested her phone against the dashboard. "You suggested the quiz, so you can ask the first question."

Jason leaned back and thought for several seconds. He had spent enough time watching Alex memorize names, dates, and information that choosing something genuinely difficult suddenly felt more challenging than expected. 

"Alright, first question," Jason said as he glanced toward her. "What were the laws introduced in Germany in 1935 that stripped Jewish people of citizenship rights and prohibited marriages between Jews and people classified as German or related blood?"

Alex answered instantly. "The Nuremberg Laws."

Jason picked up his phone and searched the question. After checking several results, he said, "One point for you." He updated the score.

Alex took her turn immediately. "Which Supreme Court case ruled in 1954 that racial segregation in American public schools was unconstitutional?"

Jason thought for a moment before answering. "Brown v. Board of Education."

Alex verified the answer on her phone and updated his score.

Jason: 1Alex: 1

Jason considered his second question while Alex watched him carefully. "Who served as chair of the United Nations commission that helped prepare the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?"

"Eleanor Roosevelt," Alex replied.

Jason checked the answer and gave her another point.

Alex then asked, "What executive order signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942 led to the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans from parts of the West Coast?"

"Executive Order 9066," Jason answered.

After verifying the response, Alex updated the score again.

Jason: 2Alex: 2

From there, the quiz became much quieter and far more serious.

They stopped trying to read each other's expressions and concentrated on remembering what they had spent hours studying inside the museum. Each question forced them to search through photographs, timelines, documents, names, and explanations they had read earlier that afternoon.

Jason asked about Kristallnacht, and Alex remembered both the name and the year. Alex responded with a question concerning the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which Jason answered correctly by identifying Rosa Parks' arrest as the event that triggered the organized protest.

Their phones remained on the dashboard between them, and every response was checked before either person received a point.

By the fourth round, the score remained even.

Jason: 4Alex: 4

The questions gradually became harder.

Jason asked about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and when it began. Alex remembered 1943.

Alex asked which international organization adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in December 1948. Jason identified the United Nations General Assembly.

The fifth point was added without disagreement.

Neither of them rushed through the later questions. Sometimes Jason needed several seconds to remember a particular name or year, while Alex occasionally closed her eyes and mentally returned to the section where she had read the information.

The sixth round covered propaganda and the ways governments used mass communication to influence public opinion.

The seventh moved toward resistance and rescue efforts during the Holocaust.

The eighth focused on the American civil rights movement, including the March on Washington and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The ninth became the closest either of them came to making a mistake.

Jason asked Alex who coined the word genocide during World War II. She remained silent long enough that Jason thought he might finally take the lead, though she eventually remembered Raphael Lemkin.

Alex responded by asking Jason the name of the international treaty adopted in 1948 that formally defined genocide as a crime under international law.

Jason stared through the windshield while searching his memory before giving his answer.

"The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide."

Alex checked the wording carefully before giving him the point.

Their scores remained identical.

Jason: 9Alex: 9

Only the final round remained.

They were completely focused now, and the earlier relaxed atmosphere from lunch had disappeared beneath the competition they had created for themselves.

"Last question," Jason said after thinking for nearly a minute. "During the section about people who rescued Jews during the Holocaust, there was a Polish social worker who helped Jewish children escape from the Warsaw Ghetto and preserved information about their identities so surviving relatives could possibly find them afterward. What was her name?"

Alex's expression changed slightly.

She looked toward the dashboard while searching through everything she remembered from the exhibit.

Several seconds passed before she answered.

"Irena Sendler."

Jason picked up his phone and checked.

The name appeared immediately.

He entered the final point beside Alex's name.

Alex: 10/10.

Alex smiled proudly. She was really satisfied with her perfect score. And she was impressed to see that Jason managed to compete with her on that higher level. She doesn't even remember the last time she had this much fun. Even so, she wanted to win at any cost. 

"My last question. In 1938, representatives from numerous countries met to discuss the growing refugee crisis caused by Nazi persecution in Germany and Austria. What was the name of that conference?" She asked.

Jason remained quiet for several seconds as he worked backward through the information he remembered seeing inside the museum.

"The Evian Conference."

Alex searched for the answer.

She read through the results carefully before looking back toward him.

"That's correct."

She entered the final point. 

Jason: 10/10.Alex: 10/10.

She had expected to win.

Maybe that was arrogant, though Alex had learned years ago that pretending she wasn't smarter than most people only made conversations more exhausting. She remembered things quickly, understood complicated subjects faster than most students her age, and genuinely enjoyed learning things other people considered boring.

Tests had always been comfortable territory for her.

Competition had usually been even easier.

'She's awesome. I had an edge thanks to my photographic memory, but she... Haha... It was fun. Never thought I'd enjoy a quiz on a date,' Jason glanced at the identical scores before leaning back against his seat with a satisfied smile. "Well, Professor Dunphy, I believe that's what professionals call a draw."

Alex barely heard him at first because her mind was still processing what had happened.

'He got every single question right.'

She looked at him again.

Jason wasn't celebrating like he'd defeated her if they did a tiebreaker. He wasn't pretending the questions had been easy either. He simply looked pleased with himself, as though keeping up with her had been fun rather than some desperate attempt to prove he was smarter.

That somehow made the whole thing worse.

Or considerably better, depending on which part of Alex's brain currently had control.

'Okay, that's annoyingly attractive.'

Alex quickly looked toward her phone before he could notice anything unusual in her expression.

Most people reacted differently when Alex became competitive.

At school, being smart often meant being respected from a comfortable distance.

At home, things weren't much different.

Claire was proud of her, though that pride frequently came wrapped inside concern that Alex worked too hard or didn't socialize enough. Phil genuinely believed she could accomplish anything, although he sometimes looked at her like she'd begun speaking another language whenever a conversation became remotely technical. Luke treated her intelligence as a supernatural ability he could exploit whenever homework appeared. Haley had spent years teasing her about books, studying, museums, vocabulary, and practically everything else Alex enjoyed.

None of them meant serious harm.

That didn't stop Alex from occasionally wondering what it would feel like to meet someone who simply understood that part of her without needing an explanation.

Someone who didn't tolerate it because they liked her.

Someone who actually enjoyed it.

Her eyes shifted toward Jason again.

'And then this annoyingly hot idiot shows up.'

Jason noticed her staring and raised an eyebrow before a smug smile slowly appeared across his face. “I know I’m a handsome and hot guy with a nice brain, but just so you know, there won’t be any tiebreaker even if you praise those qualities of mine. Ten questions was the deal, and we both won.”

Alex chuckled and shook her head as she locked her phone. “I wasn’t going to praise any of those qualities.”

“Really? Because you were staring at me like you were reconsidering several important life decisions.”

“I was trying to understand how your ego still fits inside this car.”

Jason glanced around the Nissan as though genuinely checking the available space. “It’s a sports car, so we make sacrifices.”

Alex laughed again, shaking her head slightly. She hated how easy this felt. Normally, spending hours with somebody eventually became exhausting because she had to simplify what she wanted to talk about, pretend she wasn’t bored, or ignore the moment their attention disappeared. With Jason, they had spent half the day inside a museum, turned the information into a competition, tied at ten perfect answers each, and somehow she still wanted the date to continue.

“If both of us won, that creates a problem with the reward," She said.

Jason nodded. “Ah, yes. The mysterious one request within limits.”

Alex nodded. “The winner was supposed to get one request from the loser.”

“And now there are two winners.”

“Exactly.”

"That's why both of us will ask one request from each other.”

Alex folded her arms loosely. “Fine, go ahead. You ask first.”

Jason opened his mouth, then stopped when another idea came to him. His smile slowly became more playful as he turned toward her. “How about we say it together on the count of three? That way we'll get to see how well synced we are after spending half the day together.”

Alex stared at him for a moment before straightening in her seat. She liked the idea more than she probably should have, especially after everything that had happened between them today. “Alright. Let's do it.”

Jason shifted toward her slightly while Alex did the same, both of them watching each other with growing curiosity. Whatever Alex planned to ask for had already been sitting inside her head since the museum, while Jason seemed equally certain about his own request.

Jason raised three fingers between them. “Okay, no changing your answer after hearing mine. Three... two... one.”

They spoke at exactly the same time.

“Let's make out.”

There was a moment of silence.

Jason stared at Alex.

Alex stared straight back at Jason.

Then her lips slowly curved into a smile as Jason's expression changed into the exact same amused realization.

Apparently, they were considerably more in sync than either of them had expected.

...

AN: Don't hate me for the cliffhanger. 😬😬 I'll release the next chapter as soon as possible.