shifted them to some sort of interesting speck of dirt on the desk.
"Sick like flu sick, or sick like needs a specialist sick?"
Matt flicked the piece of dirt off the desk and shook his head. I knew our minute of connecting was over. He probably wouldn't mention her again. "It's nothing. I'm just worried over nothing. She'll be okay."
"She still at UT?" I remembered when she got a pretty sweet scholarship to the University in Knoxville last year.
"She took the semester off, but she's already registered for some summer classes."
"That's good." I didn't know what else to say. If I knew what was wrong with her, maybe I could help. As it stood, time quickly flew by, and I needed help. Ms. Bennett probably wouldn't understand me not learning anything in tutoring. She'd more than likely get the wrong idea or something. "So, you think you can help me with all of this?" I scooted my geometry book to him and waited.
His shoulders rose up a bit and didn't look as rigid. He seemed to appreciate the change of subject. I did as well, to be honest, but it didn't mean I would stop wondering about Lori. Why had she dropped out of college? And how was she sick? It seemed more than just a cold or the flu, but she didn't look sick when she picked him up yesterday.
For the next forty minutes, we worked on my math. I finished my three problems without any help from him and only made one careless mistake that I corrected easily. After that, we went over how to solve different variables in the Pythagorean Theorem: like if a or b were missing. To my surprise, I picked it up pretty quickly. With Matt's help, I could be a whiz — or average, whichever.
While I worked on my extra practice problems, Matt tapped his foot and chewed the eraser of his pencil off, which was pretty gross actually. Germs.
Every few minutes, he checked the clock above the whiteboard or his phone.
Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. "Got a train to catch?"
He stopped mid-chew and looked like a deer in the headlights. "Huh?"
"Train. Catch. You. Got one?"
His brow rose slowly and he tilted his head. At least I was ahead of him on something.
"Are you in a hurry? Do you need to leave early or something? You keep looking at the clock."
"I have not."
I gave him my best are you kidding me look.
"Okay, I have. I'm sorry. I know we are supposed to work until four, but can we stop a few minutes early?" His phone vibrated right on cue. Checking it, he grabbed his books. "I'm so sorry. Lori has to get to work early and since my truck's still in the shop and she has to take me home—" By she has to take me home, I assumed he meant Lori.
"I get it. Go. I'll finish this last problem then lock up. I know what it's like to be at the mercy of another driver."
Matt's face lit up like I'd told him he'd won something awesome. "Thanks for understanding. You're a Godsend."
He grabbed his stuff and ran out the door, leaving me and my geometry.
Sigh. At least I knew how to do it now.
I finished in record time, packed my bag, threw on my old black coat, locked the door, and made my way out of the school. Checking my phone, I noticed it was still five minutes before my mom would be there.
When I exited the double doors at the front of the school, I saw Matt getting in a car, which was strange since he'd left more than five minutes before me and should be long gone. And it wasn't Lori's car. It was Kendra's.
Chapter Seven
I didn't talk much on the ride home. My mom took the opportunity to tell me all about a call she'd gotten from my dad. A big project had come up at work, and he had the opportunity to stay and work until the end of March. It would be a sacrifice now, but in the end, it could lead to a better job for my dad. A more stable job at the company headquarters in Knoxville. We wouldn't even have to move.
My mom asked my opinion on it, and I snapped out of my stupor long enough to tell her I thought it would be a good idea for him to stay and work. I'd miss
"Sick like flu sick, or sick like needs a specialist sick?"
Matt flicked the piece of dirt off the desk and shook his head. I knew our minute of connecting was over. He probably wouldn't mention her again. "It's nothing. I'm just worried over nothing. She'll be okay."
"She still at UT?" I remembered when she got a pretty sweet scholarship to the University in Knoxville last year.
"She took the semester off, but she's already registered for some summer classes."
"That's good." I didn't know what else to say. If I knew what was wrong with her, maybe I could help. As it stood, time quickly flew by, and I needed help. Ms. Bennett probably wouldn't understand me not learning anything in tutoring. She'd more than likely get the wrong idea or something. "So, you think you can help me with all of this?" I scooted my geometry book to him and waited.
His shoulders rose up a bit and didn't look as rigid. He seemed to appreciate the change of subject. I did as well, to be honest, but it didn't mean I would stop wondering about Lori. Why had she dropped out of college? And how was she sick? It seemed more than just a cold or the flu, but she didn't look sick when she picked him up yesterday.
For the next forty minutes, we worked on my math. I finished my three problems without any help from him and only made one careless mistake that I corrected easily. After that, we went over how to solve different variables in the Pythagorean Theorem: like if a or b were missing. To my surprise, I picked it up pretty quickly. With Matt's help, I could be a whiz — or average, whichever.
While I worked on my extra practice problems, Matt tapped his foot and chewed the eraser of his pencil off, which was pretty gross actually. Germs.
Every few minutes, he checked the clock above the whiteboard or his phone.
Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. "Got a train to catch?"
He stopped mid-chew and looked like a deer in the headlights. "Huh?"
"Train. Catch. You. Got one?"
His brow rose slowly and he tilted his head. At least I was ahead of him on something.
"Are you in a hurry? Do you need to leave early or something? You keep looking at the clock."
"I have not."
I gave him my best are you kidding me look.
"Okay, I have. I'm sorry. I know we are supposed to work until four, but can we stop a few minutes early?" His phone vibrated right on cue. Checking it, he grabbed his books. "I'm so sorry. Lori has to get to work early and since my truck's still in the shop and she has to take me home—" By she has to take me home, I assumed he meant Lori.
"I get it. Go. I'll finish this last problem then lock up. I know what it's like to be at the mercy of another driver."
Matt's face lit up like I'd told him he'd won something awesome. "Thanks for understanding. You're a Godsend."
He grabbed his stuff and ran out the door, leaving me and my geometry.
Sigh. At least I knew how to do it now.
I finished in record time, packed my bag, threw on my old black coat, locked the door, and made my way out of the school. Checking my phone, I noticed it was still five minutes before my mom would be there.
When I exited the double doors at the front of the school, I saw Matt getting in a car, which was strange since he'd left more than five minutes before me and should be long gone. And it wasn't Lori's car. It was Kendra's.
Chapter Seven
I didn't talk much on the ride home. My mom took the opportunity to tell me all about a call she'd gotten from my dad. A big project had come up at work, and he had the opportunity to stay and work until the end of March. It would be a sacrifice now, but in the end, it could lead to a better job for my dad. A more stable job at the company headquarters in Knoxville. We wouldn't even have to move.
My mom asked my opinion on it, and I snapped out of my stupor long enough to tell her I thought it would be a good idea for him to stay and work. I'd miss
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