Page 63 of Ancient History

“Look, you still have a chance to turn things around. There’s two more months left in the school year. If you really work hard and put in the effort—I mean it—then you can pass this class. I’m happy to meet for extra help after school.”

“I can’t meet after school. I have practice.” His voice was soaked in annoyance, as if I were the one not paying attention.

“We can arrange to meet during lunch.”

Now, I’d seen kids roll their eyes and scoff. It was a hallmark of teaching teenagers. I was immune at this point, but hearing Tommy let out a very audible ughhh and deliver a very visible eye roll to me challenged all of my anger management skills.

“This isn’t fair.”

I swallowed back an incredulous laugh. The balls on this kid. “Please explain to me how it’s not fair.”

I blinked at him, waiting for a cogent answer. As predicted, he stammered and shrugged and stared at the floor.

Because I was the adult, I couldn’t march out of there, even though I had things to do.

“This is so not cool.” Another eye roll, this one filled with even more attitude. “Enjoy your power trip.”

Fortunately, he shuffled out of class right before I lost it.

* * *

I hustledto meet my SAT prep student in the school library. Being around a student who was eager and attentive helped me cool off from my conversation with Tommy.

The South Rock library had large windows that overlooked the football and soccer fields in the back of school. It was a reader’s paradise, which was a shame since nobody used it for pleasure reading. Students looked up texts for term papers or fumbled around on the computers until their parents picked them up. What I wouldn’t give to spend a Saturday afternoon sinking into an armchair with a good book and enjoying the view.

Perhaps this was a reason why I’d had trouble getting laid.

The soccer team practiced on the field, Tommy included. Our conversation seemed to have rolled off him as he laughed with his teammates.

My attention to tutoring kept getting pulled away by Hutch coaching on the sidelines. He’d blow his whistle and jog out to the field, go over drills and moves. He was electric out there, and even from here, I could see how coaching lit up his entire body.

And watching his ass jiggle in his gym shorts was a huge benefit, too.

But I couldn’t let myself get excited, both literally since I was with a student, and emotionally. Watching those promposals happening reminded me how quickly things could change. Hutch and I were having fun. So even though my heart was getting in on the action, I couldn’t get attached.

“Mr. B?”

My student awaited instructions. We went over the practice test and jotted down words to add to her SAT prep list. I didn’t quite understand how we measured a student’s aptitude by having them memorize tons of words, but regardless, I was here to help.

We worked through analogy questions.If X is to Y, then A is to what?

I assigned her practice questions and let my attention get pulled back to the soccer field. Even from here, I could make out with Hutch’s wide smile.

Er, I could make out his smile.

It beamed in the sunlight.

Hutch lifted his head up, and we locked eyes. Shit, had he caught me staring? I forgot that this was a giant window and not a one-way mirror. I shuffled around in my seat and pretended to act busy.

“Good. Good job,” I said to my student.

“We haven’t gone over it yet.”

“Right. Well, I could see that you were focusing very intently on the questions, and that’s always a good sign. Mindset and focus is incredibly important. You don’t want to be one of those students who chokes on test day.”

Her face dropped as panic set in. “Does that happen? Do students choke?”

“Oh yeah. Occasionally you have a student who cracks on test day. When I proctored the test one time, a student broke down sobbing in the first section then ran out. But that won’t be you. You have great focus.” I tapped my fingers on her practice test. “So keep focusing.”

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