Page 13 of Teaching the Teacher's Pet

“Test?” She pulled a textbook out of a built-in cupboard by her desk. It was an Algebra II book, with math equations and graph lines emblazoned on the front. A girl with black glasses grinned on the cover, and annoyingly enough, she kind of looked like me with her brown hair and freckled cheeks. Awesome. “Wait, is this for another tutoring session? Does someone else need tutoring?”

Principal Oliphant’s voice came closer to my elbow. “A student needs to retake last year’s final exam. We were under the impression that he spoke with you already.”

Mrs. Diego nodded with slight confusion. “He told me this morning that you two had spoken yesterday after school. That I could give you the supplies.”

“No one talked to—” I did a full-stop, almost as if I hadn’t started speaking in the first place. Something underneath my skin began buzzing, as if a swarm of bees had crawled their way into my veins.He spoke to you yesterday. You two had spoken yesterday after school.I bit the word out, though I already knew the answer. “Who?”

“Connor Bray,” she said, as casual as could be. “I already rearranged the three students you were set up to tutor to meet with another tutor. That way you can give him your full attention.”

Principal Oliphant folded her hands behind her back. “There’s also a certain amount of…discretion required.”

Discretion. That was the freaking word he’dused.

All the embarrassment and humiliation morphed into something hotter, fiercer, something that could burn down a small village. Or at least one single, selfish, egotistical football player. “Listen, I’m not—”

Mrs. Diego tapped the corner of the textbook, and something intense in her demeanor had me shutting up. “It’s a special situation. He learned this information last year, but he didn’t end up passing the final exam.”

“Why can’t he just retake the class like everyone else? Why does he need a makeup exam?”

“Only one math course can be taken per year, and he’s required to pass Algebra II and Statistics to graduate on time. So if he doesn’t get a makeup exam—”

“Without this makeup exam,” Principal Oliphant cut in, “he’ll have to retake Algebra II over this next summer, meaning hewon’tgraduate on time.”

Here she was explaining all this when my mind still choked on the fact that she was talking aboutConnor Bray.

“The school district’s very firm,” she went on. “Normally, students are given the opportunity to retake the test, or any failed class, over summer. But there was a clerical error… Well, we didn’t see that Connor scored below passing until last week when sorting out the paperwork. We’re giving him another chance to retake the exam, but at the end of the month. Since he had the summer to forget the material, we’re giving him a brief period to relearn.”

“The end of the month?” I raised my eyebrows. “How do you expect anyone to learn a whole year of math in three weeks?” Even better question, how on earth did they expect me to teach it?

“What you’ll be doing is more like a few practice sessions than true tutoring,” Principal Oliphant said. “You’ll be refreshing his memory.”

“You said he failed the first time.” My words came out slowly, and I was absolutely blown away at how calm my voice sounded. Flat. Unbothered. I should’ve been an actress. “Meaning he didn’t understand the material to begin with.”

Mrs. Diego’s expression was truly apologetic, with pinched eyebrows and a scrunched mouth. “You’re the best tutor in the school. Every student you’ve tutored has gone on to pass their classes with grades above a B. I believe you’d be able to help him.”

I glared down at the book, at the stupid smiling girl on the front. “Mrs. Diego—”

“Maisie.” Principal Oliphant tilted her head at me, her neutral lips turning up into a smirk that screamed of craftiness. Like we were about to share a secret. “In exchange for helping Connor pass the exam, I’d be willing to reinstate the valedictorian awards for one more year.”

If I hadn’t been gritting my teeth, my jaw would’ve dropped. It was a carrot dangled in front of a starving rabbit, close enough to smell but just out of reach. At that moment, I could see more similarities between Principal Oliphant and her daughter than their appearances. “I thought you said the decision wasn’t up to you.”

“It’s not, but I can request that the board delay the decision for one more year. It’s not too late.”

Surely, she had to hear how she sounded. She wouldn’t fight forme, but for Connor Bray, she’d pull out all the stops.Why?I wanted to scream.Why is he so special?

But I didn’t even have to ask the question. Connor Bray might not have been the quarterback of the football team, but hewasBrentwood’s star player. He was practically a household name to those who worshipped the Bobcats. Connor Bray, Brentwood High Bobcat running back,senior.

What would everyone say if Connor was held back due to aclerical error, something that is solely the school’s fault? The Top Tier clique didn’t stop with the high school students; it extended to their moms and dads as well. When one of their own was threatened, it meant war. Heck, they’d probably light torches and grab pitchforks.

Once again, like always, the popularity card held more weight than a stack of books. If it were anyone else, would they be assigned a tutor? Would they be given a month to study? I was surprised Principal Oliphant hadn’t just passed Connor and swept it under the rug.

And then, just in case I had any doubts, Principal Oliphant said, “Connor’s talent will take us to State Championships this year. We just need to make sure he’s eligible to get us there.”

My nails would’ve dented the cover on the textbook if it were a paperback. “And Connor already told you I agreed to this?”

Mrs. Diego nodded. “Came to me this morning before classes started.”

I imagined Connor Bray waltzing into Mrs. Diego’s classroom this morning, confidently telling her that, of course, Maisie Matthews had said yes. That she’d practically tripped over herself to say yes.

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