Operation Breakup

The Tutor

5 years later

Ryder quietly muttered a praise under his breath as the bell rang. He grabbed his backpack off the ground and walked out of the classroom with the flow of other students. He walked to his locker and opened it. 

“Hey babe,” Hannah said as she pushed Ryder’s locker closed. “How did history go?” 

Ryder quickly kissed Hannah on the cheek before opening back up his locker. “It was boring. It’s always boring.”

Hannah pursed her lips. “I’m sorry babe. But hey, it gives up a class to ditch.”

“I skip it as much as I can without completely failing the class,” Ryder noted. “I don’t want to have to retake that class. That would truly be the death of me.”

“The party has arrived!” Luke proclaimed as he walked down the hallway towards Ryder. I am so ready to go home and party!”

Ryder fist-bumped Luke. “Heck yeah!”

Hannah giggled and cuddled up to Ryder. “What are we going to do today?”

“Ryder Gaffen.” 

The stern voice carried over the hall. 

Ryder quickly turned and saw his history professor beckoning over. 

Ryder groaned. “Not again.”

Hannah turned to look at the professor. “What does Dr. Killjoy want with you now?”

Ryder closed his locker and banged his fist against it. “I don’t know, but I’ll keep it quick.”

Ryder jogged down the hallway, slowing just as he reached the door. “You wanted to see me, sir?”

The professor held up a recent test covered with red corrections and markings. 

Ryder ran his hand through his hair. “I really tried Professor. I really did.”

The professor lowered the test. “I know you did. But you cannot afford to fail my class. Again.”

Ryder lowered his head. “I know.”

“I’m going to assign you a student tutor. I’ll let you redo all of the assignments and tests with them, and as long as they say you are learning, I’ll pass you in the class.”

Ryder groaned. “Not a tutor.”

The professor motioned for Ryder to follow him into the classroom. He sat down at his desk, Ryder standing across from him. 

“I think she will be very helpful to you,” the professor noted as he jotted down a name and number on a post-it note. 

Ryder’s head shot up. “She?”

The professor nodded. “She is one of our best student tutors. Smart and dedicated. Very sweet and kind.”

Ryder’s eyebrow raised. “Is she cute?”

The professor looked up from his work. “Is that all that matters to you?”

Ryder grinned. “It couldn’t hurt to ask, right?”

The professor picked up the post-it note and handed it to Ryder. “Katelyn Reeves is a very great student. You’d do well to learn from her.”

Ryder's head snapped back. "Katie?"

The professor looked up at him. "I'm assuming that means you know her then. Hopefully, that means you'll actually listen to her. Let's hope this will be a good thing."

Ryder could hardly contain his excitement. “Thank you, professor. I’ll be sure to meet with her right away professor."

Ryder practically ran from the classroom. Hannah and Luke looked up in surprise. 

“That was quick,” Luke exclaimed. “What did he want?”

Ryder gave a smug grin. “He assigned me a tutor to help me do my work and as long as I get together with them I can pass the class.”

Hannah grimaced. “That sounds awful. How are you at all okay with that?”

Ryder’s grin grew. “Fortunately, I got assigned to work with Katie.”

Luke gave Ryder a confused look. “As in your neighbor Katie? Katelyn?”

Ryder nodded, and Luke snorted out a laugh. "Who approved of that pairing?"

“I’ll probably just go tell her she is my tutor and she will end up doing all the work for me,” Ryder explained. “Piece of cake.”

The three of them began to walk down the hallway towards the exit. 

Ryder pulled out his phone and opened his messaging app to text Katelyn. 

Ryder: Hey Katie, guess who just got assigned a tutor for history?

Ryder moved to put his phone away but stopped when he felt his phone vibrate. 

Katie: Hmmm… that’s a hard question. Also, I didn't know you could spell tutor.

Ryder: Ha Ha. Very funny. UR such a comedian

Katie: I know. I make myself laugh all day long. 

Katie: So who’d ya get?

Ryder: What?

Katie: Your tutor. Who is it?

Ryder: U

Katie: Unlucky you. You have to deal with me

Ryder: Better than dealing with a professor

Katie When do you want to start?

Ryder: Whenever works.

Katie: How about tonight? 

Ryder: Sure.

Katie: Great. Bring your textbook

Ryder grinned. "History just became a whole lot easier."