Chapter 8
918 Words
EVIE'S POV
I could already feel dozens of eyes following us.
Of course Amanda noticed.
“Oh, this should be interesting,” she said loudly enough for half the room to hear.
One of her friends giggled.
Amanda smiled sweetly as her gaze drifted from Logan to me.
“I didn’t know tutoring for hopeless cases started this early in the semester.”
A few people laughed.
Heat rushed into my cheeks.
“Amanda.” Logan frowned.
“What?” She lifted an innocent shoulder. “I was talking about you.”
A couple of students laughed again.
For a second Amanda’s smile faltered.
Then she turned and walked out of the lecture hall with her friends.
I wasn’t sure why, but somehow, that felt like a tiny victory.
Professor Bennett waited until the room had almost emptied before looking at us.
“Thank you for staying.”
She folded her hands on the desk.
“Logan, you’re one of the strongest students in this department.”
He looked pleasantly surprised.
“...In every subject except mine.”
His smile disappeared.
“I was afraid you were going to say that.”
“I was hoping I wouldn’t have to.”
Then Professor Bennett turned to me.
“Miss Carter.”
I straightened instinctively.
“Your work has been consistently excellent since the beginning of the semester.”
I wasn’t expecting that.
“I’d like to ask you a favor.”
“A favor?” I echoed, unable to hide my confusion.
“Yes.”
Professor Bennett glanced between the two of us before continuing.
“As you know, our midterm is only a few weeks away.”
Logan let out a quiet sigh beside me.
“I’ve noticed that despite your participation in class, your grades on written assignments have been...” She searched for the right word. “Inconsistent.”
“I was going to say disappointing,” Logan admitted.
“I appreciate your honesty.” The professor smiled.
Then she turned to me.
“Miss Carter, on the other hand, has consistently submitted some of the strongest work I’ve seen this semester.”
I felt my face grow warm.
“I was wondering...” She folded her hands together. “Would you be willing to tutor Mr. Hayes until the midterm?”
For a moment, I genuinely thought I’d misheard her.
“...Me?”
“Yes.”
Logan looked just as surprised as I was.
Professor Bennett continued before either of us could answer.
“I normally don’t make requests like this, but I think you’d work well together.”
“I-” I glanced between the two of them.
My brain had completely stopped working.
“Only if you’re comfortable with it, of course,” she added.
Then, against all common sense...
“I’d be happy to.”
The words escaped before I had time to overthink them.
“Excellent.” Professor Bennett smiled. “I’ll leave the scheduling to the two of you.”
She gathered the last of her papers.
“Thank you both. You’re free to go.”
Logan waited until we'd stepped out into the hallway before speaking.
"So..." He rubbed the back of his neck with an awkward smile. "I guess you're my tutor now."
A nervous laugh escaped me.
"I... I guess I am."
Students streamed past us, filling the hallway with conversation, but somehow it felt like we were standing in our own little bubble.
"I'm gonna be honest with you here," Logan said with an embarrassed laugh. "I'm not going to pretend I'm excited about extra studying."
"I'd be worried if you were excited about studying."
His laugh caught me completely off guard.
"When are you free?" he asked.
I mentally flipped through my schedule.
"I don't have any classes after three tomorrow."
"Perfect." He nodded. "Library?"
"Sure."
"Four o'clock?"
"Works for me."
Another pause.
"Thanks, by the way..." he said a bit awkwardly. "For agreeing to help me."
His smile this time was smaller.
More sincere.
"I know you didn't have to."
I shrugged, suddenly very interested in the floor.
"It'll probably help me revise too."
"Still." He adjusted the strap of his backpack. "I appreciate it."
I nodded.
"See you tomorrow, then."
"See you tomorrow, Logan."
He turned and disappeared into the crowd of students.
I stood there for another second, staring after him.
I couldn't remember the last time we'd had an actual conversation.
If ever.
Then I shook my head.
Get it together, Evie.
I pulled my notebook from my backpack.
I'd better write it down before I forget.
I flipped to the first blank page.
Logan. Library. 4:00 p.m.
I had barely finished writing the last letter when the tip of my pen stopped moving.
A tiny drop of black ink spread across the paper.
"No..."
The ink continued to spread.
As though invisible fingers were dragging it across the page.
Letter by letter.
The words appeared beneath my handwriting.
**TASK TWO, EVIE.**
My heartbeat stumbled.
"No..."
More ink bled across the page.
One line at a time.
*Take the blue folder from Professor Bennett's office. Place it in locker 42 before 6 p.m.*
At the bottom of the page, the same red lipstick mark appeared.
I stared at the page.
"Seriously?"
I let my head fall back with a groan.
"What's with him and stealing from professors?" I murmured to myself.
The hallway around me buzzed with conversations.
I barely heard any of it.
My eyes never left the notebook.
- Writer
