Chapter 10
1087 Words
EVIE'S POV
The library was busier than usual.
Apparently a lot of students had decided to form study groups for Professor Bennett's midterm that was coming up.
I spotted Logan almost immediately.
He was already sitting at one of the long wooden tables near the windows, a laptop open in front of him and several notebooks scattered across it.
He looked up as I approached.
"Hey." A warm smile spread across his face.
"Hi." I could feel my cheeks getting warm.
I slid into the chair across from him, setting my backpack on the floor.
"You've already started."
"I figured I'd at least pretend to be responsible."
"That's a good start." I laughed as I pulled my notebook from my bag.
"So." He leaned back in his chair. "Where do we begin?"
I reached for his latest assignment.
"With this."
He groaned dramatically.
"I was afraid you were going to say that."
"I thought you came prepared."
"I did." He paused. "...Mentally."
I raised an eyebrow.
"That's not how studying works."
"Says who?"
"The person tutoring you."
"I knew it..." He sighed. "You are going to torture me."
A laugh escaped me before I could stop it.
"That's a little dramatic."
"I play hockey. Being dramatic is part of the job."
"I'm pretty sure it isn't."
"You've clearly never seen us lose."
I shook my head, smiling despite myself.
"Let's look at your essay."
I slid the paper between us.
"You actually know the material." I said, trying to sound encouraging.
"I do?" He raised an eyebrow.
"You do." I stated.
"The problem is..." I tapped one of the paragraphs with my pen. "You never explain your reasoning."
He frowned at the page.
"I thought it was obvious."
"It is." I nodded. "But only to you."
He looked back at me.
"Oh." He looked slightly embarrassed by the realization.
"Professor Bennett can't read your mind."
"I was really hoping she could." He murmured.
"I'm afraid not."
"This class keeps getting worse." He sighed dramatically again.
"Here." A laugh escaped me as I pulled a blank sheet of paper toward me. "Think of every essay as answering three questions."
He watched as I wrote.
What?
Why?
So what?
"If you answer all three..." I slid the paper across the table. "...your grade will improve almost immediately."
He studied the paper for a moment.
Then carefully folded it and tucked it inside his notebook.
"...That's actually really helpful."
Heat crept into my cheeks as my eyes met his.
"I mean it." He smiled. "I've never thought about it that way."
Before I could answer...
A soft chime echoed through the library.
A second later, the announcement came over the university speaker system.
"Could Daniel Parker please report to the Dean's office immediately."
Several students glanced up before returning to whatever they had been doing.
A boy sitting a few tables away slowly closed his textbook.
He looked around as though expecting someone else to stand up instead.
He quietly packed his things and walked toward the exit.
I watched him disappear through the library doors.
"I wonder what that's about," I murmured.
"Probably paperwork." Logan shrugged.
Neither of us gave it another thought.
I looked back down at the essay.
"So..." I tapped the first paragraph with my pen.
"Let's make sure Professor Bennett never calls your writing inconsistent again."
"I'd settle for 'acceptable.'" Logan smiled at me.
I was starting to think his smile should come with a warning label.
"I think we can do better than acceptable."
"I like your confidence." His smile widened.
For a brief second, we simply looked at each other.
I quickly lowered my eyes back to the essay.
"Let's keep going."
We spent the next couple of hours going through the rest of his essays and talking about how he could improve them.
Logan leaned back in his chair.
"I feel like if I read another essay, my head's going to explode." He rubbed a hand over his face before letting out a quiet laugh.
I looked up from his essay.
"Okay, okay, let's take a break." His remark made me laugh.
"Can I ask you something?" he asked casually.
I hesitated.
"...Sure."
"Why haven't we talked before?"
I didn't really expect him to ask me that.
"I..."
"We've had classes together for almost three years." He shrugged.
"I guess..." I searched for an answer that didn't sound pathetic. "...we just never had a reason to."
"You know..." A small smile tugged at his lips.
He looked around the library before lowering his voice dramatically.
"I always thought you were intimidating."
"...Me?" I blinked in surprise. "That's ridiculous."
"You always sit in the back and leave as soon as class ends." He pointed his pen at me. "You never talk unless the professor asks you something."
A small pause.
"You get perfect grades." He continued. "I figured you just didn't like people."
"I don't dislike people." I stared at him.
"So you like us?"
"I tolerate you."
"I knew you had a sense of humor." He grinned.
"I'm beginning to regret agreeing to tutor you." I rolled my eyes.
"I don't." He leaned forward. "Thanks to you, I might actually pass."
"You might." When I looked at him, his gaze was already fixed on me.
"I knew choosing you as my tutor was a good idea."
"You didn't choose me."
"No." He smiled. "I guess I just got lucky."
By the end of the study meeting, Logan's essays were already looking noticeably better.
Or at least... less painful to read.
We left the library together before going our separate ways outside.
The walk back to my dorm felt strangely peaceful.
By the time I pushed open the door to my room, Lena was already curled up on her bed with a book in her hands.
"How'd the tutoring go?" she asked without looking up.
"Better than I expected."
"I knew it." She lowered her book just enough to grin at me.
"It was one study session." I rolled my eyes as I dropped my backpack onto the floor.
"Mhm."
She clearly wasn't convinced.
Neither was I.
...
Later that night, I lay in bed staring at the ceiling.
Only then did something occur to me.
There had been no task today.
A small part of me wondered where he was.
I frowned at the thought.
Why was I even wondering?
I turned onto my side and pulled the blanket up to my chin.
I wondered what he’d come up with for tomorrow...
- Writer
