tutor; stenbrough

20

20

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bill arrives at the public library thirty five minutes too early on the bright sunday morning, and the sunlight blinds him as he locates the main entrance.

he knows that he has plenty of time before stanley is supposed to arrive, and he's not sure what to do in an empty library for half an hour. as he pushes through the heavy double doors, he recognizes almost right away that, as he had suspected, the place lacks anyone, really, aside from a sleepy librarian who slumps over her desk, and the failing football player himself, who knows he's in way over his head.

but alas, to bill's surprise, he spots stanley uris sitting amongst the first few stacks of books. his body seems so small in comparison to the large table he'd chosen, and his head is down as he scrawls something in one of his many notebooks, handwriting probably just as loopy as usual. as he writes, his curls fall into his eyes, and he barely pauses for long enough to flick them away.

he hasn't noticed bill's presence, but bill doesn't move to join him yet, standing speechless for a moment as he mentally ponders why in the world the other boy would've arrived so early, and entirely unable to conjure up a plausible reason.

the early morning sun seeps through the massive windows as bill observes stanley, and the shining rays highlight his light brown hair just enough that it turns golden. his lips are tilted down just the slightest bit in concentration, and he keeps scrunching his nose as if he's getting stuck on something.

stanley doesn't look up, or even seem to recognize that anyone is there, until bill finally approaches, peering across the table at the paper and asking, "so what are you working on?"

this seems to startle stanley out of some type of daze, and he quickly slides the notebook out of the way, throwing a hand over his heart. "jesus, william, you scared me."

"and you scare me every time you call me william," bill retorts, circling the table and taking a seat next to stanley so that they can share his textbook. unzipping his backpack to grab his own notebooks, bill asks, "why are you here so early, anyway? we weren't supposed to meet up for another half an hour."

stanley rolls his eyes at bill's answer, closing the notebook he'd been writing in and pulling a different one out from his own bag, which lies on the floor next to his chair. "i could ask you the same."

"my mom was on her way to work so it was the only time she could drive me," bill answers easily, and he props his face up on his hand, offering a teasing smile as he glances over at the closed book. "did you get here early to write whatever you were writing there?"

stanley's face immediately colours, a light pink appearing across his features, and he grabs the notebook bill had gestured to and shoves it into his backpack and out of view. "doesn't matter."

"c'mon," bill presses, eyebrows raised. "what's so important that you had to get here early on a sunday? and had to close it when i walked over?"

stanley pauses for a moment, laying his hands flat on the smooth wooden surface of the library table and contemplating whether or not to share. he can gather from the look in bill's eyes that the football player won't be giving up so easily, and so he releases a sigh before admitting, "it was just a letter to send to some prospective universities. you know, tutoring looks really good on college applications. it's not due until november, but i like to get ahead on that sort of stuff."

bill's pink lips quirk up at the sides, revealing a small smile, and he opens his own notebook to the most recent page. stanley isn't expecting a response, but then bill's voice cuts the silence of the library once again, light and airy as he teases, "oh, is that so? you better help me get my grades up, then, for both of us."

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