A Ledger Smile

1.5 - A meaning

"Come on Luke, I know you know this, why are you refusing to show it?" I say frustrated as we are sitting in the school library, studying, at least we are trying to. He doesn't answer, he just keep making looks between a couple of girls at the next table. I roll my eyes and give his leg a hard kick.
"Ouch!" He yells finally turning his head towards me and slightly crouched to lay a hand on his chin. "Why? Just why?".
"You know why" I said turning my look down on the books.
"Oh right, are you like a bit jealous" he says, and I feel my blood boiling, I'm not in the mood for jokes, we have been at this for an hour and he has not answered a single question seriously.
"Are you for real? You may not be so interested in school right now, but I need this, if you don't do good on the next test, I won't get the extra curricular" I say with an agitated voice.
"Why do you need curricular? You are doing great in your classes and your mom said you weren't setting goals on anything near the ivy's" he said unbothered and giving small glances at the next table again.
"Maybe I changed my mind, and I'm by far the least busy kid here, except for you of course" I said and I could feel his head turning to me, I kept looking in the books and turning the pen on the table.
My hand stops spinning the pen as he takes it from me. "Alright, lay it on me" he says, actually opening his notebook, a notebook I didn't even knew he had.
"What?" I said surprised.
"The questions"
I just nodded in response, and he finally gave me his attention. As I already thought, he knew most of it, he obviously just wasn't trying before.

"No i know it's right, look it up" I say confidential.
"Sorry RoRo" he says turning the calculator towards me. I hide my head in my hands and shakes my head.
"I was so sure, you probably put in wrong" I say pointing at the calculator "here let me!" I kept on saying reaching for it but he pulled it away.
"Sorry, you need to know when to accept defeat".
"Alright" I answered nodding slowly but made a last attempt to take it but he saw me coming and pulled it away again.
"You just never give up huh?" He said packing the calculator together with his other stuff.
"I don't know when to give up" I said making him laugh, It sounded better in my head.

We are riding in the Uber on our way home, the clock is already six. I turn my head to Luke who is looking on his phone.
"Can you please promise me to try on the test, you practically knew it before this study sech"
He looked up from his phone, meeting my eyes.
"Of course" he answered. It shocked me a little bit that he was so fast with the answer. I thought he would be persistent.
"Great" I simple say back, he gave me a smile and went back to his phone. "If you already know it, why have you been doing so bad on the tests?"
Once again he looked up from the phone and the emerald eyes look right at me.
"I didn't see a meaning with it before" he simply answered before once again going back to the phone.
I myself turned my gaze out the window. Is he doing it just for me? I want to believe that he is using me as a fake reason to start trying again, a way he doesn't have to admit to his mother that he wants to try again. I know how hard it is to say to a parent 'you were right'.