Dare

Eight

EDITED: December 2020

By Monday, I was still irritated with my dad. I haven't told Kendall or my mom yet, and I doubt I will.

"Ella? Ella, you're not listening to me," Theo's voice said as he waved his hand in front of my face.

"Huh? What?" I asked, snapping out of my thoughts.

"How are you expecting to pass math if you're not listening to me?" He asked, his forehead creasing into a frown.

"Ugh, sorry," I sighed. "I just..."

"Just what?" He asked, his dark baby blues looking into my eyes.

I wondered if I should tell him about Friday night.

"Ella, we're friends, remember? You can talk to me."

"My dad," I mumbled.

"What about him?" He asked, putting his pencil down.

"On Friday when I went over to see him, there was a woman there -Jenn or whatever. Anyways, long story made short, they're together now," I told him.

"Wait, are your parents actually over already or are they still in the midst of things?" He asked.

"They're finalising things at the moment," I said.

"I get that you're upset about it, and that your dad should have told you, but at the end of the day, he's the adult making the decisions in his life, and I guess you just have to accept that," He said, his muscular arm wrapping around my shoulders.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," I nodded. "But...I guess it's just difficult seeing him with another woman. I mean, he and my mom were together for such a long time and now..."

"It's difficult, I know. But you'll get through it," He said, smiling down at me.

"Yeah, I will," I said, returning the smile. "Come on, I need to learn all this math stuff if I wanna pass on Friday."

With that, we spent the rest of the time going over math, and soon enough, Theo had made me forget about all my family drama.

***

When Friday came around, I was more than nervous to write my math test. I would finally get to find out if all the tutoring had been worth it.

But even if I do pass this test, it doesn't mean that the tutoring stops. Hopefully he'll be my tutor till the end of the year.

The test went okay, I think. I understood most of the stuff, but then again, you know the rule of math: if it seems easy, you're doing it wrong.

"So we're all going to Lucy's Halloween party next week, right?" Spencer asked me after school as we walked to our lockers.

"Yep," I confirmed.

Every year Lucy Snippet throws a hectic Halloween party that basically everyone gets invited to.

"Ms Slater! Can I see you for a moment, please?" My math teacher, Mr Douglas, called to me as I was about to walk past his classroom.

Quickly I said goodbye to Spencer and then entered the class.

"Yes, sir?" I asked.

"Its about your math test," He told me.

Suddenly my heart started beating ten times faster.

I looked at his face, hoping to find some indication of whether I passed for failed, but bhe kept a straight face. Then he smiled.

"Congratulations, Miss Slater. Your first test passed this semester," He said, handing me back my math test that had a bright red C written on it.

"Oh my god!" I squealed. "Thank you so much!"

"Well you put in the effort," He chuckled as he handed me a photocopy of the test. "And be sure to thank Theo."

"Oh yeah, totally," I nodded before thanking him again and then leaving the classroom.

Instead of heading to my locker, I headed to the hallway where Theo's locker was situated hoping that he was still there.

"Theo!" I squealed, running towards where he was standing with Indigo.

"Oh, hey, Ella," He smiled at me.

"Uh, sorry to disturb," I said, feeling a little bad that I had interrupted their conversation.

"No uh, we were just done here," Indigo said, giving me a small smile before bidding us goodbye and leaving.

"Guess what?" I asked him with a grin.

"What?" He asked, most probably wondering why I was so happy.

"I passed!" I squealed, showing him my math test.

"A C! Ella, that's amazing!" He grinned, pulling me into a hug and then spinning me around.

"I wouldn't have been able to do it without you," I said, kissing his cheek.

"Hey, you were the one putting in the effort," He said.

"You're being too modest," I shot back.

"You're the one that passed," He retaliated.

"Well, thanks anyways," I smiled at him.

"It's really no problem," He said, grinning back. "Let's just work on making that C into a B next time, okay?"

"Yeah, totally," I nodded.

"Hey, El. Theo," Aimee said as she approached us.

"Oh, hey," I mumbled. "Oh uh, Theo, my best friend Aimee. Aimee, this is Theo," I introduced the two.

"Nice to meet you, Theo," She smirked at him.

"You too, Aimee," He nodded at her.

"So uh, we bailing on tutoring today?" I asked him.

"Yeah, totally. You deserve it," He said with a smile.

"Great, see you on Monday then," I said.

As Aimee and I walked away, I couldn't help but be a little irritated with her. If she hadn't interrupted, maybe Theo and I could still be talking.

"What was that all about?" She asked.

"Uh, nothing," I mumbled.

"Didn't look like nothing to me," She said coolly.

"Do you want me to do this dare or not?" I asked, sounding snappier than intended.

"Geez, chill," She mumbled.

"Sorry," I muttered, exhaling a breath.

"So are we still on for shopping for outfits for Lucy's party?" She asked.

"Yeah, let's just go do it today, and then we can go to the spa afterwards," I told her.

"Sounds good to me," She grinned.

After putting our books into our lockers, we headed to the mall for our shopping trip.