The Tutor

Chapter 14

The ticking of the library clock reminded Rafe that each minute was crucial and planning out his essay would make all the difference in the race against the time during exams. He sat opposite Nora, hunched over another past exam created by Nora, mimicking the exam conditions - in absolute silence and with a time limit. She sat as still as a statue, steel determination in her eyes, spinning the pen around her thumb as she devoured the text before her.

Rafe had his free hand locked in his hair whilst the other tried to match Nora's writing pace.

From time to time, he would get distracted by doodling on the paper or would occasionally let out a sigh and look at the clock. Nora had mastered the art of concentration. Not once had she looked at him or the watch.

Her pen didn't linger off the paper for long, save for the occasional pauses she took to gather her thoughts and scribble away again. She was so focused on the mock exam that Rafe was sure if he'd got up and left, she wouldn't even notice. He glanced at the watch and knew the time was up because he had run out of things to add to his essay. Nora was running out of time again because the alarm on her phone went off, yet she was still writing away.

Rafe cleared his throat. "You're supposed to put your pen down. McGrath told you you'd get penalised."

Nora let out a noise of frustration. "I know. I'm trying to squeeze in all the information in my head for full marks. Can't figure out how to prioritise."

Rafe felt a stab of annoyance. He wished he had those kinds of problems.

"How did you find it?" she asked, looking at his paper. It was encouraging for him that he answered all the questions. And on the last question, he managed two-and-a-half pages, which was huge progress.

Rafe looked over his work with a shrug, "Fine, I guess. You were right; planning does help."

"We should do a couple more of these. Exam questions tend to repeat themselves every couple of years. If we're lucky, you'll get an essay question you've already practised theanswer for."

She took his papers, and her eyes moved back and forth as she scanned the lines Rafe observed her in silence as she whispered something to herself.

Lately, Rafe had begun sneaking more observant glances her way when she wasn't looking, which wasn't hard because if the girl was reading anything school-related, there could be an explosion outside, and she wouldn't even notice. She was very cute. Her eyelashes weredark and long. She pressed her heart-shaped lips into a thin line, something she always did whenever she was deep in thought - and she thought a lot. He wondered if he should warn her that if she did that often enough, her lips would stay like that.

Probably not. Not unless he wanted another shoe thrown his way.

"Guess what?" he said, not tearing his eyes away from her.

"What?" she asked without taking her eyes from the papers.

"You know how you said I should find something that would boost my uni application?"

Nora pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and nodded her head. She looked up, ready to listen.

"The guys want to nominate me as the captain. That would be pretty impressive on the application, right? Universities love a good sportsperson."

Nora frowned. "But William is the captain."

"Weren't you watching the match yesterday?!" He asked, his hands spread out, his tone accusatory. "It was one of the best matches of the season!"

"I did! I just had to leave earlier to take Gran to the GP. Good game, by the way. You are good."

"Thanks...is your gran alright?"