True Love Trials (Karamel Story)

2 ~ Tutoring

After a long time of studying and eating desserts that the waiter brought over. Kara checked the time. "It got late fast." She widened her eyes at her phone.

"Time sure does fly, when your having fun." He retorted swirling the spoon around in his empty glass of the finished hot fudge sundae.

"It sure does." She agreed with sarcasm. The table was covered in math pages and books. "Can you do me a favor?" Kara asked subtlety.

"Sure." He replied with a nod.

"Write me a poem by Shakespeare." She challenged. He smirked and took a piece of paper and picked up a pen. He wrote some words down and handed it to her. She smiled as she read it. "This isn't Shakespeare." She denied.

"It's not?" He argued playfully.

"It's the lyrics to a Clash song." She said looking up from the paper.

"Aw, but what Clash song?" Mike smirked.

"Hey I'm not the one being tested." She corrected.

"Ten seconds." He said.

"Mike." She protested.

"Nine." He continued. "Eight, seven."

"Really?"

"Six, five." He went on.

"Stop it." She warned.

"Four, three." He stared at the clock on the wall.

"You know your really starting to--" she began.

"Two."

Oh, Guns of Brixton!" She finally answered happily.

"A, plus." He smiled. They both beamed and Mike took a bite of the slice of pie in from of him.

"Why are you here? Why'd you agree to come here?" Kara said sticking her fork into the pie.

"Because I was told I had to." He sighed.

"You've never done anything because someone said you had to." She protested and ate the pie off her fork.

"Yeah, well..." He began annoyed. They were silent for a moment. "Ya wanna get outta here?" He finished.

"Yes, actually. But your sure you've studied enough?" She assured.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." He waved.

She nodded. "Okay, well...I guess I'll see ya on Monday." She said happier.

They cleaned up and said their goodbyes. Kara walked home and finished movie night with Alex and Eliza. Mike went home and did some thinking. He spent time with his parents and went to bed late.

****

Monday came, and it was like every other. I'm school, Kara saw Mike again, she waved and he waved back. His friends distracted him from her, but he he didn't want them to. Still he listened and followed their lead. Every other night they would study together. Kara continued to teach him, and be completely blind about his slight flirting. Mike was starting to lose interest in her because she didn't pick up on any of it. Homecoming dance was coming up and neither of them had dates. A bunch of girls asked Mike to go and started flirting with him in the halls. Kara was asked by this one guy, but she turned him down. Mike wanted to ask her.

Alex was asked by Maggie, she said yes. Though she was worried about what people would think. Alex had just realized she was... Gay. She didn't deny it, she was proud of it. So they were going together not worrying about what other people would think. Kara didn't think she was going, it was just a silly dance. Mike was preparing to tell her at their tutoring session that night. He wasn't actually dumb or anything, be just didn't want to be in school. He didn't really understand why he had to learn all this stuff.

That night at the session, he seemed happier, but she didn't. He passed her his math paper for her to grade it. She looked it over carefully. She looked surprised.

"What? Did I get something wrong?" He asked nervously.

"No it's just..." She began. She gave him back the paper. "You got everything right." She continued.

"Nice." He said and stuffed it in his backpack.

"I don't get it." She puzzled.

"Don't get what?" He smiled.

"Your so smart and cunning, that you should be passing like that." She snapped her fingers. "Why aren't you?"

"I'm dumb. Didn't you hear the school?" He answered tiredly.

They left the diner together walking side by side. "But that doesn't make sense. I've seen your grades for your other classes, and that math paper you did, without any help." She protested.

"Well, how do you think I stay on the football team? I need good grades." He replied .

"Are you going to college?" She asked.

"Nope." He answered.

"You could do more. Why aren't you going to college?"

"Because college doesn't seem like the place for me."

Kara seemed disappointed. "You have to go to college." She pouted.

"No, you have to go to college." He corrected. "What're you gonna be when you grow up?" He joked.

She rolled her eyes and looked up at him from her side. "Really?" She said annoyed.

"I'm serious." He announced.

She but her lip. "A journalist."

"A journalist?" He asked. She nodded. "So your gonna be crawling around in trenches, standing on top of buildings, with bombs going off in the background, and wars raging all around you." Mike retorted.

"What, you don't think I can do it?" She questioned.

"No I do, it just sounds a little too..." He began.

"A little too what?" She interrupted.

"Little too rough for you, that's all." He continued.

"Well it isn't too rough for me." She denied. "I hope it isn't too rough for me. It's all I've even been talking about."

"Look, I didn't mean to freak you out, I'm sorry. I'm sure you'll do it." He apologized. Kara hung her head down staring at her walking feet. "You will. I promise." He nodded.

She smiled. He decided to see if he could make her smile wider. "Look I'll help you practice. Tomorrow, you'll be standing in the middle of the road, and I'll come driving straight at you screaming in a foreign language." He joked. Kara laughed.

"You'll need to learn a foreign language first." She agreed.

"Well it's lucky I got myself a tutor isn't it?" He looked at her with a grin. They stopped when they got to Kara's house. She nodded slowly and looked down at her fidgeting hands. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow." He said.

Kara nodded and started walking towards her house. Mike stopped her and cleared his throat. "Actually I wanted to ask you something." He stuttered. She looked surprised and he face went slightly paler. "May I go to the Homecoming dance with you?"

She was stunned. She never thought the captain of the football team would ask her. She always thought she was a nobody. Her hands trembled. "Uh... Yes?" She said confused.

"Was that an answer or a question? You don't need to say yes, it's okay." He explained.

"No, I mean..." She tried to make out. His face covered in confusion. "Yes! That's what I meant, yes."

He furrowed his eyebrows together. "Ooo-kay." He puzzled. "See ya tomorrow." He bowed and started walking down the sidewalk to his house.

Kara watched and was out of breath. She was going to Homecoming, with Mike Matthews.