Dangerous Play

12 » lesson learned

I drummed my fingers against the wooden library table as I peeked at the smartwatch on my wrist. There was so much on my mind—Kieran's strange behavior after my game, the text from my coach that UNC's representative was coming either this weekend or the next to watch our team, the AP Lit essay due tomorrow that I hadn't started—but one pressing matter stood out above the rest. Literally.

"Hey, sorry I'm late," a smooth voice came from above me. I was greeted with a sweet smile as Maddox Reiser squeezed his 6'4 frame into the seat next to me. "I stopped by Homer's to pick this up." He handed me an iced coffee bearing the familiar logo on its side as he drank from his own cup.

Today marked the first day of tutoring. I'd spent the afternoon yesterday in the library with Mrs. Harris, reviewing biology, which was the subject Maddox needed the most help in. I took the class last year, and while I eventually did well, I had struggled in the beginning. Not to mention I needed to review several topics I'd forgotten over the summer.

I had assumed the tutoring would be in a public library, or somewhere in-between our two schools, but Mrs. Harris said Maddox was fine just meeting here. Even now, she bustled around behind the counter and around the quiet room, taking care of the other students who frequented Claremont Hill's library after school.

"No worries, and thanks," I said, taking a sip of the coffee. Iced vanilla latte. I couldn't believe he still remembered my favorite drink. I opened my mouth to say something but decided against the idea. That seemed like it could quickly spiral into dangerous territory. "So, I hear bio has been giving you some trouble."

He winced. "I failed a quiz the other day, and none of the concepts make sense to me. I need help studying for our exam next week."

I pulled out my notebook from last year. "Lucky for you, I take great notes. I'm not sure if our curriculums will line up exactly, but the concepts and examples in here should still be pretty helpful." Our fingers brushed as I handed him the spiral notebook, and I jerked my hand back like I'd been shocked.

Maddox gave me a quizzical look but didn't say anything. He opened the notebook and began flipping through the pages, taking in the meticulous notes and numerous diagrams that I'd drawn to help myself with some of the more difficult concepts. "Wow, this is... Do you take notes like this for all of your classes?"

"God, no," I snorted. "Biology kicked my ass at first, so I had to kick it right back."

"Hard to imagine anything getting the better of you." He frowned, closing the notebook and setting it on the table. "Wish I could say the same about me."

"Well, that's what I'm here for." I slid the textbook over to him. "Let's see where you're at. How do you feel about osmosis?"

"Is that the thing where the cells divide?"

Not the most encouraging start, but it was my job to remedy that. We spent the next hour working through the fundamentals. By the end of our scheduled session, Maddox had a pretty good grasp of membrane permeability and passive transport. He was one of the easiest students I'd ever helped, asking questions in all the right places and making sure he had a thorough understanding of one thing before we moved on to the next topic.

I'd also forgotten how funny he was. Somehow, he managed to relate a story about getting hit in the face with a soccer ball to the subject, and the way he described the scene going down had me clutching my sides in laughter.

When the clock hit 4PM, I began collecting my things. Maddox held out my old biology notebook to me, but I waved him off. "You can take it. Maybe something in there will help prepare you for that exam."