tutor; stenbrough

04

04

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bill's eyes are burning as he slouches in the chair across from his parents. he hadn't slept enough the previous night, stressing over his ultimatum, wondering how in the hell he would be able to get his grades up by november. that was only two months away, and bill believes in a lot of things, but miracles are not one of them.

"william?" mr. denbrough asks in his gruff voice, his forehead wrinkled in question and glasses falling down his nose. "did you hear what your mother and i were talking about?"

bill attempts to jump back to reality, rubbing his hands over his face to try and wake himself up. "yeah- no, sorry. what were you guys saying?"

mr. denbrough sighs heavily, folding up the paper he'd been reading and placing it down on the table. his irritation is evident, and bill immediately feels guilty for causing his father to stress. however, before he can apologize, mrs. denbrough offers her son a gentle smile, reaching a hand out to squeeze his shoulder.

"you okay, honey?" she asks gently, and her husband huffs a little bit in disagreement. she only shoots him a disapproving look before returning her full attention to her child. "is something going on?"

bill cracks a tiny smile, and he shrugs, shaking the hair out of his eyes and crossing his feet under the table. "no, i'm okay. i was up tossing and turning. i'm just exhausted. don't worry about me."

before she can ask if he's sure, bill pushes his chair back, standing from his spot and grabbing a green apple from the fruit bowl in the middle of the table. "i'm walking to school today, so i should get going now so that i'm not late. love you guys!"

mrs. denbrough looks like she wants to oppose, like she wants to sit her son down and interrogate him until he admits what's keeping him up at night, but instead she just waves him off, telling him she loves him and reminding him to be home for dinner.

after assuring her that he will, and brushing off his dads annoyed expression, bill grabs his backpack from next to the front door and steps out into the warm, early september air. he hadn't been planning on walking, however he'd needed an excuse to get out of the i might be benched if i don't magically learn math conversation that he could feel arising. plus, the morning was nice enough, and he'd wanted to get in extra training, anyway.

the walk is long and draining, both physically and mentally, but bill manages to reach the school grounds a good fifteen minutes before the first bell. the wind is strong and brushes past his flannel, sending chills down his spine as he rushes to get in the front door.

as soon as he's entered the school, the football guys are already calling to him, patting his back and yelling and making dumb jokes to pass the time. bill smiles half heartedly, running his fingers through his brown locks in order to tame them from the mess they'd become in the wind. he wants to join in with their laughter and banter, but he can't stop thinking of his low grades and the proposition of getting them up. if bill is benched, there's no way the team would win the playoffs; it wasn't cocky, it was true. bill's the best player the school had ever seen, and without him they'd have no chance against their rival school. and bill could not let the guys down just because he didn't know some stupid numerical equations.

right as richie tozier grabs bill's shoulder and asks him why he's being so quiet, another voice distracts the team and they turn to see their coach making her way towards them. "denbrough!"

bill turns to face her and a wave of relief crashes over him. he wasn't sure he could confront the team about the possibility of being benched, but he also wasn't sure he could lie to them, so coach morris had shown up at just the right time. "sorry guys," bill shrugs, feigning an apologetic smile. "duty calls."

none of the guys question as bill falls into step with coach morris, leaving the rest of the team behind, milling around the lockers. they all know bill is the best player, and know it takes some extra training to be that good, so they don't typically wonder why bill works so much harder than them, or why coach prides herself on his progress more than anyone else's.

"what's up, coach?" bill asks as they distance themselves from the rest of the team, turning a corner. "any news?"

"i was talking to principal ferguson. he wants to help you as much as he can. you know how much he loves the football team, and winning," the coach pauses outside of her office door, and shifts the weight of her binder in her arms. "he has a tutor for you. he said that he'd send me the contact information after school today so that i could relay it to you."

bill holds back a sigh of distaste. as much as he doesn't want to be tutored in anything, he knows it's necessary, and so he at least tries to be understanding. "thank you so much."

she nods, pushing into her office as the bell rings. "i have no doubt you'll get those grades up."

the door shuts between them, and bill cards his hands through his hair once again, a groan pushing past his red lips. she might not have any doubts, but he sure does.

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hi texting starts next chap. how do you feel about the written chapters? do you like them?