Thick and Thin ✓

Act I : "You Listen Well"

A/n

Friendly reminders -

a) the 'e' in Duante is silent

b) half the plot and character rights are with nefelibatanSoul who's helping me plan out this book so don't forget to show her some love too!!

Yay thanks for reading and don't forget to leave comments!!

..........

(trigger warning : violence)

"Thaaaaank youuuuu, siiiiiir," ten kids shouted together in a sing-song voice.

Duante laughed, "You're welcome." He picked up a stack of thin notebooks and tucked them in the crook of his elbow. "Hurry along now," he gestured towards the door, "your parents must be waiting, our class was ten minutes longer today."

"We don't mind!" a girl from the first bench piped in.

"Speak for yourself," a boy shouted at her, then ran out the door laughing. Seeing him, the rest of the students too got to their feet and hurried out of the room.

A tall kid with bright eyes came to stand in front of Duante's desk, uncertainly swinging his body from left to right.

Duante caught his gaze and raised a brow. "What is it, Diem?" He, like every other tutor who had the misfortune of teaching Diem Finata, knew something was definitely going down if that eleven-year-old was standing in front of your desk. Duante braced himself for whatever was coming.

"So listen," Diem began casually, like he was talking to a friend and not his tutor, "I hope what I say next won't affect your evaluation of me."

Teachers and parents would constantly complain about his rash, cheeky and overly confident behavior, but the kid reminded Duante too much of a certain extravagant friend of his, so he could never bring himself to be too harsh on Diem. And the kid clearly took advantage of it. "Your evaluation will depend entirely on the work that you've submitted." Duante tapped the notebooks in his hand.

"Right, right," Diem nodded.

Duante waited for him to continue.

"Oh wow, this is awkward," the boy said, continuing in a rush. "My sister wanted to know if you're single?"

It took Duante all his strength not to burst into laughter and to keep a straight face. If he showed amusement of any kind, it would mean he was encouraging this behavior and though it was quite entertaining and cute, as the tutor it was his duty to discourage such intrusive and personal questions. "I'm afraid I can't discuss such matters with my student."

Diem looked both ways, once he was clear no one was around, he leaned forward slightly and said in a low voice, "So, just between the two of us, do I give her your number or not?"

"Not," Duante replied, fighting to keep a serious look on his face.

"She's hot," Diem persisted.

"The answer is an absolute no." Duante said firmly, putting an end to the conversation. 

"Cool cool cool," Diem nodded, backing away. "Don't worry," he shot finger guns at his tutor, "I got ya back, bruh."

"It's sir, Diem."

The boy was already on his way out when he stopped and turned to shoot a toothy grin at Duante. "Can I quote a Harry Potter reference?"

"Out!" Duante cried, pointing at the door. Once the boy left and he was finally all alone in the small classroom, Duante doubled over in laughter. His face was starting to hurt from forcing on a strict face for so long but he wouldn't trade it for anything in the world; these kids were the highlight of his life!