Teenage Millionaire

Chapter 12: Guess

I give him a pleading look, because being angry at him doesn't seem to be extremely effective. He smirks a little, letting his hand come to rest on my forearm instead, where he gently draws two and a half small circles with his thumb, then walks past my desk like nothing happened, to the back of the class where the signature clunk of his backpack is heard moments later as it hits the floor.

I have no idea what to make of anything that just happened.

So I focus on the lecture to the best of my ability, furiously scribbling notes to try and catch up but always seeming to stay just a few sentences behind. Finally, Dr. Love assigns homework for the night and dismisses us just as the lunch bell rings. I start to leave, keeping my eyes on the ground (a symptom of the leftover shame of being late). However, a hand grabs my arm and pulls me in the other direction, towards Dr. Love's desk. What a complete shocker: it's him. (What is he doing? Why? What the heck does he want from me?)

He knocks on the desk when he reaches it (with me still in tow) and gives Dr. Love a half smile. "Hi, Dr. Love. I just figured that I should tell you that Todd was only late because of me."

Is he actually going to confess to trying to get me to skip? I look up at him, blinking.

"We were talking when we left English first period, and since we have this class together too, we kind of started on our way over here. But I wasn't really planning on going to two classes in a row, so I started to leave. But Todd tried to convince me to come to this class, too."

Uh, no. He tried to convince me to skip, and then proceeded to grab my arm and hold me back to accomplish that, and only let go when- I don't even know what happened, there, to be honest (I don't know what happens a lot of the time when he's involved).

"Alright. And he succeeded?"

"Well, when he heard the bell ring, he freaked out and practically ran across the school to get to class. And then I felt guilty, so I figured I'd come to class to please him, and so I could explain to you why he was late."

"I see." Dr. Love looks a little unconvinced of the part where he felt guilty. Which is fair. I also doubt that (though I don't actually know why he came to class, or why he's doing this right now. To prove something to me? Why? What does he want from me?)

"Todd's a really good student, you know? And he has a perfect record, I assume. I didn't want his good intentions to end up ruining that. And I know it probably seems uncharacteristic of me to care that much, but I'm more impulsive than I am apathetic."

Dr. Love nods. "Alright. I'll excuse his tardy, not yours. You may leave." We both start to go. "Not you, Todd."

My heart drops. I swallow and look at him, but he just walks right out of the classroom without even a glance in my direction. What the heck? He just came to get my tardy excused, plus whatever the heck that was with touching my forearm earlier, and now he can't even give me a sympathetic glance before ditching me in the situation he put me in?

"Is that story true, Todd?"

I look at Dr. Love and nod, my eyes feeling huge.

"Don't worry, this is nothing bad. I simply wanted to commend you, for trying to convince him to come to class. Even if he skips the rest of his classes for the day, which he most likely will, I'm glad that you tried. And you succeeded- he came to class almost on time! Whether for the reasons he gave or something else, he came to class. So I'd like you to be proud of yourself for even just trying, because I really believe that had a very positive influence on him. Of course, you don't need to feel responsible for his behavior at all, but I appreciate what you did."