Private Lessons

RILEY

“Fuck! I hate it, Ri. It’s only been a week, and we’re already swamped with homework and assignments,” Lucy groaned in frustration.

We were in study hall, working on our math assignment during a free period.

“What else would you prefer doing?” I asked her.

“Anything besides this. Also, Andrew is annoying me to the core. He hasn’t texted me since this morning.” She checked her phone, which she had done every two minutes for almost an hour.

“Here, let me help you.” I grabbed her notebook and started to teach her.

I was pretty good at math; it was probably the only thing I was good at.

“Damn! You are good, girl.” She whistled when I solved a complex problem.

I shrugged, trying not to make a big deal out of it. “You just need to use your brain.” I teased, earning a smack on my arm from her.

“Shut up.”

She pursed her lips. “You know what? You could probably do this for money,” she added.

My brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t think anyone in our grade is as good as you at math. You could put up an advertisement on the school notice board, or in the newspaper, for tutoring,” she explained.

I thought about that for a while. It was actually a pretty good way to earn some money for college.

I would be learning and teaching at the same time. And Dad would understand if I explained it to him.

“Do you think anyone would sign up?” I asked in a doubtful tone.

“Of course. Just post it anonymously with your contact details, and let’s wait and see. No harm in trying, right?”

“You know, I think you finally put that brain of yours to use,” I said with a grin.

Lucy rolled her eyes. “Yeah, whatever. Let’s go, babe. I’m craving some ice cream.” She stood up without waiting for my reply.

I copied her actions, collecting my things from the table.

***

“Psst! Why is Tristan staring at you?” Lucy hissed.

I frowned. We were inside a small ice cream booth nearby Woodcreek High School. Half the school was inside the small place, so it wasn’t a big surprise that Tristan was here.

He and his mates hung out there almost every day.

“I think it’s time for us to leave,” I whispered back, brushing her question aside.

“Do you think he secretly likes you or something, and that’s why he annoys you?”

“Eww! Gross! Lucy, stop looking over at his table. I don’t need any drama today; I need to get to the library. I’m late for my shift.”

I stood, hiding my face in my hoodie, and walked toward the counter. She immediately followed me, half-running to catch up with my pace.

“Alright, relax. I was just kidding,” she sighed from beside me as I paid for our orders at the counter.

She was right, though. I could feel his eyes boring into my back, and I couldn’t understand why.

Was he planning something big?

I had no freaking idea.

We rushed out of the shop, and I let out a huge sigh of relief.

We said our goodbyes and she went home while I walked back to the school to submit my tutoring ad to the school newspaper.

It was nearly five p.m. by the time I left the school premises and made my way toward the small library that stood near the school.

“Hey, Judy!” I called out to the girl behind the reception desk. She turned around to face me with a bright smile.

She was around my age, with short blond hair and sparkling blue eyes. She went to a different school, so I didn’t know much about her.

“Right on time, as always. Have fun, Riley,” she smiled and started to collect her things to leave.

The library was almost empty except for a few kids doing their homework or reading books.

I soon got bored and started to work on my own schoolwork. I was about halfway through it when I felt a huge shadow looming over my head.

I lifted my gaze to see who it was, and my eyes went wide, my mouth hanging open with a pencil dangling between my lips.

I was met with a pair of ocean-green eyes surrounded by thick eyelashes and a pair of plump lips. His chiseled jawline was sharp enough to cut through anything.

My eyes roamed freely over his disheveled light-brown hair. He was wearing a white short-sleeved polo underneath a black jacket that looked really hot on his arrogant frame.

I came out of my trance immediately, feeling ashamed to have been checking out my enemy.

Fuck! Lucy was right.

Did he always look this good?

“Are you done checking me out?” Tristan smirked, leaning against the desk. I caught a whiff of his strong, musky cologne and tingles went down my spine.

Ew! Ew! Ew!

Dear God! Please don’t do this.

“Could you please take a step back? I’m feeling nauseous.” I coughed a bit, trying to get myself together.

“More like breathless, Adams. I tend to have that effect on people. Girls especially,” he said with a wink.

I rolled my eyes at his cockiness.

“I didn’t know you work here,” he added, throwing a book at me.

I caught it swiftly and looked down at the title, raising an eyebrow. It was a trigonometry textbook.

“And I didn’t know you studied instead of fooling around,” I replied almost immediately.

He sighed heavily. “Desperate times call for desperate measures,” he said.

I was surprised by his decent response and more confused than ever.

“You have seven days to return the book without any damage,” I said, typing away on the computer in front of me. I looked up to find him staring at me.

He snatched the book from my hand, and I scowled.

Spoke too soon.

“Whatever.” He cleared his throat and rushed outside, leaving me puzzled.

“Asshole,” I muttered loud enough for him to hear. Thankfully, he didn’t turn around to give me any snide comments but just kept walking toward his fancy-ass car.

My shift ended at seven. After grabbing my stuff, I started walking in the direction of my house, wearing my earbuds.

When I got home, my dad’s car wasn’t in the driveway, so I made dinner for myself and him.

After finishing my dinner, I went up to my room and turned on the TV to watch a Channing Tatum movie. Not even Lucy knew that I watched romance movies.

I acted tough on the outside, saying that I hated romance and all that cringy stuff, but deep down, I secretly wanted a love story of my own, as corny as it might sound.

I was a girl after all; I wanted to experience all the cute and sexy stuff that high school girls gushed about.

I thought about Lucy’s words from the other day.

Get a boyfriend?

But who would even talk to a girl as boring as me?

I sighed and drifted off to sleep to the soothing sound of Channing’s voice in the movie.