“I said Dean’s penis.” Autumn smiles.
He laughs, winking at me before walking away.
“Seriously, Autumn?” I’m going to kill her.
“Lighten up.” She nudges my shoulder. “Now seriously though, even though you’re pretty biased, is he really a jerk in private?”
“You mean, besides the fact that he was an hour late and didn’t see any problem with that?”
“Yes, besides that.”
“No, he’s not a jerk. He was actually quite tolerable.”
“Great.” She takes my coffee and downs the rest of it. “Does your mom know you’re tutoring him yet?”
“My mom doesn’t know anything anymore. We haven’t spoken since Saturday.” I cringe at the very thought of my mother. I know I’ll have to talk to her eventually, but I swear if there’s ever a casting call for “Real Life Mother from Hell” or “Woman Who Gives the Devil a Run for His Money” I’ll be signing her up for the part.
I sigh and start to tell Autumn about the latest thing my mother did, but the school’s PA system suddenly comes on.
“Hear ye, hear ye!” Our DJ, a senior who’s been trying to make his voice sound ten times deeper than it really is, since freshman year, clears his throat over the speakers. “The official start of our football season is this Friday night! Now’s the time to get tickets to attend the bonfire. Also seniors, make sure you submit your nominations for the homecoming court! Voting starts in a few short weeks!”
Everyone in the cafeteria cheers and the DJ rings three bells to let us know his announcement is over.
“Are you going to act like an actual senior this year and go?” Autumn crosses her arms.
“Not at all. I’ll be too busy counting down from two hundred and sixty-eight.”
“Two hundred and sixty-eight? What’s that?”
“That’s how many days we have left in our Central High careers.”
And in my case, the end can’t come soon enough...
Chapter 2
MIA
When I arrive at Dean’s any my spot in the library the following week, I’m surprised that he’s already there waiting for me.
Impressed, I take a seat. “Is there a catch to today’s session? Is that why you’re here early?”
“No.” He smiles. “I was actually going to ask you if we could we do an extra hour today? I got an A minus on that last essay.”
“Is that not good enough for you or something?”
“It is, but I told you I needed an A, a flat one.”
“Really though?”
“Yes, really though.” A brief look of concern comes over his face, but it’s gone within minutes. “I really have to make an A on all of my next papers to make up for the Cs I made on our first few papers.”
I nod, still feeling completely caught off guard.
“Where should we start?” he asks.
“Well,” I say, taking out my folder. “Since you’re not caught up on the reading, we’ll do the work that’s currently due and pick up everything else later. Which piece did you pick for the assignment?”
“Macbeth.”
“What? You’re joking, right?”
“Not at all.” He arches a brow. “What’s wrong with Macbeth?”
“Nothing, I just...” I pause. “I never would have thought you were the Shakespearean literature type. That’s all.”
“Well, why is that?”
“Because Shakespeare had a very strange tendency of killing off all of his cocky characters. That, and Macbeth is one of my favorite plays.” I admit.
He’s silent for a moment, but then he looks at me. “What’s your favorite novel?”
“I love way too many to choose just one.” I try to direct the conversation back to Macbeth and our assignment, but he stops me.
“Tell me,” he says. “What’s your favorite novel?”
“I’ll have to write you a list. I prefer essays. Such, Such Were the Joys by George Orwell is my top re-read. What’s your favorite novel?”
“I don’t have one either.” He reaches into his bag and pulls out a book. The Art of the Personal Essay. “I read this a lot, though. For pointers, of course. That Orwell essay is actually in here...”
“Okay,” I say, stopping myself before I actually continue this line of conversation because there is absolutely no way that we have that in common. “I swear to God, Dean, if this is your attempt to get into my pants—”
“It isn’t.” He laughs, putting the book away. “Trust me, when I attempt to do that, you won’t have any doubts and you’ll know for sure.”