Page 10

Jake

T he middle-aged receptionist looks up at me with such pity I may just crumple over and die at this very moment.

“Unfortunately, Mr. Keeley, it doesn’t look like any of our tutors are available right now to take on a new student.

We’ve reached the busiest point in the semester and all of our tutors booked up weeks ago. ”

This couldn’t be happening. “Are you sure there’s no one else who can help me out?

Even if I have to pay extra for it.” I don’t like to flash my trust fund around.

My parents worked their asses off to earn that money, and I hated the perception that came with being a trust fund kid.

That I was just a brat who didn’t know the meaning of hard work.

However, my hockey career is worth everything to me, so if Daddy’s credit card gets me a passing grade, so be it.

“I’m afraid not. The only tutor who has an opening now is…

.” She trails off, and I can fill in the blank myself.

The only person who is available right now is the same one who quit on me.

Fantastic. “We do provide free study materials for most co urses in the library that you can check out. Beyond that, I’m afraid my hands are tied. ”

“Well, thanks anyway. I appreciate it.” I pinch the bridge of my nose between my fingers, feeling a headache coming on as I walk into the hall where Ollie is waiting for me.

When I emailed the tutoring center and found out they were booked, Ollie kept me from finding the nearest bridge and jumping off and suggested we come in person to “wave my charm around.”

“Another dead end.”

“Are you serious?” This might be the first time I’ve ever seen Ollie look nervous.

“Yup. All their tutors are fully booked. Well all except…”

“Shit.”

“My sentiments exactly.”

“What are you gonna do?”

“I have no idea,” I groan, dragging a hand over my face. “I need Eliana.” Never in a million years would I have imagined my fate would be so strongly tied to a random person I barely even knew, and yet here I was.

Ollie winces. “Yeah good luck with that one.”

“Do you have any other brilliant ideas?”

He thinks hard for a few minutes before shaking his head. “I guess not. So what’s the plan? Can you complain to your TA about how your tutor just up and quit? There has to be some rule against that.”

“Probably. I doubt complaining would win me any favors, though. My TA kinda hates me and it’s not like my tutor didn’t quit without a solid reason…

” Though she did seem pretty close to caving when she realized how desperate I was.

“I just need to find a way to show her that I’m serious about this and that I’m willing to do whatever it takes. ”

“Okay, sure. How exactly do you plan on doing that?”

“I have a crazy idea, but it just might work out. ”

“That sounds moderately concerning.”

“Trust the process, Ollie. Trust the process.”

This plan was either incredibly genius or would end up getting me arrested.

I realized there was a zero percent chance that Eliana would simply take my word that I had changed and would never be late again.

That ship had sailed, sunk, and was currently in the bottom of the ocean with the Titanic.

Which is why I came to the conclusion that I had to show her I was different.

While I may not know much about her, I did know she worked in research.

Though I still didn’t entirely understand all the intricacies of what my mom and sisters did, one thing I did know was the importance of collecting multiple points of data before drawing any conclusions.

Currently, the only data Eliana had was that I was an asshole hockey player who couldn’t figure out how to work a clock. I was determined to change that.

Which is why I was currently sitting on a bench directly across from her lab reading my psych textbook while trying to decipher my latest homework assignment.

I wasn’t entirely sure what her work schedule was yet, but I had nowhere else to be today, so I planned on camping out here until I either saw Eliana or someone who could tell me when she’d be in.

I’d sit on this bench as long as I needed to, day after day, to show her that I was very serious about fixing my grade.

At least, I hoped that would be her takeaway message.

The last thing I needed was for her to think I was stalking her.

The next hour featured a series of people shuffling in and out of the building, most of whom gave me weird or confused looks. It’s not until 2 p.m. when Eliana finally enters the building. And pretends not to see me. Lucky for me she struggles to find her keys, leaving me with an opening.

“Get up to anything fun this weekend?”

She freezes for a moment at the sound of my voice, then continues on, shaking her head.

“ I for one spent a majority of the time trying to memorize which regions of the brain interact to control our emotional processes. I think I got most of them down, but maybe you can help me with the res?—”

“I’m sorry. I can’t talk right now.” She rushes into her lab and gently shuts the door.

Okay cool. She had work to do. I respected that.

By the time she comes back out again, my ass is incredibly sore from sitting on this bench and the sun has fully set.

I managed to finish my homework, which was a step in the right direction, though I couldn’t say whether any of the answers were right.

I haphazardly throw my belongings in my backpack and follow her out of the building, holding the door open.

She looks up at me, startled as if she didn’t expect me to trail behind her. “Jake? What are you doing?”

“Well you see, I was wondering if you knew any tutors who were willing to take a struggling student on.”

“I told you to reach out to the tutoring center if you didn’t hear back from them soon.” Eliana shifts into a brisk walk, likely in an attempt to ditch me. Unfortunately for her, I had a solid foot on her which made it easy to catch up.

“Ah you see, I did that. It seems as though all of the current staff are fully booked for the rest of the semester. Well everyone except for?—”

She turns to look at me and misses the lip in the sidewalk, causing her to spiral forward. My arms are out in an instant to stop her from hitting the concrete. She’s still a little wobbly, so I tuck her firmly into my side and give her a moment to gain her composure.

It takes her a few seconds to catch her breath and release the vice-like grip that’s clutching onto the back of my coat. “Thanks for catching me.”

“No big deal. You alright?” My eyes lock with hers and for the first time since we met, I notice the small smattering of freckles dusted along her cheeks.

“Y-Yeah, thanks for not letting me eat shit.” She gives me a sheepish grin, slowly pulling away from me, and it’s only then that I realize I still have one of my arms wrapped around her waist. I remove it quickly before she misreads my good intentions.

We continue walking, Eliana clearly on a mission to get somewhere. “So back to the tutoring situation.” She keeps her head forward, but I can tell she’s listening to me. Or at least I hope she is. “Any chance I can get you to reconsider taking me on?”

“I can’t.”

“Listen, I know I messed up. But I’m really desperate here. I tried to find someone else, but you’re it.”

“I wish I could help, but I made a promise to myself not to rush to help everyone else before I take care of my own needs. I hope you can understand.”

Shit. I definitely understood and respected her for setting boundaries, but without a tutor, I had no chance of getting my grade back up.

We come to a halt in front of one of the student housing buildings, and I realize I’ve followed her all the way back to her apartment.

I may have gotten nothing out of this, but at least I know she got home safe.

“I hear you.” I just need you to change your mind , and I’m not planning on backing down without a fight.

For as headstrong as she’s coming off right now, I can already see the cracks in her armor.

She feels bad for me, and all I need to do is keep that going for a little while longer.

A rush of shame fills my gut at that thought.

I’m not particularly proud of the fact that I’m trying to guilt-trip Eliana into this.

But my hockey career was dangling by a thread, and the level of desperation overrode the shame I felt.

“Well I guess I’ll see you around then.”

She gives me a small nod before heading inside.