Page 51 of The Surprise Play

“Yeah. You’ve just finished giving me your third point paragraph, and now we have to find a quote or example from the book to back up your thoughts on the fact that Ahab’s relentless determination, which society would normally think of as a strength, is actually his weakness.” Her bright gaze lands on me, all hopeful and expectant. “Can you think of a situation in the book which proves that?”

I scramble to come up with a good one, because I want her to give me that proud smile. The one that says,“Yes! You’re getting this!”

“Well…” I scratch the side of my face. “There’s the fact that he ignored the crew’s warnings.”

“Yeah.” Satch nods. “But you’ve kind of used that as an example in paragraph two. It’d be great to think of something else.”

I can tell there’s an answer she’s looking for, and damn, I want to deliver like a fucking boss. But my brain’s gone blank, like it always fucking does. I hate that I can’t come up with simple answers the way everyone else can.

“Um…” I blink and, in the end, have to shrug, because shit, I haven’t even read the book, and I can’t remember all of the stuff she read me from SparkNotes.

Shit!

I slump, tapping my knuckles on her desk before snatching a pen out of her mug and playing with the cap. I pop it on and off, hoping it’ll help restart my brain.

Satch’s lips twitch, and she changes screens. “Let’s have a look at the text.”

Bringing up the book, we read the page together. Then she starts hinting at a particular section until I finally come up with “Oh wait! In the final part, he’s completely reckless, and it ends up sinking the ship… and it kills him and basically all his crew.”

And why the fuck I didn’t come up with that immediately is so fucking embarrassing.

It’s the most obvious answer, and my stupid brain had tucked it out of sight like it was worthless.

“Excellent.” Satch grins at me. “I like that you used the wordreckless, because it describes his actions perfectly.” She leans closer to the screen while my chest puffs with just a touch of pride.

Seriously. I came up with one little word, and she’s making me feel like a fucking genius.

“Okay, so let’s put that in your own words, then use an actual line from the book. We can tie that back into your flag football example if you like, unless you have another one we can use to really drive your point home about reckless behavior and how it can affect everyone around you in a negative way.”

She makes me work for it, scouring the text and finding a line I can use. The smile she gives me punches right through my fucking chest. She’s so happy with me. Proud of me, even, and I’m not sure I deserve it.

But damn, it makes me feel good.

I then run through a football example, which she helps me word in a way that makes sense, and before I know it…

“All we’ve got left is the conclusion.” She looks excited, and I start worrying that I’ll have no idea how to wrap this shit up, but she talks me through it, typing down my words and refining them. She doesn’t just change them; she pauses and questions me until I come up with something better.

I’ve never had a tutor go to this much effort before. It’s fucking amazing!

By the time we’re done, it’s one-thirty in the morning, and Satch is fighting a yawn.

“I’ll print this out and proof it in the morning,” she says. “I want to come at it with fresh eyes, and I really need some sleep first.”

“Okay, cool.” I stand, hitching my jeans. “I’ll swing by here in the morning, and we can make any last-minute changes before handing it in.”

“Sounds good to me.” She stands up, her arm brushing against mine as she maneuvers the chair back into place.

My finger ducks out, skimming over the back of her hand, and for some reason, I do it again, holding my fingers over her soft skin. My thumb ever so gently curls around her wrist and…

What am I doing?

She goes still, staring up at me with these vulnerable eyes that are so big and, I don’t know… endearing? I think that’s a word.

I don’t know why I’m touching her, so I let go, unable to ignore her surprised expression. “Thanks foreverything, Satch.” My voice comes out all soft and husky. “You’re a lifesaver.”

Her cheeks tinge a pretty pink, and she dips her head. “It’s no problem. You’ve done really well. You deserve a good grade for this.”

“Only because of you.”