the secret

•1•

"Danny, your grades are awful," my math teacher says to me.

"I know, I know," I say. "I'm working on it, but I don't have time to do my homework."

"You need a tutor," he says.

"I'll figure it out," I say. "I don't need someone to tutor me."

"That's what you said last time. You are getting a tutor and that's the final discussion on it."

"Who?" I ask. I know how things in this school work. He's going to pair me with some snotty rich kid who thinks their shit don't stink.

"Zion."

"He's not smart," I say.

"His friends make it seem like he's very dumb, but he's very smart," he says. "He will help you out a lot."

"Whatever," I say.

"You are to meet with him every day of the week," he says. "I don't care what time or where, but make sure it gets done."

"Can we at least have the weekends off?"

"Yes," he says. "But no other off days. This is to help you pass my class."

"Yea, yea," I say. "Thank you, Mr. Bru."

I walk out of his classroom and to my locker. I absolutely hate it at this place. I only have one friend here at school. Her name is Lilac. Everyone else here is stuck up and snotty. They all think that they are better than everyone else which isn't true at all. I'm not that way though. I stay away from everyone and I keep to myself. I'm not a bitch like the rest of them.

"Yo! Danny!"

Turning around I see Lilac walking down the hallway with some boy. I have no idea who he is. Like I said, I don't talk to anyone around here besides Lilac.

"Hey," I say. "Who is this?"

"I'm Austin," he offers me his hand and I shake it two times like you are always supposed to.

"Danny," I say. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too," he says. "Lilac has told me tons about you."

"I didn't even know she had a new friend," I say. Lilac hasn't told me anything about him. I didn't even know he existed until now.

"We just met this morning," Lilac says. "It seems like I told him everything about you, but that's just because we are practically the same person."

I smile, "You got that right."

"So what are your plans tonight?" Lilac asks me. "Want to hang with us?"

I close my locker door and we start to walk out the front doors to get to the parking lot, "Uh, I'm not sure if I can. What are you guys doing?"

"Party," Austin says. "It's at my place."

"Don't you live with four other boys?" I ask.

"I do," he says. "How'd you know about that?"

"It's pretty much the only thing people talk about these days," I chuckle. "They all think it's so cool."

He rolls his eyes as we open the doors and walk down the sidewalk, "It's not even that cool. It's just a place we live at."