Teach Me

Chapter One - Daniel Goldsmith

Chapter One - Daniel Goldsmith

    Beep! Beep! Beep! My alarm clock yelled at me. I groggily slammed my hand on the clock, silencing it. I slowly pulled my warm bed sheets off my body, the cold air giving me goosebumps. I walked to the bathroom, yawning and stretching. Right before I shut the door, my dad came up behind me giving me a friendly slap on my bare back. "Morning Dan." He said gruffly before straightening his tie and heading down the stairs. I nodded in reply and went back into the bathroom.

I turned on the shower waiting for the water to get warm. While I was waiting for the water, I grabbed a towel from the cupboard in the bathroom that was conveniently placed next to the shower. I placed the white plush towel outside of the shower and hopped in. What felt like 10 seconds later, my mom knocked on the door. "Daniel! Hurry up in there! You're going to be late for school!" "Be out in a sec!" Was my reply.

Hurriedly I shut off the water, dried off my wet body, wrapped the towel around my waist, speed walked to my room, changed into jeans and a t-shirt, zoomed downstairs, grabbed a granola bar and my school bag, put on shoes, and within five minutes I was in the passenger seat of my mother's black Honda minivan. "Zoned out in the shower again didn't you?" She asked me while I was buckling my seatbelt. I chuckled a little before answering. "You bet I did!" She shook her head, her long dark hair moving around her, but I could see she was smiling.

I inherited my straight dark hair from my mother, though my ice blue eyes from my father. My sister was the complete opposite, she had my dad's dirty blonde hair, but my mom's rich brown eyes.

And although I was eighteen, my parents didn't buy me a car. I had to save up and buy my own. I had been saving up for two years, and I still haven't gotten enough money, even with my job at the local animal shelter. I always ended up spending it.

My mom pulled into the school parking lot, the dull, tan brick building casting a shadow on the cars below. She slowed to a stop, and I hopped out of the car, a second before my bubbling best friend bounded over. "Hi Mrs. Goldsmith!" He greeted her, peeking his head through the open window. "Hello, William!" My mother responded giving Will a warm smile.

When Will started coming over (about ten years ago) my mom had insisted he call her Liz, but Will was never one to listen, and has called her Mrs. Goldsmith ever since. My dad isn't around too much due to his big business position, but, I was never close to him anyway.

Will threw an arm around my shoulder and my mom sped off. "This is going to be the best year! Our senior year! We'll get ourselves girlfriends-" He started, patting my chest affectionately. "And not the nerd girls you normally associate with either." I breathed a small sigh of relief, not that those girls were bad... Okay they were not my favorite. "This is our last year Dan! Then we have to do real life stuff, adult things! Go to college, get a job, after this year, we aren't allowed to live!" Will finally finished his speech.

"I think you'll find a way to live wherever you are, Will." I chuckled. "Oh. I know! I was talking about you!" Will laughed and raced into the school, leaving me to stand there for a second before I shook my head and ran after him.

I caught up to Will who was in line to receive his schedule and school ID. When we both received and compared schedules, we parted ways.

I pushed through the crowds and finally made it to my first hour class. Intro to Psychology. Since I was a senior, and in all advanced classes, my school allowed us to take college classes, free of charge. I was the first student to arrive, so I chose my seat, directly in the middle. Mr. Andrews looked up from his seat at the front of the class. "Oh! Hello, Daniel!" Mr. Andrews was one of the most happy teachers I knew, and trust me I know almost all of the teachers in this school. He was a short, thin man, who always had glasses perched on the end of his nose, I even wonder if he sleeps with them on sometimes. I give a small wave and smile. "Hi."

Not even a second later, a girl came strolling in. Her long dark wavy hair cascaded down her back over her army green jacket. She wore dark skinny jeans and black combat boots. I stared at her as she walked up to Mr. Andrews handing him a paper. "Here you go Mr. A. Since you think I really need to be tutored, here's my application. My step-monster made me fill it out." She told him, and for the first time I saw Mr. Andrews frown. He nodded. "Thank you Miss Fenton." She rolled her eyes before saying, "You can call me by my first name, I call you by yours all the time!" She laughed all the way out of the classroom.

"Now I need to find her a tutor..." Mr. Andrews grumbled. And then, as if my mouth had a mind of it's own, I said, "I'll tutor her."

            "You're tutoring her?!" Will gaped at me. I nodded while taking a bite of my sandwich. "Do you know her?" I asked through a somewhat full mouth before swallowing. "Uh...you don't?" Will was still staring at me as if I was some animal he was looking at in the zoo. "All I got was a last name. How can I possibly know who that is?" I ask. I thought for a bit, Fenton...the look... Nope. Not ringing a bell. "How could you possibly not?! Lillie Fenton is the most badass person to ever roam the hallways of Montgomery High School. She smokes, a lot, of different stuff. And everyday she gets on this guy's motorcycle and goes with him somewhere, but he doesn't go here. No one dares talk to her, because everyone is scared of her." Will stated, eyeing me carefully.

      I rolled my eyes. "Well, I'm not scared." I lied. Will raised his eyebrows. "Well you will be." He shook his head, his light brown hair swaying. Suddenly, in typical Will fashion, he snapped his green eyes up from his tray and they made contact with blue ones.

"I've got it! You think she's hot!" Will cackled with laughter. I frowned. "Is-it-is that bad?" I asked hesitantly. "Danny! My boy! No it's amazingly perfect! You've finally picked a girl I approve of! She'd be a spicy kick to your mild life." I rolled my eyes. Am I really that shallow? Yes, I most definitely am. I agreed to tutor a girl, because, I was in fact, in love with her looks.

By the time the last bell rang, I was terrified. Were all the things that Will said true? Was she really that scary?

Of course, Mr. Andrews wanted to start today. He wanted us to get to know each other, and that would be it for the session today. Then hopefully everyday after that.

I made my way to room 230, a classroom that was typically used for clubs, and in this case tutoring.

I turned the knob on the door and pushed it open, flipping on the light switch. I tossed my bag on a nearby desk and started wandering around the room, and ended at the window. I looked out on the parking lot for a few minutes before I heard a voice.

"I really hope you're my tutor, otherwise there's some explaining that needs to be done." I turned around to see the same girl that was in Mr. Andrew's classroom. Or Lillie Fenton, as Will informed me. I just stared at her completely at a loss for what to say.

"You know if you take a picture it'll last a whole lot longer than what you're seeing now."