The sun was shining brilliantly, and there wasn't a cloud in sight, no wisps of white on blue. In a park somewhere in Tokyo, two figures sat beneath a great tree, seeking shades from its overreaching greenery. The sounds of children screeching and shouting, in the play set a good distance off, barely reached the two who were lost in their own world. Yes, it's almost as if the universe set aside this moment just for her...
...to teach him the quadratic formula for the hundredth time since that morning.
"...I think I got it." His tone was grave, and seriousness radiated off his tense form.
"Are you sure?" Because this marks the eleventh time you said that.
He nodded, sunlight reflecting off his glasses with a glint, like in anime when the smart characters figured out the answer they've been looking for. Except you knew that wasn't the case here. So you handed him the practice problems you came up with, and curbed your sigh as you watched him prop the notebook on his lap.
When you had met up an hour or two ago, you had asked to see his notes to gauge how far along he was. And he had proudly handed it over, claiming he got most of it down. It hurted you to give it back and tell him he did got most of it... wrong, that is. He had sputtered in disbelief, unable to accept that he wasn't doing nearly as well as he thought. Only to concede to the fact after he stared at some practice problems for a good five minutes without solving a single one. You could already tell you were in for a long weekend at that time.
His hand raised hesitantly, as if this was a classroom setting; he was the student, and you, the teacher.
"...Yes?"
"Is it alright if we... go over the first question together?" This was mumbled almost inaudibly, just above a whisper and below normal talking volume.
"Of course."
Secretly, you were glad he asked that, rather than repeating the back and forth exchange of the bundled sheets of paper. You had explained the formula and its workings, he had taken the book, and without writing a single thing, he handed it back and the cycle repeats. For the past two hours. So yes, you were glad he actually sought your help, rather than continue trying to stubbornly mull through them alone. Working through the steps together was one of the best ways, in your opinion, to learn new materials.
You scooted over, closing the short distance between you two, as you peered at the question he was referring to.
"Let's see... x2 + 5x + 4. This should be a relatively easy one. We can even solve it just by factoring normally, but since we're practicing the quadratic formula, let's assume we can't."
"...mhm..."
You ignored how his reply was delayed by just a fraction of a second.
"You remembered the formula, right...?"
This time he didn't respond at all. You looked over to see his brows scrunched in concentration as he racked his brain for the answer. To no avail, it seems, since he hopelessly turned to you.
"Here, let me just write it on the top. You can reference for now but make sure to memorize it for the test."
You gestured for the book and the pencil, which he obediently handed over. Above the practice problems and to the right, you neatly printed the strings of equations and added a looping border for emphasis. He looked over intently, trying to ingrain the new pieces of information.
"What's 'a', 'b', and 'c'?" He asked.
...You're certain you've already explained this a good couple times. But you were a patient person, you reminded yourself. Patient, calm and in control. So you took a deep breath before explaining yet again.
YOU ARE READING
The Girl that Time Forgot
Fanfiction(Tokyo Manji Revengers - Various x fem. reader) One blink was all it took to land you in an unfamiliar place. You were lost, confused, but you found them in your memories. They were your familiarity in a world foreign...
