下∪匚Ｋ ㄚ口∪尺 Ｋ工ちち

13

𝖳𝗈𝗆𝗆𝗒 𝖼𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽 𝗎𝗇𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗒𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀.

She had improved in her studies, thanks to Beckham. Ever since he changed his methods of teaching, she has been making passable grades on the practice tests Beckham made for her.

She felt proud of herself and Beckham was just as proud. Though he wouldn't say it, he had watched her every night he tutored her. Her determination showed on her face and she didn't allow anything to distract her as she studied.

One night, Hugo came into her room complaining that he wanted to spend time with his brother. Hugo picked fun at Tommy, calling her stupid.

"Stupid girl! It's your fault my brother isn't sleeping." The boy said.

Tommy sat on the floor of her room if from if the coffee table, writing away on her page. She didn't hear Hugo speak as she finished up her word problem. She looked up to pass the paper to Beckham so he can check it and noticed Hugo standing at the door.

"Oh hey, Hugo! What do you need?" She said kindly. The boy huffed leaving the room while slamming the door. Tommy rolled her eyes at his behavior.

Beckham passed her another practice test, without complaining she got right to work. For a moment, he didn't hide the small smile he had while watching her work diligently.

Exams were over. Today was the last day of school before winter break. St.Maverick used the last day for the students to clean out their lockers and wait for grades to be posted. If a student didn't do well on the exam, they could talk with their teachers in person for alternative ways to bring up their grade. The extra credit ranged from helping clean up the school before break or a lot of written work depending on the teacher.

Tommy and her friends all sat in the Mandarin Teacher, Mr. Chen, class. He was known for always bringing food in for his classes and at the end of every semester, he'd make a grand amount feast for his kids. Unfortunately, St. Mavericks was a very prestigious school filled with uptight and rude students. His food would sometimes go untouched.

If it wasn't for Tommy and her friends, his tradition would have died out years ago. The group were the only ones in his class at the moment, which was common. Mr. Chen had made the best egg rolls in Tommy's opinion. She'd devour the whole batch every year since she was a freshman. He made it a point to bring extra just for her big appetite.

"God I hope I did good." Huffed Tommy as she shoved another egg roll in her mouth. She was halfway through the first batch and they had only been there for half an hour.

"I'm sure you did fine. You did study a hellava lot more than you used to." NeNe said, he ate the beef and broccoli with chopsticks that had a rubber band on the ends. No matter how many times Tommy offered to teach him how to use chopsticks, NeNe repeated that he was fine with his Ghetto-Twigs.

MayLin and August had finished their small portion minuets ago. August marveled at how much food Tommy ate. He had seen her eat a lot of food but to witness her scarf up an entire dish of egg rolls was a sight.

"Yeah but what if I still flunked? It wouldn't be the first time." She said sadly. She ripped into another egg roll, pouting with her cheeks filled with food.

August gushed over how adorable he thought she looked as she stress ate. Though his face probably didn't show it, he couldn't look away from her at times.