No Guidelines

Chapter 6

Oct. 19, 2015 Mon.
Natalie

  Natalie and Adrian sat at the lunch tables after school, reviewing the lesson for the retest.
  "You see Adrian, I'm hearing what you're saying but I'm not understanding any of it," Natalie said.
  "I'm sorry. Well– where am I losing you?" he replied.
  "Literally all of it!"
  "Okay okay, but what specifically, let's get down to a specific problem."
  "Well, for one I'm really not understanding all the sins and cosines and tangent stuff."
  "So those are just equations to help you find whatever x is on the triangle."
  "But I don't know how to use them."
  "Well in order to know which one to use, you have to know which one you're looking for."
She thought hard for a second, analyzing the triangle, observing where the x was.
  "Well if the long side is the hypotenuse, wouldn't the x be the opposite?"
  "Not quite, see the x is on the side where we have the angle, which would make it the adjacent."
 
They continued studying until Audrey, Looz and Sam showed up.
  "Hey guys!" Sam said.
  "Hey!" Natalie said. Enthusiasm filled her voice. The torture she was being put through had come to a halt.
 
"What's up guys," Adrian said.
  "We were watching Danielle and Jacob run with the cross country team, but then they went for a run outside," Audrey said.
  "And now we are here to bother you two," Looz said.
  "Well, I mean I'm happy to hang out with you guys but im tutoring Natalie and she really–"
  "Oh I'm sure we can take a break Adrian, my brain is hurting from all these confusing topics." 
 
  Adrian nearly rolled his eyes but restrained himself. "Well, okay then. If that's what you want."

Oct. 20, 2015 Tue.

  "Alright, yesterday was a flop but are you ready to learn today?"
  "Yes certainly!"
Not much time had passed until history repeated itself. 

  "Hey Nat!'' Emma called out. Walking beside her was her friend Micah.
  "Emma! Hey guys!" Natalie replied.
"Micah and I are going to my place to hangout. Want to come?"
"That sounds fun! But I'm studying right now."
"Oh I'm sure Adrian can join us," Emma said, "How about it Adrian? Want to come over?"
"Umm...no thanks, it's too last minute and I don't want to leave my bike at school."
"Oh well, that's too bad. So what'd ya say Natalie?" Micah said, instantly dismissing him.
"I don't know guys, Adrian is taking time out of his schedule to help me, I can't just throw it in his face."
"It's okay Natalie, we still have two more days," He said, "I'll make sure you pass, don't worry."
"Oh...'' Natalie said. Guilt clouded her conscience. It didn't last too long as Emma excitedly dragged her away.
"Yaaas! There's always tomorrow! We can relax by the pool and look at some more dresses!"
 
As Emma and Micah continued to talk, Natalie looked back at Adrian, who was now sitting by himself.

  It was 10:40 pm by the time Emma and her mom dropped Natalie off at home. Grabbing her keys from her bag she unlocked the door into the darkness of her living room. The sound of her father snoring could be heard traveling the house. This didn't surprise her, 9 O clock was usually the time they went to bed. She walked into the kitchen to grab a drink. On the fridge was a note from her mother.

"Dinner is in the fridge, don't stay up too late." 
 
  She grabbed her juice and pre-packed dinner and sat at the table. The silence weighed heavy on her mind. To distract herself, She messaged Emma.

Text messages

Natalie: hey! Thanks for tonight! I needed a break from all that trig.

While she waited for a response, she went on social media and started liking photos of her friends and favorite celebrities she followed. Minutes went by when a response finally came her way.

Text messages

Emma: anything for you Queen <3 Sorry for the lag I just got home and I was getting my things ready for bed 😴

Natalie: No worries Em. Are you going to bed already?

  Another long pause in their conversation came up. Natalie gathered her empty plates and washed them gently, taking care they didn't make a sound against each other. Quietly, she ascended the stairs to her room. She put on a comfortable in her nightgown and got into bed. Although it was already 11, sleep eluded her. One scroll turned to many, passing flashy images of peers and ads. The monotony started to get to her. The familiar ringtone of a new message brought a smile to her face.

Text messages

Emma: yeah I'm exhausted from today, Good Night Nat ❤️

Natalie: sweet dreams Em 💕

  Well maybe I should just sleep, she thought. She set her alarm and put her phone on her vanity. Sleep seemed impossible as thoughts raced through her mind. The test was on Friday and her constant procrastination left her with little confidence. No position was comfortable in her bed, moving around—unsure of what to do with all the empty space around her. Eventually she settled, staring into the empty dark of her room. Adrian came to her mind, remembering how she left him sitting by himself.

  I should have stayed and studied with him, she thought, it's my fault if I don't pass. The screen of her phone abruptly illuminated her room, a notification from her instagram. Looking at the time, it was only 11:25 pm. Not knowing if he'd be awake, she called him. Hope that he'd pick up went away the longer the dial tone went on—Eventually reaching his voicemail.
  "Of course he'd be asleep."
 
  She started typing out her apology for calling late at night so that he would see in the morning when to her surprise he called back.

"Um N-Natalie, you called?"
"Adrian! Hi! Sorry for calling so late. I just wanted to apologize for leaving you hanging today."
"No worries Natalie. I get it."
"What are you still doing up?"
"I was actually on the phone with Audrey, we were talking about stories we've written," he said.
"Oh cool, tell her I said hi."
"Well she went to bed not too long ago, but next time for sure!"
"Oh, are you going to bed too?" She asked.
"No, no not really. W-Why? Did you want to talk?"
"I just can't sleep, I keep thinking about that test and I feel like I'm not doing enough."
"Well, we have been interrupted the last couple of days, and you didn't seem like you actually wanted to study."
  "We'll of course I don't, I really hate trig! But I want to make good use of your time, I really appreciate you helping me."
  "Well I really think you can pass if we actually focus these next two days."
  "You think so?"
  "Yes, I'll do my best to help you grasp the course."
 
  Serenity washed over her hearing him say that. His confidence almost had her believe she might actually pass.
 
  "Now we just need to find a spot in the school where we won't have our friends come and distract us. We may also have to sacrifice our lunch to use that time to study as well," Adrian said.

"why not come to my place tomorrow? My parents usually work until 5 so we'd have the place to ourselves for a good couple of hours," Natalie said.

Silence fell for a brief moment.

"Adrian? Did you hear me?"
"Yeah, yeah that sounds great! I'll let my mom know in the morning that I'll be going over tomorrow," he said.
  "Okay awesome! I swear I'll make you proud!"
  "I'll do my best for you too."
A smile came to her face, the pressure from her shoulders loosened up.
  "Thank you Adrian, for all of this. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight."
  "Anytime, goodnight Natalie."

Authors note

Songs
Name: Artist
Are you bored yet?: Wallows

Editors
Elem

Hey! I'm on time for once! I hope you're enjoying the story! I hope you're liking the characters, who's your favorite character so far?

Next chapter
Adrian is nervous to be alone with Natalie at her place.