Breaking Gates

Chapter 3

Eddie laughed as he confessed he had no been able to focus at all in the classroom, leading her to pull out her note book and show him where they were and what to do. He had to admit he was grateful to distract her from her thoughts, even if it was just to tutor him. Still, he couldn't shake the pang in his chest at just how defeated she had sounded. She was clearly exhausted, and stressed, but she still tried to hold it all together for the sake of those around her. It blew his mind, how a single person could be so selfless.

"Eddie?" Her voice cut though his thoughts like a knife.

"Sorry." He muttered before looking at the paper before him. She had written the formula down in three different ways, and he had to admit it made it easier to understand. The first was how the teacher wrote it on the board, the second was how she was taught by her uncle and the third was another technique in the workbook.

"Which one of these is easier for you to understand?" She asked, looking up at him with big mismatched eyes.

"The second one, it seems like the simplest." He confessed, watching a spark light her eyes.

"I knew it!" She declared joyfully.

"You, Eddie Munson, are not stupid." Ally declared while pointing her pen at him. He couldn't help buy raise a brow at that.

"Thank you?" He questioned, laughing lightly.

"No, I mean your not mathematically dumb, you simply needed a different layout. You are artistic, creative and right-brain dominated, same as me. Which is why you respond to visual stimulus differently. I can make you a study guide knowing this and help you get a passing grade in math." She explained cheerfully.

"No way, seriously? That is amazing, I didn't even know that was a thing." He confessed, loving the way she lit up. Her face was still deeply bruised but the spark was back in her eye.

"Yeah, it is a big study right now, same with left-handed vs right-handed, my dad sends them to me." She confessed.

"With the audio-tapes for English and the guide for math you should have a good start, what other classes are you struggling with." Ally asked, jotting down little notes in her book.

"Science sucks, and I hate gym, history isn't too bad, but I find it hard to concentrate." Eddie admitted, flinching when he realized how dumb he sounded.

"Science works with lab partners, so I will just register as yours. You can earn credits with gym outside if school, I will show you the forms, and history is probably hard because it is at the end of the day, when your already fend up and bored. If you get the work sheets during lunch you can use your spare and work on them then." The small woman answered, making more notes, and muttering to herself. Eddie could only watch in awe as she dissected his schedule and broke it into a monthly plan.

"How does that look now?" She asked, slipping him the paper. He had to admit it looked a lot easier to do.

"No where near as overwhelming." He confessed.

"Great, I will work this into a weekly plan, that way you can stay on top of your work, I have a lot of audio books that you can use to write essays on, and hand in for extra credit as well. It will be a lot of work, but with this you should graduate with no problems. Plus, I will give you my number so if you need anything you can just call me." Ally offered, a bright smile on her face.

"Another tip would be to listen to music while you work, it can make the time go by faster, and hand write your notes, it subconsciously helps you memorize information." She explained gently.