A Bondi Dream

Chapter 8 - Tutor

"I can't believe we have a test today." Amy, my friend, said, rolling her eyes and leaning her head back.

"I know! And it's in math! They could've at least given us warnings." I say.

We sit at the bus stop down the road from my apartment, there's a few other kids that live in my neighborhood and go to my school.

"Hey, at least we can go to the study room. They've got the comfiest couches!" Amy says.

"True, but the other kids from other classes always hog them, and then we end up on the floor." We both giggle to each other.

We hear the bus roll down the street and stop at our bus stop. The kids load into the bus, and we're the last ones in. I have a love-hate relationship with school buses.

I'm one of those people who love the smell of gasoline, so the smell of the bus brings back memories. On the other hand, the smell of B.O. and dirty high-school teenagers is NOT it.

Amy and I exchanged dirty looks and found our seats. The ride to school wasn't too bad. It was quiet while kids were studying at the last minute.

The first quarter of the day seemed to go by really fast. I was so nervous about the test and what Mouse would say if I got a bad grade. I zoned out, and all I could hear was the background noise of the clock ticking.

3 hours, 45 mins and 24 seconds, 3 hours, 45 mins and 23 seconds, 3 hou- "Elizabeth!" The teacher called out.

I got nervous. Did she know I wasn't paying attention?

"Whats the answer to question 3,
please?" Mrs. Bottomcock says.

"Uhh, 4?" I say. I had no clue what was going on. I just made it up in my head.

The class burst out laughing. This is going to be a long 3 hours. What felt like eternity later, the test was finally over. Thank God. We don't know our scores yet, but the worst part is that they will be emailed to our caretakers. Aka, Mouse. I prayed I get above a 65%.

I got back onto the bus and sat down in my seat. While waiting for everyone to load back onto the bus, someone sat down next to me. It was Chase! I didn't want to seem eager, so I stayed quiet. If he wanted to talk to me, he would do it first, right?

"Oh hey... Elizabeth? Is it?!" He says excitedly.

I pretended not to know he was there.

"Oh hi, Chase! How have you been?" Although I'm socially awkward, I try to stay polite.

"I've been alright. You? How do you think you did on the exam?" He says. God, he was so cute.

I gulped. "Not too good, I forgot to study, and I'm failing math class, so the test score can't be much better." I say. I didn't want to seem like an attention seeker. I just overthink a lot.

"Oh, that's no good ay? Hey, at least it's Friday!" We both laugh. I don't know what it is about this beautiful boy that makes him so adorable and loveable. I feel like I should like Oliver right now, but they are both so gorgeous.

"Hey, I've got straight A's in all my classes, and Math is my specialty. Maybe I can help tutor you in the future? He says.

Wow. That would mean one on one time with the cutest boy in school! How could I pass up that? But I gotta stay cool. I don't want to seem too eager. No one likes eager people.

"Oh. Sure! That would be great actually, maybe I'll do better on the next exam with some extra help!" I say, blinded by his cuteness but also excited for extra practice.

"Sure. Here's my phone number. Message me the score you get later on tonight, and we can work out a time to study." He says, writing down his number and giving it to me with the biggest grin on his face.