Like Romeo & Juliet

Chapter 4

*General*

French. Out of all the classes offered, Toby got stuck with French. He was hoping he could get away with taking woodshop, but not only was that class all filled up, but it's already been noted that he took that class. All the classes he could have taken to fill that credit were full except for year three French. How was Toby expected to pass year three French when he didn't even take year one French?

"My suggestion to you would be to get a tutor to help you," said Mrs. Montgomery. "There are always students in the lab who can help you."

"Yeah, how many of those students are experts in French?" Toby asked.

"I'm sure you can find someone to help you."

Mrs. Montgomery sent him on his way. Aria walked with him until she had to find her first class for the day. He appreciated Aria for putting in a good word for him to her mom and Mrs. Montgomery seemed nice enough. The hallways were mostly empty now that first period had started. There were still a few strays left scrambling to find their classes. Toby found the tutoring center next door to the school library. He walked in and there appeared to be no one in the room. There were four tables spread out around the room, but no people. There was a door that went to an office, but Toby wasn't sure if anyone would be in there. Toby sighed, and just as he was getting ready to walk out, the office door opened. The second Toby turned around his eyes went wide.

Spencer was the first one to the tutoring center. Not a lot of students would sign up for tutoring on the first day of school. She knew it would be a slow hour for her. She used her key to unlock the back office where the filing cabinets were. She hung her blazer up on a hook next to the copy machine. She grabbed some books from the bookcase to carry out to put on the tables in the main room. Spencer exited the office and returned to the tutoring area. A boy was facing the door when she came back out. He turned around and Spencer immediately dropped the books on the floor. She stared at Toby.

"I..." Spencer stuttered.

She couldn't think of anything to say. Toby stood back awkwardly. Spencer stroked her own hair then bent down to the floor to pick up the books she dropped. Toby waited a moment then decided to walk over and help her. They stayed silent as they picked the books off the floor. Eventually, Toby had to say something. He couldn't stand the awkwardness.

"I should've worn the mask today," Toby said. "Maybe it would make this easier."

Spencer huffed a laugh as they stood up. Toby handed her the books he picked up for her. She set them on the table behind her. She knew they needed to talk.

"I'm not stalking you now," Toby said. "In case you were thinking that."

"I wasn't," Spencer said, softly. "I didn't um...I didn't think you were coming back to school."

"I need one last class to graduate," he said.

Spencer was avoiding Toby's gaze. Her eyes were focused on the door behind him. She was worried that someone would walk in at any second and see them talking. Seeing them here now wouldn't be as bad as seeing them the other night, but anyone could walk in and immediately notice the awkward tension between them.

"My only choice is to take French 3," Toby said. "I never even took the first French class, so I've been advised to seek a tutor."

Spencer's chest felt tight. Toby was caught off guard when Spencer yanked him by his arm and led him over to the office. She shoved him inside, looked behind her to make sure nobody saw, then walked in herself. She shut the door behind them. The two of them were cramped in the space, but it would give them some privacy.