The Unwanted Tutor

Chapter 2

Santa Monica has always been home to me. What more could I want? The ocean was minutes from my house along with the famous pier.

The pier was my favorite thing about living in California, even though I'd played every game there and went on every ride, it still was the best place on earth.

I leaned against the railing and gazed at the ocean, I took a deep breath, savoring the smell of it. I could never imagine leaving this place.

I looked over my shoulder and spotted the giant ferris wheel ahead of me. There were people already on it, all smiles and laughter as it took them around and around.

While I was enjoying myself in the daylight, I liked to come at night, the shimmering ocean and the lights of the ferris wheel really took me back to being a kid.

I've always dreamed of taking someone here to show them how beautiful this place was in the evening.

It was a perfect day to be out, I noticed. Saturdays were usually the busiest days on the pier, most of the shops were open as well.

I watched as a family came out of the bait shop, fishing gear in hand and hurried to the edge of the pier. Fishing was really popular around here, my dad used to like to come and fish while I rode the ferris wheel or the West Coaster.

I glanced back at the ocean once more and walked away, downtown was going to be next.

When I turned the corner to get to downtown Santa Monica, I paused, not wanting to go any further.

My tutor, Anthony was sitting on a bench, studying the palm tree in front of him. He looked down and scribbled something into a notepad that was in his lap.

My heart started to pound as I stared at him, why was he here? Did he know that I liked to come here?

Suddenly, he glanced up and looked over at me, making direct eye contact. I blushed and started to back away, nearly colliding with someone behind me.

"Watch it!" The woman scolded me, dragging her child into a store.

"Sorry." I mumbled and looked back at the bench but Anthony was gone.

Did I really just imagine that? Was he even there to begin with?

"Garrett?" I was startled when I heard a voice at my side. When I looked, it was Anthony with a small grin on his face.

"Jesus, you scared me!" I put my hand to my chest.

"Oh, my apologies. What are you doing here?" He asked and adjusted the bag he was carrying.

"I always come here, I should probably ask why you're here." I replied and looked at his notepad. "What's in that?"

Anthony's grin widened, "I've never been to California before, I've only been here for two weeks. My father recommended that I try to go to college here, which is why we moved."

"So what? You've never seen a palm tree before or seen the ocean?" I asked.

Anthony chuckled, "I've seen the Atlantic. They just don't have palm trees in New York."

"New York? That's a long way from here." I was slightly amused.

"Oh, very. I miss it everyday," He looked a little sad as he gazed at the ocean, the wind tousling his hair.

"I'm still exploring Santa Monica, care to show me around?" He turned back to me.

"Yeah, I'm not really interested in being your tour guide. There's not a lot to see here." I said and started to walk away.