Gangbanger Study-Buddy

Confrontations and Realizations

I wake up early with the intention of getting some extra studying done before tutoring this afternoon. If my student shows up today. The clock on my table says it's 5:00 a.m. That should be enough time to go over a few chapters of my medical book before I have to leave.

Grabbing my book, I make my bed into a nest of knowledge for the few hours ahead of me. I lose myself in medical procedures and medicine doses until my head feels as if I'm drowning. By the time I look up at the clock again I only have 10 minutes to get to the building for tutoring. How did I let the time get away from me?

I quickly pull on some jeans from the floor, a light sweater that smells halfway decent and some shoes before barelling out of the door and onto the sidewalk. Of course the one day I happen to be late is the day I tell Dante to be punctual. What are the odds?

By the time I reach the yellow doors I'm panting and a sheen of sweat coats my forehead. As I enter the building I look up at the large clock in the lobby. Two minutes late.

The hall is already filled with teenagers bent over books and scribbling out math equations when I reach my table. And sitting there with his back facing me is the devil himself. I clear my throat to get his attention as I slowly take my seat across from him.

I know I'm about to get all kinds of hell when his eyes find mine with that mischievous gleam. "So," he says whilst propping his feet on the table, "You decided to show up? I'll be honest, I thought I'd have to find myself a new tutor. As you know punctuality is an important quality to me and I won't have my tutor taking away a second of my learning time because they decided to be late."

My teeth clench down on one another to keep my screams contained inside of me. How dare he call me out on being a little late when he didn't even show up yesterday? The nerve.

His grin widens when he sees the irritation that must be written all over my face. At least he's here. At least he didn't give up. With this in mind I let the aggravation drain away and pull a book towards me.

I look up at Dante and give him my best smile. "I'm glad you decided to show up. Sorry that I was late. And you're right, it's inconsiderate of me to be late when it cuts into your time to study. It won't happen again."

With that out in the open, I grab the math book, turn to a random page and begin reading the instructions. As I continue to scan the page I can't help but notice the shocked expression that is currently resting on Dante's face. I try with all my might to hide my own smirk.

Paz 1, Dante 0.

Despite my win, Dante falls back into his I-don't-give-a-shit attitude almost immediately. As he looks down at his book in boredom, I wonder if I should bring up the slight limp he had yesterday. But the more I think about it, the more I feel like it's none of my business. I've only known him for a few days so what he does is up to him, but if what he's doing is dangerous it could cause him to be sent back to juvie. I can't live with myself if he gets in trouble knowing I could have done something to help.

With this thought, I make up my mind to confront him about it and knowing Dante's tendency of being easily distracted, there will be plenty of opportunities to bring it up. However, to my surprise, he manages to stay on task.

For the most part.

"Dante cut it out," I sigh while attempting to pick out the fourth round of pencil shavings from my hair. His eyes remain on the text book but I know by his grin that he is far from innocent.

"What?" He glances up at me then returns his gaze to the book. "I'm trying to catch up on the things I missed while in juvie. The least you can do is be quiet while I try to study the cause of western expansion"