The Tutor | RIARKLE

Intro

The rain dripped steadily down the dirty window. Cars whisked by, but the small brunette's eyes did not turn to their movement. The sun dipped gloomily below the horizon, and darkness masked the city. 

The petite girl was Riley Matthews, a girl with a broken spirit. She was emotionally exhausted, and she slipped a crumpled ten dollar bill on the table as she snuck out into the musty night. 

Her flat shoes slapped on the wet ground as she approached her apartment. She saw a new tenant at the front desk, but hurried on, hoping to avoid any attention. 

She stumbled into her damp apartment, and threw leftovers in the microwave. A sweatshirt made its way over Riley's head, and she grabbed her late dinner as she clambered out onto the clammy roof ledge. 

Riley's feet pushed against the textured tiles for traction to stay up. Cold food reached her mouth, and Riley reluctantly accepted it. 

The room was chilled from the open door, and Riley closed it as fast as possible before heading to her room. 

Riley dropped onto her bed as dead weight and shut her tired eyes.

The morning came as shockingly as a bucket of ice water over Riley's head. Almost as cold too. Her bare feet touched the wooden floor tentatively; they were nearly frozen. 

She hurriedly put socks on her feet, then continued on to the kitchen, where she started some hot cocoa. Riley had never been a fan of coffee; it was too bitter for her taste.

The morning sun peeked through the cheap curtains, and Riley opened them wide to let in the warm light. She changed into a t-shirt and jeans with rips in the knees. She made her way over to her shoes, which were over a vent upside down, drying out. 

The rainy, cold weather made for easily ruined shoes, Riley made sure to routinely dry them out. They were her only pair, a beat-up set of sky blue Converse that she had acquired in high school. She pulled them over her feet quickly, grabbed her jacket along with a cheap umbrella, and left the old apartment. 

From there, it was a short walk to the lobby. She stopped by the front desk, where the landlord's son, Skylar, sat. He smiled at her with his chip-toothed grin, handed her a notice, and slipped her a five dollar bill for lunch. 

He was always friendly to Riley, but she wasn't interested. He was too old for her, and reminded her more of her older brother than of past boyfriends. The newest tenant approached the front desk, and Riley turned to leave, but he stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you. Are you Riley Matthews?" He asked quietly. Riley's head teetered for a moment, debating whether to leave the guy or answer him. The latter stuck, and she hissed at him through her teeth. 

"Yeah. What's it to you?" He ran a hand through his already messy hair and sighed.

"Well, you're supposed to be my tutor, actually." She rolled her eyes and turned back to face him. His ratty clothes stuck out in the lobby full of well-dressed people, besides her. 

"Okay freshman, I'll tutor you. What's your name?" He shook his head, and a low chuckle escaped him. 

"Well," He replied. "I'm not a freshman, I'm a junior, and I didn't know I'd be getting such a sassy tutor. I'm your student." He stuck out his hand and she shook it reluctantly. "Farkle Minkus." Then he walked away into the drab hallways of that small apartment building. 

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Riley barely made it up the steps to her college classroom before the teacher started. She sunk deep into a chair, and pulled out a thick notebook, labelled by section with Post-it notes. She turned to her notes on Photography and then looked up. She couldn't believe her eyes.