Problem Children

Chapter Eleven

The wind blew through the town in short gusts, inciting Hannah to keep a hand on her tie, holding it in place. Angus had taken his tie off and shoved it in his pocket giving it plenty of wrinkles. Both students were on their way to Angus'; as Hannah's mother would never allow a boy on the property. The boy whistled as he pocketed his hands.

"You know it's real swell of you to teach me algebra ya' know," Angus mentioned.

"No problem," Hannah responded with a smile.

"I mean, takin' your time after school to help me with more school. Real good of ya'."

"Sure thing, Angus. I'm willin' to help a friend." Angus nodded and continued whistling. They crossed the street right after a busy car drove by and came across an old music store. Angus stopped to stare. The sign was lopsided and the smell was something else, but he admired it all the same. His guitar was in there somewhere. One day he'd break it free. "Hey puppy dog! Leave the meat shop, let's go!" Hannah called a few meters away. Angus took one last glance before running to catch up. "Did I ruin your fun?"

"Ya' know, we ought to go in there. Look around, grab a record or two. What do you say?"

"I've been in there before, not my cup of tea," Hannah responded with a grimace. Angus frowned at her. "It smells in there, Angus!"

"Oh, come on!"

"It does!"

"So, you won't go in the greatest music store in all of Sydney, just because some guys in there blaze up?"

"That, and my mom would kill me if she smelled grass on me. Especially on my uniform." Angus rolled his eyes but understood all the same. His guitar would have to wait. Another gust blew in nearly taking away Angus' hat had he not been quick. A hand felt around his pocket and pulled out a pack of Marlboros. One was placed in his mouth while the pack was held out to the girl.

"Want one?"

"Absolutely not! You know what that stuff does to you?" Hannah asked in repulse. Angus withdrew his hand.

"They relax you." Hannah glanced at her friend. "What's wrong with that?"

"Slowly drag you to death is more like it. What do you need relaxin' for anyway?" Angus watched Hannah out of the corner of his eye for a moment.

"Nothin'," he finally answered. "They also keep you warm." Hannah shook her head.

"What's your blazer for then? Picking up girls?" Angus laughed to himself.

"You know you're very opinionated."

"Not really. Only about drugs and alcohol."

"A lot's comin' out of your mouth yet none of it's goin' in," Angus said pulling out a lighter. Hannah received a smile from the boy and he earned one back.

"Put a sock in it, Ang."

"Love you too."

Angus opened the door to his house allowing Hannah to cross the threshold first. The house seemed vacant for which Angus had a secret hope. Inevitable teasing from siblings was the last thing he needed. Hannah walked straight to the table and pulled a book out of her school bag. It was opened to variables and notebooks soon accompanied the surface of the table. Angus sighed, hoping she wasn't actually serious about tutoring!

"Come over here, Angus. Sit down," Hannah directed taking a seat. Angus sat down across from her and grabbed a pencil. A small finger pointed at the pages of confusion. "These here are variables. Most of them are represented by x."

"Why the hell is there an alphabet in mathematics?" Angus asked already bored. "Like numbers aren't bad enough? Who came up with this shit?"

"I don't know. I don't make the rules, I just enforce them." Hannah continued. "Variables are used in equations in place of a number that you have to solve."

"This is bullshit, why don't it solve its own problems?" Hannah clenched her hand and took a deep breath.

"Focus, Angus. You're not helping yourself by interrupting every second."

"Sorry," Angus mumbled and laid his hands out. "Continue."

"As I was saying. If the number is given, you simply replace the x with it and solve the equation. Try it."

"What's the point? X is already found. My job is done."

"You still have to solve the equation, Angus. You still have to find y."

"Are you kiddin'?" Angus mumbled rubbing his eyes. The front door opened and closed as Mrs. Young appeared in the kitchen. She gave the kids a warm yet surprised smile.

"Hey Hannah. What can I do you for?" she asked the girl.

"Nothing ma'am. Angus and I are studying for a test this Friday. Aren't we?" Angus lifted his head and sarcastically smiled before hiding again. A bag of groceries was placed on the counter.

"This is great news isn't it, Angus? You got yourself a tutor and it's your own friend. That ought to make things better."

"Doesn't make the math any easier," the boy muttered.

"Thank you for the help, Hannah," Mrs. Young said. "The good Lord knows he needs it."

"Mum!"

About an hour later when the house was still with little to no interruptions or residential visitors, the two school children continued on with the lesson. Hannah had her nose buried in the book while Angus pulled his wooden slingshot out from his school bag. While she was distracted, he made ammunition from his mistakes and fired them at a crack in the wall. The sound of crumpled paper, a pause, and a hit or miss caught Hannah's attention. "Excuse me." A paper flew right over her head.

"What?"

"Put that thing away, we've got homework to finish." Angus' eyes widened and he couldn't help his laughter spill out from her statement. Hannah blushed. "You know what I meant!"

"You're terrific, ya' know that?" Angus wiped his eyes from his tears and grabbed another piece of paper. In a dream the slingshot was removed from his grasp and hidden from his sight. "Hey, what are you-"

"You can have this back after class," Hannah dismissed. Angus crossed his arms and pouted.

"You're no fun."

"I'm not supposed to be fun, I'm supposed to help you. You're positively distracted over there."

"Then help me. Make it interesting so I'll learn better." Hannah lifted her hands.

"How do I make it interesting? I wasn't taught that way," she said. Angus put his head in his hand and twirled a pencil in his fingers. His eyes glanced upward in thought and a smile played his lips in daydream.

"I could think of a few things," he amused himself. Hannah raised an eyebrow, "If you were Susan."

The thunderous crack of the textbook closing woke Angus from his fantasy. Supplies were gathered like birds under wing and a school bag slung over shoulder. "What's goin' on?" he asked in a hurry.

"We're done for now, Angus," Hannah stated on her way to the door. "I got to get goin'."

"But we barely started! Was it something I said?" Hannah closed her eyes and choked down her feelings. The door was open letting in a nasty wind.

"No I just-I have somewhere to be."

"I could take you there."

"Stay here and study, Angus. You need it." Her voice was sharp and quick like a sword in the hands of an expert. She stepped outside.

"But I need your help! You're comin' back tomorrow, right?" Hannah gave one last downcast glare at her friend. A pang of guilt coursed through his heart and he hated that he didn't know why.

"We'll see." With that, the door closed on his face.