Changing | SM

Part 7: the first class

16:57.
Only three more minutes for Shawn to arrive, and if he doesn't- "Adriana!" Keegan yelled and I ran downstairs. "I believe it's for you." He said, calling me from the couch.

The lazy sloth.

I took a deep breath before opening the door, finding Shawn on my front porch with his math books under his arm. Sliding his car keys into his pocket, and as I looked up at his face, I saw his red nose. "Hey. Sorry if I'm a bit late but I got caught up in something. At least I'm here." He said, just walking in my house and up to my room. Nobody invited him in yet, but I don't want to argue with him, seeing he's already in a soft phase.
I let it slide.

"Well welcome. Uhm... Okay so what do you want to start with?" I sighed as I closed my bedroom door and sat down at my desk. "I don't know. Apparently I don't know a lot of things about math so let's start from the beginning." He said, pulling up a chair and sitting down next to me.
Patterns. Okay.
I started giving him lessons, and with every problem I give him, he starts doubting himself. A lot.

"I can't do this." He threw the pen down on the book and got up. "Hey! You are not giving up that easily. There are far more difficulty things out there in life and trust me this is not one of them. And I'm not going to give you lessons and waist my time if you don't start believing in yourself that you can do this." To be honest, I did not know that speech was within me as well, but it came out. I'm just as shocked as he is. "Who do you think you are to talk to me that way? You don't know me Ariana!" He raised his voice.

"For the second time, it's Adriana. And I know I don't know you, but I'm trying to help you out but if you won't take it then you're cutting my throat here because there's no way of helping you in another way." I said, crossing my arms over my chest and just stared at him.
Only a few minutes in and we're already arguing.
I knew this wouldn't work.

He didn't say anything, he just sat back down and tried to solve the problem again.

"God give me mercy!" I whispered under my breath before taking in a deep breath and sitting down next to him again. "Is that right?" He asked after a few minutes. I pulled the book up in front of me and looked at the problem he just solved. "Yes." I smiled in surprise over to him. "What! You're joking! Okay wait give me another one." He smiled, pulling the book over to him again and I looked at the worksheet. "Try number four." I said and he quickly wrote the problem down before starting to solve it. "Did I get it?" He asked again after a while. "Yes! Except next time try taking the two over first then you'll get it done faster." I said, quickly showing him the steps and smiling up at him.

He looks so happy that he solved the math problems. "See it's not that bad." I said, wanting to go on with the next topic but he sighed hard. "That's easy for you to say. You're the best in the class, I just can't do these things." I looked at him.

He really is a different person when he's alone. Something in him changes when he's not out in the open, trying to be someone he's not.

"Well you are new in the school so it'll take time to get use to the way she gives class. But till then I'll help you, okay?" He only nodded, like he didn't know what to do with the information I just gave him.

Was he never offered any help?
Does anyone even care?