Mr. Louis and I

Tutoring

After I finished packing up my backpack for the day, I pulled out my phone, typed in the password, and dialed up my home number. Dad answered.

“Hey sweetheart. How was your first day?”

“Good, I guess. This school is exactly the same as Buckford, just minus the friends.” I sighed.

There was a pause on the other line. “Oh, sweetie, I’m sure you’ll make friends there. You’re such a sweet girl! People instantly like you!” If only my parent’s ideal of me was the truth.

“I don’t know about that, Dad. Anyway, since Buckford was a bit behind in their studies, and this school is a bit ahead, I’m not caught up. There’s this teacher, Mr. Louis, who is offering to give me after school tutoring to catch me up before exams. He’s my first period history teacher.”

“Uh, sure. Lemme talk to him first.”

“Alright. One sec. Don’t go anywhere.” I headed towards Mr. Louis’s room and walked in, knocking on the open wood door to announce my presence. My teacher looked up from his desk and nodded at me in greeting. “My dad wants to talk to you, sir.” He nodded and stood, walking over and gently taking the phone from my hand.

“Mr. Jacobson?” Pause. “Ah, yes, hello.” Pause. “Oh really it’s no trouble, Todd. Please, call me Michael.” Pause. “How about around six thirty? I can drop her off.” Another pause before he laughed slightly. “Oh, really, Todd, it’s no problem, I promise you. Where do you live?” He began pacing the room. “Really? I’m just a neighborhood away! Why yes, it’ll actually be quite convenient.”

He nodded, even though my dad couldn’t see. “Oh, I insist. Maybe even on normal school days I could drive her home. We could carpool. That is if she doesn’t mind staying an hour or so later after school ends. She could work on her homework while I wrap things up. Or I could even give her a little lesson while straightening up my desk. Little things like that. I might be willing to offer extra credit if she helps.”

He chuckled and leaned on his desk. “Oh, no no, I’m sure she’d be quite helpful, actually.” Pause. “Alright, I’ll leave you to that then. I’ll drop her off around six thirty to seven.” Pause. “Alright. You’re welcome. It’s no problem. Bye.” He hung up and handed me back my phone and smiled at me.

“It looks like you and I are going to be seeing a lot of each other this year, Miss Jacobson.”

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            After several weeks of Mr. Louis' s after-school tutoring, I grew to be one of the best students in his class. I started getting the highest marks on tests, quizzes, worksheets. During class I tended to raise my hand more than any other student. And often, the moment he picked on me, and locked his warm brown eyes with mine, I’d forget what I was going to say.

I loved the professor look he tried to pull. With the plaid vest over a button down, slacks, and carefully combed hair, he managed to make school interesting for me. Somehow, even in that attire, I found that during lessons, I simply couldn’t take my eyes off of him. I loved his freckled cheeks, the way his skin crinkled around his eyes and mouth when he’d smile, and the way his voice changed when he spoke to me privately in our sessions. During class, he’d use his loud, lecture voice, even though we were in a relatively small classroom. But after school, with me, he’d speak gentler, softer, more personable. He laughed at my stupid jokes, smiled at me in the hallways, and always found a way to talk with me at lunch. The way he looked at me made it clear that no matter what, I was his star student.

The word ‘student’ wiped the smile from my face. After all, that’s all I was to him. There couldn’t be more. It’d be impossible, hell, even illegal. But I couldn’t deny my feelings for him any longer. I had to accept them, and I hoped to whatever God is out there that he would too.