Moving In

Falling Behind

Chapter 9

I wait for Patrick to say something while standing at his desk in the empty classroom. But patience is not my best virtue and I had plenty I wanted to say to him. So after waiting 2 minutes I finally speak.

"You didn't report me," I state as he stops shuffling through the file cabinet, "I thought I would get kicked out of here the second I showed up."

He turns to me, "What? So can go pull this crap on another school. It would be pointless, you've obviously been doing this long enough, what would one more school matter to you."

I stare at him as he finds whatever he was looking for and pulls it out, "why?" I ask confused, "isn't it still illegal? Can't you lose your job by not reporting this? Why risk that, why protect me?"

Sighing Patric places a stack of papers on his desk before answering me, "Because you have too many walls up for a 17 year old, too cautious, scared. You're eyes don't match you age, and..."
He looks me dead in the eyes, "and because there has to have a reason for you to do this, and it has to be a good ass reason."

I feel my jaw start to tremble but I clench it, ignoring the prickles stabbing in my heart and the blurry vision in the corner of my eyes. I won't cry. But it doesn't mean I can't feel like balling like a baby because for once in my life someone thought about how I might feel or why I have to do this.

"It is."

He slowly nods his head before coughing and my hand swings to my eyes pressing them, so the water stops from falling.

"Anyways," he says coughing awkwardly and I can't help but let a laugh out at how uncomfortable he is, but it sounds more like a sob making him even paler.

"Do you need to-"

"I'm fine," I state holding up a hand, "just tell me what you wanted."

He told me to stay back before lunch started and after class way over.

He coughs again, "Well Blaze, because you are a transfer student we give you a certain amount of time to catch up with the rest of the class, but you seem to only be falling behind in History."

"I'm bad at school," I say with a shrug.

"You have over a 100 in my Shakespeare Appreciation class, and corrected my grammar on a test in English."

"I'm bad at History?" I say but it sounds more like a question.

He sends me a flat look and I shrug my shoulder, "alright I'll come clean."

I huff out a breath, "it's the exact time I used to take my naps during free period in my last school. So I just so happen to fall asleep a couple of times-"

He coughs.

"Every so often-"

He laughs.

"Jesus, alright! Everyday! Happy?" I say throwing my arms up in the air.

He stares straight-faced, "ecstatic."

I smile, "I can tell."

He rolls his eyes and hands me one of the packets he pulled out, "to help your grade out, you need to complete these once a week for extra credit."

I hold up the thick packet of back and front pages, "once a week?!" I squeak.

Ignoring me he continues, "Also, Axel will tutor you and-"

"No," I snap not caring what the end of that sentence was. Just hearing his name sent me on edge lately.

It's only been a week but I can already tell he is digging.