Masks

Chapter 13

Those who I've lost,
Were all ones I loved.

  ~~~

"Agh, I've got so much homework today!" Violet groaned. "Might have to pull an all nighter if I don't work fast enough."

  "I understand the pressure of school here is new to you, but please do get some sleep." Quinn advised. "I've pulled all nighters before, and it never ends well. Screws up my sleep schedule."

  "Oh, and I might not be able to walk home with you like this for a while." She frowned. "Someone asked me to tutor them."

  Quinn, already knowing about her situation before she had to tell him, hid his irritation with a smile. "Don't worry about it. They need help, right? I'm sure we'll be back to normal soon enough."

  "You're not bothered?" She asked.

"I don't mind. You're doing your best to help someone else, so there isn't a reason for me to get worked up on it."

Violet suspected a fake smile, but shrugged it off once she reached home.

~~~

  "You need to move the variables over to this side of the equation. It's in the same form as the one you have memorized, so solving it is a matter of just following its steps."

"I see." Olivier nodded. "You're pretty good at this."

  "It's nothing special." She shrugged. "Just a matter of practice. If you can get into the habit of it, I probably wouldn't need to tutor you."

  "I understand it better if someone teaches me." He scratched the back of his head. "Sorry to be bothering you with something like this."

  "You need to raise your grade or you'll get kicked out of the volleyball team, right? It's nothing." She smiled.

"Speaking of which, I don't really talk to you much in class. Guess we should get to know each other, since this may go on for a while."

Violet eyed him suspiciously. "One question though. I don't mean to sound rude or attention-seeking, but you haven't mentioned anything about me being a former model in Paris. Is there a reason why? Most people only really talk to me for that reason."

"Ah," Olivier sighed. "You see, I really needed help with Math, so I asked Mrs. Roberts if she had any recommendations for tutors from my class and she said you were one of the top students. Judging by how you reacted towards the other people who came up to you to ask about you as a model or to ask you out, I realized that you were probably annoyed at how they treated you. You always ran away or rejected them, right? So when I asked you to tutor me, I avoided the topic, just in case it'd irritate you."

  "Oh, so you stalked me."

  "If you put it that way, it sounds like a bad thing." He laughed. "But, in a way, I technically did."

  "Did you know I was a model before I transferred?" She asked.

  "If you can't already tell, I'm also French, but I wasn't born there. I've always learned how to speak English here, so my parents were kind of disappointed when I couldn't speak French. Just so that I kept in touch with my country, they made me read news articles from France, just so I knew what was going on. You came up on them a few times."

  "So you already knew before the first years got to you." Violet nodded. "Maybe I could tutor you in French, too."

  "That'd be amazing, please do." He put his hands together and bowed his head. "I'd like to stop being a disappointment to my family."

  Their laughter rang throughout the empty classroom before it quieted down as they began reviewing again.

  Quinn stood outside the classroom they sat in, sighing. Guess waiting for her isn't gonna work after all. I'll head home before Mother worries. Something about Olivier got on his nerves, but he just couldn't figure out what.

  ~~~

  "Again, I'm sorry for not being able to talk." Violet apologized to Quinn as they walked to the roof for lunch. "Workload's getting heavier, and I have to prepare my notes to teach Olivier."

  "I said you didn't have to keep apologizing," Quinn reminded. "I haven't got much time on me because of homework either. It's fair on both ends."

  "I'm not gonna be able to walk home with you after school often either." Violet frowned. "I'm really sorry for having to do this."

  "You're not gonna stop apologizing, are you?" Quinn laughed. "I already told you several times that I understand."

  "Violet!" A voice called from behind them. "I have a question from today's lesson. Could you help me?"

  Violet looked at Quinn before looking back at Olivier. Quinn smiled reassuringly before letting her go. Violet's eyes read 'sorry' all over them before she left him to teach her fellow classmate.

  So much for having her at lunch period.