I stared at the student in concern.
“Are you sure you get it?”
She just simply nodded. She didn’t speak much and when she did speak, she spoke very, very quietly. I always had to strain to hear her.
“Okay. Just try to remember what I showed you today. The test is tomorrow so just take it slow and always check your work. I would rather you leave five question blank with the rest of the test correct than have half the test incorrect because you didn’t double check, okay?”
I barely heard her “Okay.”
I turned away from the plump, black student and turned to the Asian woman I left at the dry erase board. I felt bad that I had no idea what their names were…
“How are you doing with figuring out the equation for the tables?”
She shrugged, “I don’t know. Okay I guess. You gave me really hard ones.”
I smiled sheepishly, “Yeah, I did. Sorry. Sarah gives out hard quizzes and I want you to be prepared for the test. But you’re doing really good! I’m sure you’ll do just fine on the test.”
She smiled, “I’m sure I will. You help out a lot though.”
I shrugged, “I try.”
I glanced down at my watch, “Sorry guys, it’s 11:51AM. I gotta kick you out. The class that’s in here starts in ten minutes. The teacher could show up any second.”
The two girls nodded and packed up their things. I followed suit. “Just remember to take your time and try not to freak out.”
The black girl left without saying a word.
I waited for the Asian girl to be ready to go before walking over to the door.
“Melissa, thanks again for the help today.”
I smiled, “It’s my pleasure.”
And it really was. I loved my job as a Peer Tutor. I loved it a whole hell of a lot more than my job at Kohl’s. I hated it there. I just got bitched at all day there and all I could do is grin and bear it. And with our customer is always right shit, even if we did what the customer wanted, the higher ups would yell at us for violating company policy. What the fuck is a person to do?
But being a tutor gave me some power. I had some authority and I loved it. We still had to be respectful and whatnot, but we also didn’t have to sit and take any crap that was given to us. I loved that we tutors got respect from our peers. Plus, it was way more rewarding to help someone improve their life by getting an education than the “reward” of helping someone find the right fit of bra or shoes. Fucking Kohl’s…
After leaving the Liberal Arts building with Miss Asian Chick, I went over to the Community College building to the second floor to see Rachel. Rachel was the Peer Tutoring Coordinator of the college.
At her tiny little desk sat Rachel. She was a plump older women with silver hair and a beautiful smile. She stared intently at the screen.
“Hi Rachel.”
She jumped and laughed, “Oh my goodness gracious! You scared me Melissa!”
YOU ARE READING
Short Story Collection
Kısa HikayeSo these are my short stories. They are ideas I've had that I thought would make good stories, but I don't love or have a solid idea for them to write a complete story. But I could continue writing them if I wanted to come up with something. Or if I...
