Post by silent.lullaby on Dec 24, 2009 0:36:41 GMT -5
//We Run This Town//Chapter 009// And My Tutor Is
Luckily, by Tuesday the soccer balls were in and we didn’t have to play with the guys anymore. By Wednesday October was sitting with Lucia and I in math class. On Thursday I seen the first flyer posted to the wall for the first dance of the year and by Friday, everyone was wondering who was going with whom, or who was going to ask out so and so.
When the first weekend came I was grateful. Saturday I went to the local Starbucks and did math problems with Lucia in the morning. During the afternoon I sat down at the kitchen table with all the supplies I could possibly need to do a Science problem, yet the answers still eluded me.
Maximo and Matteo came in laughing about something. Matteo gave me an acknowledging nod then looked at the shreds of pink eraser and all my science supplies, he raised an eyebrow. “Um...” he pointed at the mess.
I grinned sheepishly, “I suck.”
Matteo grinned, “I’d offer help if I hadn’t paid off someone to do science for me.”
“Paid off...” I smiled at the idea.
“Don’t you even think about it.” My father said coming in a cup of coffee in his hands. He put his briefcase down on the table and looked at Matteo, “don’t be giving my daughter any kind of ideas that might put her at academic risk.”
“Sorry sir.” Matteo apologised and Maximo just laughed at his best friend.
“But dad, I’ll be at academic risk if I can’t get these science problems.” Father looked over my shoulder and let out a whistle. “Maybe you should get a tutor? The school offers them for free, other students right?”
“How would you know?”
“I looked into the school when I was in the pen,” he said offhandedly. “Wanted to make sure you kids were coming back to a good education.”
He knew in the pen we were coming back. Lexie’s mocking words of disappearing witnesses and evidence, the mock gun of her hand pointed at me. I shook my head ridding myself of the thought. “I’ll look stupid.”
“You look stupid now,” Maximo said taking a bite from an apple.
“Maximo Faust Lombardi!” My father voice was deathly calm, “apologise to your sister.”
“Sorry,” Maximo muttered while it was Matteo’s turn to snicker.
“Pardon, what was that brother?” I asked cupping my hear mockingly.
“Sorry Lilianna, for calling you stupid.”
“I’ll forgive you,” I responded after a long pause.
“The tutors go in on Saturdays, they get paid by the school. Why don’t you go and see if you can get someone to help you with your homework?”
“The transit busses don’t come out this far dad.”
“I’ll call someone to pick you up.”
“Don’t worry about it Mr. Lombardi,” Matteo spoke up. “I told ma I’d be home for lunch. I can drop Lil off on my way.”
“Excellent,” Father responded. “Give me a call when you want to come home,” he told me before heading toward the livingroom.
“I hadn’t had the chance to ask you, but how was your first week?” Matteo asked as he started up his beat up blue truck. His father offered to buy him a more reliable, nicer looking vehicle but Matteo wanted to purchase his first vehicle on his own, and this was what he could afford. It sputtered before starting and he pulled down to the end of the drive.
“It was... relatively uninteresting.”
“Bullshit. Even we seniors heard about the spat between you and Lexie.”
“Shit. You think the family knows?”
Matteo shook his head. “I don’t think so, Max wouldn’t have said anything to your ‘rents, and I doubt that Serge would sell you out either. Lucia didn’t tell anyone, not even me and I know she’s in your class.”
“And everyone else?”
“We watch out for our own,” Matteo said turning on his right signal, “no one would tell your parents you got into a fight with the Reid twins.”
“I guess.”
Matteo pulled the vehicle into the school lot. “Good luck on your science homework.”
“I feel so stupid.”
“Your smart enough to go to help when you need it, Miss I-have-to-have-a-ninety-average.”
“Shut up,” I responded with a smile.
“See you Lil.”
“By Matt.” I shut the door and the truck roared as it drove, I bet it was a gas guzzler.
At the doors I took a deep breath. Our school was always open weekends, teachers worked one in four weekends, and the tutors were there for hire every Saturday, paid by the school, to help their students get a higher average.
I stepped into the library. There were tutors already helping out others. Some people were just reading, others clicking away on early term English essays on the computer. I walked up to the tutor assigner. “Um, hi.”
“Hello,” she looked to be a friendly woman, her blond hair was too long, and hid her pretty features, I noticed her bright green eyes, high cheekbones, and straight nose. I read her nameplate; Miss Truman. “Are you interested in a tutor?” I nodded. “Please,” she waved her hand to the chair, “sit.”
“Thanks.”
“What subject do you need help in?”
I sighed, “science.”
She smiled, “it’s a tough subject.”
“What’s your last name?”
“Lombardi.”
“L-o-m-b-a-r-d-e?”
“It’s an ‘I’ at the end actually.”
She typed it in her computer, “well, there are a few of you at this school. Are you Gemma or Lilianna?”
“Lilianna.”
“Ah, here you are. You seem to be a good student, and in the past, your science mark has been the black sheep so to say.”
“It’s why I want to get a head start on it.”
“Alrighty then, just a moment,” she scanned things on the computer and I looked around the library wondering if there would be anyone I knew. Some faces looked vaguely familiar, but everyone seemed to have grown up in the past two years. Miss Truman started typing again and I wondered if perhaps there was no tutors for my grade science. “There, all set up. Just printing everything out.”
I heard the laser printer start up loudly. “You found someone?”
“Yes, I have,” Miss Truman responded perkily. “He’s exceptional at science, I’m sure he’ll be able to explain everything to you.” She pulled the papers from the top part of the printer and stepped out from behind the desk, “follow me.” I fell into stride behind her. “You’ll be working at station 4, it’s where he’ll be any Saturday you need help. If you need help on other days, come in try to book it with me a few days in advance so we can make sure he’s here.”
“Alright, sounds good.” At the back of the library there were work centres, small rooms the size of cubicle for tutoring, the rooms built so noises wouldn’t be able to effect the person trying to learn. Each door was solid wood and had a number artfully painted on it. Miss Truman opened the door. “Mr. Burke, I’d like you to meet Miss. Lombardi, she’ll need your tutoring in science.”
I swear I felt my stomach drop.