Post by silent.lullaby on Feb 10, 2010 13:32:36 GMT -5
//We Run This Town//Chapter 010// And When I Thought It Couldn’t Get Worse
I waited for Gavin to protest, and was surprised that he smiled, “come right in, I’ll see what I can do.”
Miss Truman smiled, “good luck Miss Lombardi.” She shut the door behind her and I stared at the door for a moment before looking back at Gavin who now looked a little disgruntled.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” I asked.
“I would have been kicked out of the program for refusing a student. This is a cushy job I don’t want to loose it even if it means I’ll have to tutor you.” Gavin responded gesturing for me to sit down. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
I shrugged, “too shocked.” I flopped down in the chair and dropped my text book and binder down heavily onto the table.
“Well are you going to show me the problem or not?” He asked folding his arms over his chest. “I don’t have all day.”
“Sorry,” I muttered as I flipped through the text book. I couldn’t believe this. I felt like a fool! I was listening to a Burke. His father put mine away. Now I had to take science help from him? “You the only tutor for this grade science?”
“Thinking about switching out already? And yes, I am,” he said it like he enjoyed the fact that I was miserable and internally conflicted. Part of me just wanted to up and leave and pay off someone like Matteo had inadvertently suggested.
“What crawled up your ass and died,” I muttered quietly.
“I’m hardly shocked you’re that rude, I am helping you after all.”
“You’re getting paid to, you aren’t doing it for me.” I finally found the page and turned it around, “that one I’m having difficulty with.” I pointed.
“Show me what you were doing.”
I started to write it out and he shook his head grabbing the pencil and erasing it, “all wrong.”
I folded my arms over my chest, “then you do it smart ass!”
“Fine,” he went through the problem not bothering to explain it to me.
“I still don’t get it.”
“You have the answer.”
“But I don’t understand how to get the answer,” I whined leaning back in my chair, my head tipping back over the edge. “You want me to go tell Miss Truman I don’t get it.”
“Bitch.” I sat back up and rested my head in my hands, elbows on the desk and stared at him. “Fine, I’ll explain,” he nearly yelled.
The rest of the weekend went by fairly well, I still didn’t understand science very well, Gavin could be a good tutor, I knew this from the first day of class when he’d been patient and careful, now he was rushed and agitated.
Of course, I didn’t tell my family that Gavin Burke was my tutor. My friends were more difficult they wanted a name, I told them I was embarrassed enough about needing help and to drop it. Luckily they did.
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday went by easily, though on Wednesday I got another science assignment, and wanting a high grade I went to Miss Truman who booked me in after school on Thursday which was why Gavin was sitting across from me in our soundproof room looking agitated. “Getting paid,” he kept muttering to himself when I would exclaim that I still didn’t understand.
“I don’t get it!”
“Why don’t you just leave!” Gavin shouted, “you don’t pay attention!”
“You’re always screaming at me!” I shouted back.
“It’s not my fault you’re an idiot!”
“You’re such an asshole, I’m here for help!”
“Can’t you get it elsewhere?”
“Sure I’ll go ask Miss Truman for another science tutor,” I said grabbing my things, “even though we both know there ISN’T ONE! And then you’ll be kicked out of the program for being a JERK!”
“NO!” Gavin jumped and shut the door the crack that I had opened. “I’ll help, I’ll help.”
I stood there for a minute and we glared at each other, a test of wills. “I’m only staying because I don’t want to explain to my father why I failed.” I dropped my books on the desk again and sat back down into the seat. “We can’t keep working like this though.”
“Hum?”
“And now who’s not listening?” I questioned crossing my arms over my chest, “I said we can’t keep working like this! I can’t learn with you yelling instructions at me and grabbing the pencil away every time I do something wrong!”
“Well I can’t teach you.”
“Because of who I am? Or who my father is? Because on the first day of school you were, admittedly, a really good teacher, and the only reason you’re being a shitty tutor now is because you don’t want to teach me, you don’t want to be in the same room as me because of my last name.”
Gavin was silent for a minute before sighing in defeat. “I guess you’re right.”
“You can hate me out there in the hallways, on the bleachers, in the streets, whatever, but here I need you to teach me how to do stupid science-y stuff. In here I’ll just be Lili and you just be Gavin and we’ll pretend that out there we don’t hate each other because of the other’s last name.”
He sighed, “deal.”
We were both quite for a minute before I spoke up, “could we not tell anyone about this?”
“Oh you think I want my dad to hear about this?” Gavin chuckled. “He’d kill me.”
I smiled, “mine too.”
“Yours might actually do it,” Gavin faked worry for a moment and I threw my eraser at him.
“Can we get to work?”With a laugh, Gavin started teaching me properly, and he didn’t seem like such a douche bag by the end of the hour. “You going to the dance tomorrow?” I asked and Gavin raised an eyebrow. “I’m not asking you dumb ass.”
“Oh then yes. You?”
“Yes, neither Gemma or Blaire would ever let me miss such an event.” I responded.
“Your cousin is a bitch.” I punched him in the arm and he rubbed it, “she is.”
“You know that saying, ‘walk a mile in their shoes’ Gemma’s are painful, pointy shoes.” I brushed some of my hair back. “I know you think we have everything... but...”
“But what? Your indoor swimming pool is too cold?”
“Neither of us have an indoor swimming pool,” I said offhandedly. “But... never mind, forget it.”
“But now I’m intrigued.”
“To bad, you were mean.”
He smiled, “you know, you’re not horrible.”
“And you’re not a total jerk.” I smiled at him before grabbing my bag and text books. “Thanks for actually teaching me something.”
He shook his head, “thanks for actually paying attention this time.”
I stuck out my tongue at him before leaving. I stepped out of the school and shivered, summer was leaving giving way to the chilly fall, the leaves were slowly beginning to change colours. “Lil!” I turned my head to see a black Chevy truck which I recognized as one of Preston’s vehicles. “Come on, your dad sent me to pick you up.”
Smiling, I opened the door and jumped into the cab. “You know you’re part of a Mafia, not a taxi service right?”
He chuckled, “your dad got caught up in something, so he sent me.”
“That’s vague.”
“Isn’t it always,” he responded in a tone no louder than a whisper. Secrets were part of the life, anyone and everyone can and will keep them from you. Preston either didn’t know what my father was up to because my father was keeping it secret from him, or Preston was keeping the information secret from me. On the other hand I was keeping secrets from them, I mean, telling them Gavin Burke is my tutor, yeah, like that would end well.
Preston turned up the rock song playing on the radio and any conversation died. I looked at him briefly, he looked stressed, his hands wrung on the steering wheel. I clenched my teeth and looked away, I hoped everything was alright.