Chapter 15
Nick
“What are you watching?” Travis asks after sitting next to me on the couch.
I pull out my earbud and pause the video. “A video about differential equations.”
“Why? You’re not taking Calculus.”
“I know. But Poppy made the video. She has a YouTube channel where she explains different topics and subjects. It’s really cool.”
I turn up the volume and show Travis a couple of minutes from the video.
“That was really good. The animation was cool too,” Travis says. “She does this on her own?”
“Yeah. Impressive, right? She has a perfect GPA, is involved in a bunch of extra activities, works as a tutor, and she has her own YouTube channel.”
The past few days, I’ve been watching a few of her videos every night as part of my wind-down routine while I lie in bed.
I’m blown away by how good they are. So informative and well researched.
She breaks down complicated concepts in easy-to-understand formats.
And for a lot of the videos, there’s animation to illustrate what she’s talking about.
It’s like her tutoring sessions but packaged in a slick, virtual format. I’m in awe of how good these videos are, even though I shouldn’t be. Of course they’d be amazing because Poppy is brilliant and nothing she does is less than incredible.
“And she has almost sixty thousand subscribers. Wow,” Travis says when the video ends.
I grin at the screen. “My girl is amazing.”
Travis pats my shoulder before standing up and heading to the kitchen.
“Be sure to subscribe to her channel,” I holler. “And get everyone else you know to subscribe. I want to help get her to a hundred thousand.”
“I will,” Travis hollers.
I pack up and head to campus so I’m not late to College Algebra. Once class starts, Professor Wilcox hands out the tests we took two days ago.
“Overall, solid work. You all did pretty well,” he says.
My nerves kick up when he hands me my test. When I see the bright red 90% on top of the paper, I smile so hard my cheeks hurt.
“Oh, fuck yeah,” I say.
Professor Wilcox frowns.
I clear my throat. “Sorry.”
“Good work, Mr. St. George. It’s nice to see such an improvement out of you.”
“My girlfriend started tutoring me. She’s really smart.”
Professor Wilcox’s brow lifts, almost like he’s impressed. “You’re quite lucky to have such a supportive partner.”
I smile again. “I am.”
“You should take her out for dinner to thank her,” Professor Wilcox says as he walks off, handing out the rest of the tests. “Having you as a pupil is no easy task. I would know,” he mutters.
I chuckle and take a quick photo of my text, then send it to Poppy.
I got a 90%!!!
I put my phone away and focus on the rest of the class. When class ends and Professor Wilcox dismisses us, I check my phone and see that Poppy texted me back.
Poppy: Amazing job! I’m so proud of you :)
A warm feeling swirls through my chest, hearing her say that.
Me: I couldn’t have done it without you, hot tutor.
Poppy: You really need to stop calling me that.
Me: I definitely won’t. Also, I wanna take you out for dinner as a thank you for helping me on this test. What’s your favorite place to eat?
Poppy: That pad Thai place two miles from campus, but I’m pretty slammed this week. I picked up some extra shifts at the Writing Center, so I don’t have a night free.
Me: That’s okay. We can plan something for later in the week.
Me: In the meantime, be ready for a surprise from me
Poppy: What kind of surprise?
Me: You’ll see ;)
I sprint across the ice with the puck, headed for the opposing team’s net.
It’s the first game of the season, and we’re playing North Utah State. We’re tied one to one at the end of the second period. One of their defensemen is on my ass. He smacks his stick against my leg, and I grit my teeth when the refs don’t bother to call a penalty. Asshole.
I speed up to try and lose him. Yeah, my legs are burning, and my body is gonna feel like hell after this game, but I don’t care. It’ll be worth it if I can score this goal.
My muscles are on fire as I speed up even more. I zero in on their net, watching the goalie track my movements.
I wind up like I’m going to shoot, but at the last second, I hold back right as he dives forward. Then I smack the puck. It lands at the back of the net.
I pump my fist and holler. My teammates surround me and smack my shoulder and my helmet in celebration as the home crowd cheers.
“Nice fucking shot,” Blake hollers.
The second period ends with us ahead. Blake scores another goal in the third period, and we walk away with the first win of the season.
“Way to set the tone, boys,” I say when we’re back in the locker room, shedding our gear.
They all whistle and holler. When Coach Sawyer walks in and heads for the middle to address us, we all quiet down.
“Impressive showing, fellas. I liked what I saw out there tonight. You were fast and tenacious, and you didn’t let up, even when you had the lead. That’s the kind of stamina I want to see out of this team for this whole season. Keep it up.”
We all clap, then go back to talking while we all shed our gear and get cleaned up. Coach walks over to me. “Your academic advisor let me know that you’ve performed well on your most recent exams.”
“I’ve been working really hard with a tutor to get my grades up.”
Coach Sawyer’s stern expression remains. “Good. Keep that up. It’s only the start of the school year, so you’ve still got a long way to go. I don’t want to see any slacking in the classroom from you from now on, understand?”
“Yes, Coach.”
He walks off. My phone, which is in my stall behind me, buzzes. I turn and see a text from Poppy.
Hey. Thank you for the takeout you had delivered to the Writing Center tonight. It was delicious.
I grin down at my screen.
Me: Glad you like it :)
Poppy: I can’t believe you ordered the whole menu
Me: I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I wanted to cover my bases.
Poppy: You could have texted me and asked lol
Me: Nah, I like what I did better
She sends an eye roll emoji and a laughing emoji
Poppy: The Writing Center tutors love you. They’re helping me eat all this food because there’s no way I can finish it all myself.
Me: Glad to hear it :) What’s your favorite dish, by the way? I want to remember for next time.
Poppy: Pad Thai with shrimp. I’m basic lol
Me: Not basic at all. Pad Thai is good as hell.
“You texting your girlfriend?” Blake asks.
“Yup.”
“How come she didn’t come tonight?”
I glance up at him. “Huh?”
He pulls off his shoulder pads and pushes his sweaty hair off his face. “Just figured she’d be here cheering you on. Every other guy on the team who has a girlfriend, they come to most of our home games.”
Oh, damn. I didn’t even think of that. It probably looks really weird that she’s not here.
“She had to work,” I say. Blake nods like he understands.
Me: You should come to my hockey games.
Poppy: No, that’s okay.
Me: You need to, Poppy
Poppy: Why exactly do I need to?
Me: Because we’re dating. My teammates’ girlfriends come to our home games. How will people buy us as a couple if you don’t come to your boyfriend’s hockey games?
Poppy: That’s a good point. Okay, I’ll come.
I grin. I know it’s just for show, but part of me is excited that she’s going to come see me play.
Poppy: I can’t come to all your games, though. My schedule gets really busy.
Me: That’s okay. Just come when you can.
Poppy: When is your next home game?
Me: Saturday
Poppy: Okay, I’ll come.
Me: *celebration emoji*
Me: You’d better be on your feet, jumping up and down, screaming your ass off for me, hot tutor.
Poppy: No way. I’ll look like a maniac.
Me: Exactly. If you were really my girlfriend, you’d go nuts watching me on the ice, scoring goals for you. It would get you so hot.
Poppy: *eye roll emoji*
Poppy: Never. I’m going to sit quietly and not make a sound
Me: We’ll see about that ;)