His Tutor
Chapter six
Hayes Rosewood
I still remember my first-ever fight. Adrenaline flooded my veins. I felt like I could take on ten guys instead of just one.
Waiting on Aurora to arrive in the library brings about an almost identical feeling.
I drum my fingers on the glossy wooden table positioned beneath a window on the second floor.
From this vantage point I can see most of the quad, the trees painted in the colors of fall.
But my attention is fixed elsewhere, scanning the area for a snarky ballerina.
Over the weekend, it hit me at various times that she actually said yes. Not only that, but she signed a contract. One that basically requires her to spend time with me every week.
Aurora rounds the corner looking more graceful in sweatpants than most women do in a ball gown.
Today she paired gray sweats with a light pink wrap top tied at her waist. Her pink backpack is slung over one shoulder, and she’s wearing wired earbuds.
She has her hair in a ponytail today, and it occurs to me that I don’t think I’ve ever seen it down.
I lift a hand to get her attention, and she reluctantly veers toward where I’m sitting. She tugs out her earbuds and sets down a clear plastic cup half full of iced coffee. My eyes dip to the sticker that indicates her order. Salted caramel latte.
“How were your morning classes?” I ask her with a smile.
She gives me a look that makes me wonder if anyone has ever asked her how her day was. If they have, they probably didn’t ever again.
“Fine.”
“You really like that word.”
She sets her backpack in a chair and starts pulling things out. A laptop with a pink case, a Digital Logic textbook that matches the one in front of me, and a notebook with a—surprise—pink cover.
“Are ballerinas required to love pink, or is that more of a princess thing?” I ask when she doesn’t reply.
She gives me an unamused look before sitting down across from me.
“Do you have to comment on everything?”
“I’m making conversation.” I tsk. “Again with these royal manners of yours. They need some work.”
“Not unlike your grades,” she retorts. “How about we focus on those?”
She flips open her textbook to the section we’re currently working through in class.
“I should have put something in the contract about you being nice to me.”
“I wouldn’t have signed it,” she quips.
My lips lift in a smile and I shake my head, then open up my textbook to the same section.
Aurora pulls in a deep breath and lets it out.
“What do you need help with?” she asks.
I scratch the back of my neck, eying the concepts listed.
“Will you hate me if I say everything?”
When I lift my eyes from the page, Aurora is frowning, but that’s not abnormal for her.
“I won’t hate you if you’re being serious,” she replies after a moment’s thought.
“I am,” I promise her. “I don’t understand most of it. My other classes are easy, but this?” I shake my head.
“It is the most challenging class I’ve taken so far,” she says. “But it’s not impossible. We just have to figure out how you learn and then apply that to this.”
“How I learn?” I question.
She reaches into her backpack and pulls out a pen, then opens her notebook.
“Yeah, how do you learn best? What ways do you study?” she asks.
I sit there and stare at her. She scrawls a heading at the top of her page.
Tutoring Session #1: Hayes Rosewood
Her gaze lifts, followed by one of her brows.
“I don’t study,” I answer.
She gives me a disbelieving look.
“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s not that difficult of a question. My roommate Saylor likes flashcards, and she creates her own mock tests. Another of my roommates, Marigold, writes essays to make sure she understands a topic. Things like that.”
“What do you do?” I ask.
Aurora sets her pen down.
“It doesn’t matter, because I’m not failing. How do you study?” She emphasizes the question.
I rake a hand through my hair. “I don’t. Occasionally I’ll skim a textbook, I guess? But for the most part, until now, I’ve understood all my classes enough to make it through.”
“And you’ve passed all your classes?”
“More than passed. I usually end every semester with A’s and B’s.”
She stares at me, as though she’s trying to determine if I’m lying.
I’ve coasted through school pretty easily until now. It was part of the reason I decided to go to college in the first place. An easy way to delay the inevitability of my future.
My dad wanted me to start working for Rosewood Technologies right out of high school.
He didn’t think college was necessary with how many summers I spent interning there.
It probably isn’t, but I’m not ready to step into his shoes yet.
I need time, and college bought it. I convinced him to let me get a degree in computer science, because I’ve always sailed through math and science courses. Then came Digital Logic.
“Okay,” she says slowly. “Then I guess we’ll have to try a few methods. I find with classes like this one that it’s best to explain the topic as if you’re teaching someone else. If you can teach another person, then chances are you know the subject.”
I nod in understanding.
“Let’s go over this week’s lectures, and then if there’s time, you can try to explain some of it to me.”
“Sounds good,” I say on a sigh.
As much as I’d rather flirt and tease Aurora the entire time, I do have to get my grade up. So I do my best to focus on everything she explains. She’s a good teacher, and I find myself beginning to actually grasp concepts for the first time since the beginning of the semester.
Halfway through our session, a pair of hands covers my eyes.
“Guess who?” a woman giggles near my ear.
I don’t know any girl well enough to have them play this little game. So, I let out a good-natured laugh and tug her hands away. The first thing I see is Aurora’s scowl. Then the stranger throws her arms around me, practically sitting in my lap.
“Uh—” I pull my head back and see a woman with curly blonde hair and bright green eyes. I’m pretty sure I went on a date with her a couple of weeks ago. I can’t even recall the first letter of her name, though.
“What are you doing in the library?” she asks as she toys with the hair at the nape of my neck. “I never see you here.”
I think I hear Aurora snort. Gently, I remove the girl's arms from around me and nudge her to stand. She pouts but settles for grabbing one of my hands to swing between us.
“I’m studying, actually, so I can’t talk right now.” Trying to let her down easy, I add, “Maybe I’ll see you later.”
“If you need a study partner, you should have asked! I’m a great partner.”
Her sultry tone makes me want to cringe, but I hold it in.
“I’m sure you are, but I’ve got one already,” I reply, and gesture to Aurora.
Aurora crosses her arms, a slight smirk playing on her lips. I widen my eyes, pleading with her to help me out. She seems satisfied to sit back and watch me suffer, so it surprises me when she speaks up.
“What’s your name?” Aurora asks the woman.
“Mckinleigh,” the woman replies, looking down her nose. “And who are you?” Her voice is far too loud for the library, and draws eyes because of it.
“His tutor,” Aurora replies flatly.
Mckinleigh turns her attention to me, still holding my hand hostage.
“I—”
Aurora cuts her off. “Do you understand the logical difference between an inclusive OR and an exclusive OR in regard to truth claims, Mckinleigh?”
Mckinleigh blinks.
“What?”
“Because if you don’t, then you’re not going to be a good partner for Hayes,” Aurora continues, her tone scathing. “You’re only going to waste all of our time.”
Mckinleigh opens her mouth, then closes it.
“I really should get back to studying,” I say, tugging my hand out of her grip.
She frowns but relents in the face of Aurora’s dark expression.
“I guess I’ll talk to you later,” she mumbles, and I nod, even though I have no intention of seeing her again.
Mckinleigh leaves, and the silence in her wake is loud. I clear my throat.
“Thanks,” I say.
“I didn’t do it for you. If I want to follow through on the contract, I need all the time we have,” she replies.
Her words remind me of everything that’s at stake if I fail. Getting cut off. Losing the Shadow Ring. Starting a future I’m nowhere near ready for.
“It won’t happen again.”
It doesn’t look like she believes me. The evidence is stacked against me, after all.
“Did you even know her name?” Aurora asks, judgment lining her tone.
“I did at one point,” I hedge.
She shakes her head and looks down at the textbook.
“Let’s get back to work.”
So we do, but the entire time I can’t help but feel like I disappointed Aurora. I’ve never cared about anything like that, but it stings a little when it comes to her.