Following her instructions, I take a seat in the waiting area along with a couple of other Skyline students. I grab my phone and check in my messages.
Jared:hey, i know we agreed on carpooling to and from school, but our practice schedule changed. i don’t want to make you wait so long on me or make you wake up early, so i think you’ll have to start driving yourself around.
Jared:i tried to convince coach for an exception to leave practice early but he’s not budging. i know you’re not a fan of driving constantly, so i’ll try my best to help you out, especially at night.
I stash my phone back in my bag and start popping the hair tie on my wrist. It’s a strange coping mechanism but it keeps me centered or else I’ll pull out my hair or pick at my split ends.
“Serena?”
I turn my head and see Ms.Vaughn poking out of her office, gesturing for me to come in. I walk into her small but cozy office, being welcomed by her friendly spirit and the burning vanilla candle sitting at the corner of her desk.
This is my second time meeting Ms. Vaughn. I don’t know too much about her, but she seems like she cares about all her students. In my first email exchanges with her when I registered for Skyline, she helped me navigate what courses I could take here. Truth be told, I didn’t necessarily need them. I’ve fulfilled most of the credits needed to graduate, give or take a couple of courses. But I wanted the full high school experience, so I told Ms. Vaughn that I was down retaking courses just to fill up my schedule.
“Not sure why you’re here, correct?” Ms. Vaughn removes her tortoise glasses and places them on her desk.
I take a seat in the cozy armchair in front of her desk, setting my backpack down. I let out a nervous chuckle when she notices I’m getting anxious about being here. “Correct.”
She clasps her hands together and winks at me as a signal to relax. “At Skyline High, we provide many valuable resources for our seniors, like our tutoring center.”
I didn’t even know that was a thing anymore. Have they not heard of Kumon or Sylvan?
“Oh, that’s good to know.”
Wait, are my grades slipping already? I haven’t been here that long. There’s no fucking way.
I lean forward, my sweaty palms rubbing on my thighs. “Are you saying I need to be tutored? I thought I was on track…”
“No, you’re not failing. I’m sorry, I should have led this better.” Ms. Vaughn raises a hand in an attempt to calm me down. “I’m wondering if you’re able to provide tutoring services in trigonometry.”
Huh?
“Me?” I point a finger towards myself. “You want me to tutor?”
She happily nods, unwinding her hands, and leans back in her chair. “We’re lacking in math tutors since most of them have already graduated. You would receive extra credit in return, and,” she raises her eyebrows, “this can be added to your school records as academic volunteering. It would look good on your applications.”
I smile to myself with pursed lips. Though I’d been accepted early into UNC, Duke and Clemson, more references couldn’t hurt… plus, I’ve never hated math, so it can’t bethatsoul sucking.
The silence between us lasts longer than I would’ve wanted. Ms. Vaughn shoots me a convincing smile, her version of puppy dog eyes I’m sure of it.
I offer a tight smile, reluctantly about to regret this. “I’ll do it.”
Ms. Vaughn claps her hands, obviously happy I fell into her trap. “Perfect!” She begins typing away on her computer all while writing down something on a piece of paper, which I assume is for me.
The bell rings, signaling it’s time for lunch. She wraps up her work on the computer and slides the paper, revealing her cursive handwriting highlighting all the important details for me. “To recap, you’ll head to the library which doubles as our tutoring center. The librarian will guide you to the study tables and you’ll meet your student.” She taps on the piece of paper on her desk before I take it in my possession. “Hand this to the librarian so she knows you’re a tutor.”
“Is that all?” I rise to a standing position, reaching down for my backpack.
Ms. Vaughn nods. “Thanks again, Serena. I really appreciate this.”
I offer her a smile before excusing myself for lunch. I slink down to the empty chair at my usual lunch table and begin pulling at my hair tie.
“Hey, you okay?” Priya glances over. “You look stressed.”
I heave out a heavy sigh, blowing my bangs out of my frame. “When I said I wanted to join a club or something, I wasn’t talking about tutoring.”
My friends sneak glances at each other.
“You signed up for tutoring?” Priya questions, laying her palm on my shoulder. “Oh no, why?”
