Noah shakes his head as he jots down some notes. “Henry and Declan take it too.”
“And they aren’t helping you?” I’m aghast.
“I didn’t ask. I don’t want to interrupt their lunch.”
Still, they should have offered. Henry should have offered.
I shake my head. That’s none of my business.
“Besides, they’re not much more prepared than me,” Noah continues. “And you’re one of the smartest people I know.”
“That’s not true,” I say, putting all the highlighters in one compartment of the pencil case. Finished organizing it, I stand up to leave him to study for the last half an hour of lunch. I survey the library and see that Ruby’s with Isra and Jasmine, but Oliver’s not in sight. He might have joined his friends.
“Good luck with your test,” I tell Noah because I don’t want to distract him any longer. “And remember — I’m not your tutor,” I say.
Noah smiles. “Thank you very much, Eve.”
After school, I wait with Ruby at the front of the school. Instead of taking buses, we get picked up by our parents. We chat about nothing in particular, avoiding the topic of Noah. When Oliver joins us, I expect Ruby to tell him to go away. Instead, she takes off her school bag and shoves it in his arms. “Thank god,” she gasps. “I need to go to the bathroom. Make sure Mum waits for me.”
I chuckle as Ruby rushes off.
Oliver sighs, exasperated, smiles, before setting his gaze on me. “Got a lot of homework?”
“Not much,” I answer. “You?”
“Yeah, not much either.”
He sets Ruby’s bag down. “So,” he says. “You’re friends with Noah.”
It’s not a question, but I answer anyway. “We’re not.” It’s the truth.
“What did he need help with?”
“A test.”
“What test?”
“A Psych test.”
Oliver frowns. “You don’t do Psychology.”
“I know.”
“So you’re his bonafide tutor.” The words are bitter.
“Bonafide?”
“Where you work for free,” he says.
“I think you mean pro bono. And I’m not.” I don’t want to argue, but Oliver’s the one starting this conversation. If we’re not careful, it’ll turn into a fight.
“Okay,” he says.
“It was one time,” I said. “I did it out of … out of the goodness of my heart.”
“Okay,” he repeats, raising both hands in surrender.
I can’t drop it though. “What’s wrong?”
