"Hello?" I answer.
"You like kids?"
"What? Whoisthis?"
"Eve. Do you like kids or not?"
"Um, yeah. Why?"
"There's a job at a daycare center down the street from me. I was thinking of applying. It'd be super easy. They need two people for after school. What do you think? You want to work there with me?"
"Depends on where it is. I don't have a car. I'd have to take the bus."
"Then it probably won't work, unless you want to a walk a few miles to the bus stop."
"I'll just find something else. Maybe I could work at the grocery store by my house. They had a help wanted sign on the window."
"I gotta go. I just wanted to let you know about the job."
"Yeah. Bye." I end the call and check my phone. I still don't have a text from Chad.
"That place has a lot of robberies," Dean says. "I'd avoid it if I were you."
"What are you talking about?" I ask.
"The grocery store. The one by your building. It gets robbed all the time. That help wanted sign has been there for months. Nobody wants to work there."
Why is he telling me this? He hates me. Why does he care if I work at a place that gets robbed? Is he suddenly concerned for my safety?
"You're good at school, right?" he asks.
It's another odd thing to say but I'm starting to learn this guy is hard to predict. Just when I think I've figured him out, he does something that surprises me, like just now. Showing concern for me? That's not like Dean. Maybe it wasn't concern. Maybe he was just trying to scare me away from applying so he could get the job instead of me.
"You get good grades, right?" he says.
"Yeah. Why?" I look at him but he doesn't look back. His eyes remain facing forward.
"You good at English?"
"I've always gotten A's."
The bus stops, and when I look out at the street, I see we're almost at my building.
"Think you could teach someone?" Dean says as the bus takes off again.
"Teach? What do you mean?"
He finally turns his head to look at me. "I need a tutor."
I stare at him, confused. He wants me to tutor him? He can't even stand being in the same room with me.
Chapter Seven
Dean
"It's not for me," I explain. "It's for my brother. He's 15. He needs help in English. I suck at English so I can't help him."
"And you want ME to?"
