"Seriously? You got a D?"
"Yeah." He slumps down on one of the broken chairs at the kitchen table. They're all broken, thanks to my dad. When he got angry, he liked to throw chairs. "You suck at English as much as I do. Guess it's in the genes."
"I'm getting you a tutor," I say, opening the peanut butter jar.
"Yeah, right," Jacob says with a laugh.
"I'm serious. I'm going to find you a tutor for English. You're not failing that class."
"And how are you going to pay for it?" He blows his hair out of his eyes but it falls right back. He insists on keeping his hair long, saying girls like it. It's dark blond, like Mom's, and stick straight. It hangs to just below his chin and he leaves the front long so it's always getting in his eyes. It'd drive me nuts to have hair like that. I keep mine short. It's dark and thick, just like Dad's. I look just like him, and Jacob looks like Mom.
"Don't worry about it," I say. "I'll figure out how to pay her."
"HER?" Jacob smiles. "I'm getting a girl tutor?"
"Maybe. I don't know yet."
Brook didn't agree to do it, and she probably won't if I can't pay her what she wants. There has to be someone who would do it for less. I just don't know who that would be. I know some smart people at school but I can't imagine them tutoring anyone. They're quiet and shy and act like they're afraid of me. There's no way they'd show up at my house. They'd run away before I could even ask if they wanted the job.
"Go do your homework," I say. "I'll figure out dinner."
"I want to do something fun," he whines as he walks to his room.
Fun.I can't remember the last time I had fun. I used to think football was fun, but now it's become a means to an end. I need football to get me into college. I don't even care what college it is, as long as they pay my way. But that means playing better than anyone else at every freaking game. I can't slack off. I have to perform. Put on a show. Fight through the pain when guys as big as me slam into my shoulder or knock me on the ground. What used to be a fun game is now something I dread, but if it gets me into school, I'll do it.
I've been up since four and I'm exhausted but I have to study. I haven't even opened a book since school started. Football will only get me so far. I can't flunk all my classes and still expect to get into college.
* * *
The next morningat school I'm at my locker when Brook shows up. Her long blond hair is pulled up in a ponytail and she's wearing dark jeans and a pink polo shirt. She looks rich and preppy, like she just stepped out of a country club. I typically can't stand that look, but on her it seems to work. The shirt is just tight enough to show off the curve of her breasts and her narrow waist, and the jeans are molded to her ass in a way that draws my eyes to it. Her ass isn't big but it's the perfect little rounded shape.
"Hey," she says, opening her locker. "So I was thinking about your offer."
"What offer?" My eyes are back on my locker but I can smell her. She has that same flowery scent she had when I backed her against the locker, my body pressed against hers. Thinking back, I probably shouldn't have done that but I don't always think before I act.
"The tutoring job," she says. "I'll take it."
I shake my head as I shut my locker. "Offer's off the table."
"Why? You found someone else?"
"I can't pay what you're asking."
"I'll do it for less, as long as your parents can pay me cash. If I'm not having taxes taken out, I'll end up making just as much as I'd make at some other job, and I'm guessing my hours would be flexible, so that's a plus."
"How much are you thinking?" I ask, turning to face her, my arms crossed over my chest.
"Does ten an hour work?"
Ten is a lot, but I'm desperate. "I think I can make ten work."
"You want to ask your parents first? You can talk to them and let me know later."
"Let's say ten for now and see how it goes."
"I could start tonight, if that works."
"I'll have to check with Jacob. I told him he might be getting a tutor but I didn't say when."
