I sighed as I made myself a cup of tea. I hadn’t been particularly excited about attending that evening’s gala to begin with. I knew we’d be seated at a table with Theo’s polo friends, most of who acted like they had their mallets perpetually stuck up their asses. Now I was downright dreading the whole thing.
Glancing over the tutoring schedule posted above the tea kettle and coffee pot, I noticed that all of my appointments for the afternoon had been crossed out, with a note that simply read:See Ms. Gable.
“Hey, Adelaide,” a deep voice said behind me. I turned around to find my coworker Beau approaching with a large stack of books balanced in his hands.
“Hey! Here, let me help you with that.” I grabbed a few books off the top of the stack and set them down on the table in the center of the staff room.
“Busy schedule today?” He nodded to the calendar on the wall.
“Well, I thought it was going to be, but then I saw this.” Itapped the paper a few times where the note was written. “Now I’m kind of freaking out. That’s weird, right?”
I had been working in the tutoring center since my first semester. It wasn’t the most glamorous job in the world, but it was far from the worst I’d had. That designation belonged to the summer I spent mucking the stalls at the community stables back home. That smell would haunt me to my dying day.
No, spending hours going back and forth with my fellow students about the proper way to format their term papers wasn’t my dream, but it was a great way to gain relevant job experience and bulk up my resume. I was determined to graduate at the top of my class and secure my pick of teaching positions at the best primary schools in the country upon graduating.
Ms. Gable, the head of the tutoring center, was a kind—if somewhat strict—woman. I mostly kept my head down and focused on my work, so it was strange to see that she had reworked my schedule for an unannounced meeting.
“Thatisweird,” Beau replied, his brows furrowing together. “I know she’s been in her office all morning with the door shut.” He pointed toward her office at the back of the center.
“Hmm. Well, I guess I better go see what’s up before I think myself into an anxiety attack.”
“I totally understand that. Good luck.” He waved as I walked off.
I approached the office door, pausing before I knocked. I could hear low voices talking inside; I didn’t want to interrupt, but also knew Ms. Gable would be expecting me to arrive for my shift.
My phone buzzed. I pulled it from my back pocket to a text from Theo.
Theo
Actually, don’t bother. I’ll just go by myself.
Annoyance flared in my chest, but I closed my eyes, taking another deep breath in through my nose and slowly letting it out through my mouth. I’d deal with him later.
Giving myself a brief pep talk, I rapped quickly on the door.
“Come in.” Ms. Gable’s high-pitched voice beckoned me inside.
The old wooden door creaked as I opened it to see Ms. Gable behind her desk, with Professor O’Connelly—head of the Foreign Languages Department—and Dr. Shariq—vice-chancellor of the university—occupying the two leather armchairs in front of it.
Oh shit. What did I do?
“Adelaide! Come in, come in.”
I stepped through the door and gently shut it. The office was plenty big, but with four people, it felt a bit cramped. And was it me, or did the air feel a little tense?
“Please, have a seat.” Professor O’Connelly stood and offered me his armchair, taking a seat in a third chair that had been brought in from the staff room.
“Thank you,” I said as I sat. My hands grew sweaty and I prayed that I didn’t slide right off the seat, or worse, make that god-awful farting sound that leather makes when you move wrong on it.
“I’m sure you’re wondering why we asked you here,” Ms. Gable began.
I didn’t trust myself to say anything that wasn’t stupid so I just smiled and nodded, my go-to when I was afraid I might word-vomit.
“Ms. Levy, we have a student here at the university whois in need of some tutoring in Spanish.” Dr. Shariq cleared his throat and then readjusted himself in his seat to face me. “This is a high-profile student, so these sessions would need to be kept confidential.
“Both Ms. Gable and Professor O’Connelly thought you would be the perfect student to ask. From what I hear, you are one of our best tutors, in addition to being at the top of your class. They also feel that you possess the ability to handle the sensitive nature of this request with the delicacy that it requires.”
Meaning I can keep my mouth shut and not blab.
