It was completely empty except for a few old-looking tables and banged up chairs lying on their sides around them. This was where she was supposed to meet her tutor? Well he wasn't here yet and it was two minutes past 4:30. Should she just wait for a few minutes?
She set a chair upright and sat on it. It was eerily quiet in the room and it was so bare. Like one of those asylum rooms with the white walls and no windows... except the walls and floor wasn't padded, but still. She began humming to herself in order to break the silence.
Five more minutes passed and still nobody showed up. Maybe she had heard him wrong. When he called the other day to set up a time, she had been busy cooking at the same time, so she might have misheard what he was saying. Maybe he was waiting for her somewhere else entirely. Because why would he want to meet in such a lonely, depressing room like this anyway?
Just as Kristen was about to pull out her phone and make a call, the door opened. A tall, blonde boy in a black coat and hat walked in with his head down. When he looked up at her, Kristen was shocked to recognize him as the boy who had been thrown out of Friedman's class the other day for hating on fairytales.
He didn't smile or anything, just simply said, "You're Kristen, I suppose?"
"Um, yeah," she replied, "Jonathan?"
He nodded and walked over to her. He picked up a chair and set it up across the table from her. "Let's get down to business then."
Kristen didn't move, she was still studying him, puzzled. He got a scholarship for math? He didn't look like the bookish type. He looked more like a football jock based on his build. He was rather large and stocky. Plus he did seem to have an attitude like those jocks on TV did, going off the show he made in english class.
"Is there a problem?" he asked.
"Hmm? No. I was just wondering... why did we have to meet here? Why couldn't we have met at the library or something?" Kristen asked.
"This is closer to my apartment," he said shortly.
"But don't most tutors meet in the library?"
"Yes."
"So why didn't you?"
"I told you, this is closer to my apartment."
"Don't you like to walk?"
"No."
"But you could meet so many fun people at the library!"
He just rolled his eyes.
Right. Okay, so he didn't seem like a big talker either. She would have to change that. There was a short silence as she tried to think of something.
"So... what year is this for you?" she asked.
He raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Well I'd just like to know how much more advanced my tutor is than me," Kristen replied.
"Junior," he replied.
"Oh really? My sister's a junior," Kristen said, smiling.
"Hmm," he said with disinterest.
"Maybe you've met her."
"Doubt it."
"Annalise Ford?"
"Nope."
"I guess that makes sense. I'm pretty sure she takes all her classes online. At least since her sophomore year. I just thought maybe you'd met her before that."
"No," he said shortly.
Kristen paused for a moment. "I've already met lots of great people around since I started here."
He rolled his eyes once again. What was with him and doing that?
"Yeah!" she continued, "I made a friend on my first day. His name's Petey. And then I met this amazing guy. I think he's going to ask me out. And..."
"Wait, wait. You think he's going to ask you out?" Jonathan interrupted.
Whoa, hold up. Was he actually asking her a question now? Progress! Kristen looked at him. "Well, yeah," she replied, "I gave him my number."
He smirked. "Do you have any idea how many guys just go around asking for girls' numbers, but then never call them? They have like a mountain of random girls' numbers piled up in their closets. They just use them as bragging rights for their friends."
Kristen frowned for the first time. "People don't do that."
"It's true."
"Well David is not like that," Kristen said confidently, "He's a true gentleman. He'll call."
Jonathan raised his eyebrows. "He's probably got boat loads of girls just waiting for his call," he said.
"No," Kristen said, crossing her arms defiantly and turning away from him.
"Waiting by the phone every day in anticipation," he continued.
"That is ridiculous."
"And you're just one in the long lineup."
"Unlikely."
"Plus he probably picks his nose."
Kristen turned to look at him once more, caught off guard. "What?"
He was smirking. "And then eats it."
Kristen glared at him. Now he was just trying to annoy her... and it was working. "That's disgusting," she said.
He shrugged. "All guys do it. It's just a fact."
Kristen wrinkled her nose. Then she glared at him again. "Okay look mister, I don't care what you say. David will call. He said he would and I believe him. So that's that."
Just then, her phone rang. With a final scowl at Jonathan, Kristen answered it. "Hello?... Why hello, David!" She threw Jonathan a "told you so" look. He just folded his arms over his chest and watched her stand up and pace about the room.
"Yeah, I'm great... No, it's fine. I've been busy anyways. It's not like I was waiting by the phone every day or anything." She saw Jonathan smirk.
"Am I free on Friday?" She looked at Jonathan once more, smiling cockily, "Yes, I believe I am... 6:00? Sounds great... Okay. See you then!"
She hung up the phone. Did that just happen? Was she really going to go out on a date with David Leskov? It was too good to be true! She squealed and without any choice of her own, began to dance in place, caught up in her own excitement.
"Wow. You should really be on Dancing With the Stars," Jonathan deadpanned.
Kristen immediately stopped dancing. "Shut up," she said, "I am going on a date with my own prince charming. I have every right to dance like a maniac. Even you cannot spoil my mood now."
Jonathan shook his head and Kristen could have sworn she saw a small smile play across his mouth, but it was so quick, she couldn't be sure. "Well now that that is all over with, can we get to your math now?" he asked.
"Oh yeah, yeah, sure," Kristen said, sitting down and grabbing her backpack, "Where do we start?"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The sun was just peeking through the thick overcast that loomed over the sky. And Jonathan had thought it was going to rain. It practically always rained whenever he decided to go outside for anything other than class, story of his life, the outside hated him. But for some reason, the sun was coming out to say hello today.
He reached his apartment, unlocked the door, and entered. Tiny was the word to sum it up. One sofa covered in patches against the wall, a dilapidated kitchen on the other side, a blanket over the window used for a curtain, his roommate's sweatshirt thrown in the middle of the floor. Yep, that's what he called home.
Jonathan moved inside and picked up the sweatshirt lying on the ground and folded it. He was the housekeeper around the apartment. Even though the place was a dump, he still tried to maintain it. Only he and his one roommate were the ones that lived there. There was only one bedroom with one creaking bunk bed. Jonathan slept on the bottom and every night he was always afraid that maybe the poles would give away and his roommate would fall down and crush him flat.
A head covered in shaggy brown hair popped out of the bedroom. "Oh! You're home!"
"Yeah. Just," Jonathan answered. He held the sweatshirt out, "What have I told you about leaving your things in the middle of the floor?"
His roommate, Sam, stepped out of the room sheepishly and took the sweatshirt from him. "Sorry," he said, "At least it wasn't my backpack and everything this time, right?"
"Yeah, sure," Jonathan muttered, turning away and sitting on the couch.
Sam came up beside him. "So how was tutoring?" he asked.
Jonathan shrugged.
"Are you going to stick with this one this time?" Sam wondered.
"I don't know," Jonathan answered.
Sam's mouth formed into an "O" and he sat down beside him. "That's different. You normally say "no" right away. You should stick with this one if they don't repel you right away!"
"Maybe," Jonathan said.
"Yes. Yes, yes, yes!" Sam insisted, "Do it! This could be the first person that my dear little Johnny-boy doesn’t hate on sight! It's a miracle! You like them! I have to meet them!"
"Please, Sam," Jonathan scoffed, "I do not like her."
"Oh it's a her, is it?" Sam asked, "Johnny, I've known you since... what? Kindergarten? First-grade? Pre-school? I know when you're lying."
"Okay, okay. Fine. She kind of amused me," Jonathan said.
"Amused you?"
"Yeah."
"What are you Shakespeare?"
Jonathan frowned at him. "Look, all I'm saying is that I think I'll give it another go to see how I feel about the arrangement before I make my final verdict."
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