Science Rules…NOT (Open)

[Paul Wilkerson]

Paul opened the doors to library and entered. He was not going to enjoy this. Paul had always hated science class. His grade for science class was not very good and it could be a lot better. His parents and teacher would like to see Paul to bring up his grade.

The only two ways to do that were: one gets his lazy butt in gear and does his work, and two have some tutor him. Thus that was why he was in the library. He was going to meet his tutor.

Paul took a seat towards the back of library. He had no clue who his tutor was. Hopefully his tutor doesn’t know his face and Paul would be able to get out of his lesson. Paul took out his iPod, put in his ear buds, and pressed play.

[Violet Tenbrook]

    Libraries had always a safe place.  She had practically been raised in one.  It was the only place she felt comfortable at school. Plus almost no one ever talked to her.

    Today was different.  Today she had made the mistake of going outside of her comfort zone.  She had agreed to tutor someone.  At the time it had seemed like a good idea, right now all she wanted to do was be alone.

    The brief description she had been given was that his name was Paul and he was fourteen.  Even though she was only a year older than him, she was two years ahead of him in school.   She had already reviewed the material and decided it would be easy to help someone with.  The only problem was finding him.

    The library wasn't that full, but there were about six guys that seemed to fit the description of "fourteen year-old boy."  The first few people she tried were not who she was looking for.  She decided if the next person was not Paul, she would quit and leave.  

    She walked over to a guy in the corner. She noticed he was wearing ear buds, so she tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. "Are you Paul Wilkerson?" she asked, smiling shyly.

[Paul Wilkerson]

Paul’s mind wandered as the music played in his ears. Who was his tutor? Paul hoped that it was someone who wasn’t going to make Paul feel stupid. The teen was trying to figure out a way out of this. Maybe his tutor won’t show up for whatever reason. Paul could live with a tutor not showing up. What if his tutor was some hot guy? No, if his tutor was male he would most likely be a nerd.

A tap on his shoulder pulled him away from his thoughts. He pulled one ear bud out as he looked up to see who tapped him. A blond girl with a shy smile asked him if he was Paul. The teen had a feeling that this girl was his tutor. Paul could just say ‘yes’ but that would be no fun. “Who wants to know?”

[Violet Tenbrook]

Violet looked hopingly at the teen. She began to rub her palms together, a nervous habit she developed as a child. As soon as she realized she was doing it, she dropped her hands to her sides. When he answered her question, instead of giving her a definite answer he asked "Who wants to know?" She frowned at the response, really not in the mood.  Maybe this was going to be even worse than she thought.  She let out a deep breath.

"Me, I guess." She answered, not really knowing what else to say. "I'm supposed to tutor him. Are you him?" she asked again with a bit of annoyance in her voice. This time she hoped to get a better answer. She felt the need to do something with her hands again, so she put them in her pockets to avoid rubbing them again.

[Paul Wilkerson]

Paul’s gut feeling was right. She was his tutor. She didn’t sound to pleased with him for his smart-ass answer. He noticed her rubbing her hands. Great, Paul’s tutor was like a nervous wreck or something. Although Paul will enjoy playing mind games with her. This might a little more fun than he thought it was going to be.

“You don’t seem like a tutor. You seem too timid to be one.” Paul studied his tutor for a moment. Paul sighed. He guessed he should play nice and don’t mess with her too much. “Yeah, I’m Paul Wilkerson.” He wasn’t too please. He took out the ear bud. “You got a name or am I just going to call you Tutor Lady?”

Let the torture begin.

[Violet Tenbrook]

    "You don’t seem like a tutor. You seem too timid to be one.” Paul said.  Violet was only assuming it was him, but he still wouldn't answer her. She was about was about to tell him about how she was perfectly qualified to be a tutor, but then she remembered what he said was very true.  When he finally told her who he was, she sat in the chair across from him.  

    He asked for her name, making her realize she had forgotten to introduce herself.  "I'm Violet" she told him.  "So what exactly are you having trouble with in science?" she asked. She hoped that if she got started quickly, she could leave soon. Let's hope he isn't that stupid, she thought.

[Paul Wilkerson]

Violet, huh? Let’s see if Paul should remember the name or not. Paul’s science grade would say that Paul needed a tutor for a while. Maybe Paul should remember the name Violet because she would be tutoring Paul for a while. Unless he was going to keep getting new tutors until one was found that helped Paul really boost his grade.

What was Paul having trouble with in science? Everything. It wasn’t really one part of science. It was the whole thing. Paul never liked science to begin with. All the theories, and tests, and all the equations. What the hell did E=MC² even mean? Paul just hated science with a passion.

He shrugged his shoulders. Paul was looking at the table. “Don’t know. Everything I guess.” Paul took a quick look at Violet then looked back down at the table.

[Violet Tenbrook]

“Don’t know. Everything I guess.” Paul says, seeming very disappointed.  Violet was sort of glad about this embarrassment.  At least he wasn't the kind of person who thought it was cool to have bad grades.  The actual answer that came out of his mouth was not as helpful. She thought she would have something to work from.  She decided to tell him how she usually studied.

"Well I find it's harder to remember things if you don't enjoy it.  We could try to take something you like and to relate it to what you're doing in science.  Maybe then you'll understand it better." She smiled, liking the way that sounded.  She hoped it would help.  It helped her.  The only problem was she loved writing.  Turning school work into stories was easy enough.  Most of it was already a story.  Even math had word problems right?  She had no idea what he liked.  What if she couldn't relate to is school work?  She had already said it, so she'll have to figure something out.

((OOC: What exactly are they studying in his science class?  He's in 9th grade right? At my school we did biology that year, but I'm not sure if that's what they do at hammel.  I guess it's up to you. Also, sorry about the latish reply. ))

[Paul Wilkerson]

This is a weird chick. Paul kept that comment to himself. Something he liked and relate to science. Haha, what kind of joke was that? He shrugged his shoulders. Paul studied the bookcases as he tried to come up with something. His mouth hung open slightly. A smirk formed on his lips once he thought of something. He looked at Violet. “Disney movies.”

Mwhaha. Try and connect that to science, Tutor Lady. He was quite pleased with himself. He didn’t want to make it easy for her. It would be interesting if she would able to make some sort of connection between the two.

“So, how are the two related?” Paul leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table. He watched Violet with the smirk still on his lips. Paul was daring her to accept his challenge.

((OOC: Biology is fine.))

[Violet Tenbrook]

"Well that was a stupid idea." Violet muttered, meaning to only think it, but it seemed to slip out of her lips anyway. Apparently her how to be a good tutor article she had read before she arrived didn't actually work.  The next step in it was to find out how he thinks.  How was she supposed to do that?  Unlike some people in this school, she wasn't a mind reader!  She looked over at the science text book and flipped it open to one of the first chapters.  It was about cell theory.  "I guess we'll just start here.  Do you know what a cell is?"  she asked.  She was surprised she could still keep her voice in a happy tone when she was this annoyed.

She began quickly refreshing herself on the subject while he thought up his answer.  On the page they compared a cell to a city. That gave her an idea.  She didn't even listen to his answer his answer to the question. "Well I guess a cell isn't quite like a Disney movie, but it could be like Disney Land.  That big castle thing in the center could be the nucleus, because it is the center of everything.  The wall around the park is the cell membrane because it only lets some people in."  She explained.  She went through all the organelles comparing them to different things in the park.  She was quite proud with her connection, even though she knew he would probably ruin it by saying something stupid. 

[Paul Wilkerson]

Paul was all smug. He had stumped Violet. He was feeling quite proud of himself as Paul watched Violet flipped through the pages of the textbook. Hopefully this tutoring session will end short.

What’s a cell? “Uh.” His eyes darted around. Paul didn’t want to look at Violet and seemed dumb for not knowing the answer. But Violet carried on explaining the different parts of a cell compared to Disney Land. Well crap. She mad a connection.

Paul never had been to Disney Land. He did know the general layout of the park. It made sense. Of course Paul wouldn’t admit that, but he did understood the parts of a cell.

When Violet finished, he looked at her. “That still doesn’t explain what a cell is.”