Tutoring?... Or Not.

[Kailin Bishop]

Needless to say, It was freezing outside.

Kailin Bishop sat in the Hammel library expecting to be tutoring students for at least three hours, but found instead a lack of work entirely. Nobody came to the sessions, giving the excuse, "It's too cold outside," as a means of avoiding coming all together.

Then again, had it been Kailin in the situation, she'd have done the same exact thing.

Stranded in the Hammel Library had to be the last thing the blonde had in mind for her Saturday morning, but with the weather outside, Kailin had no choice. Instead, Kailin sat working on some Calculus homework, fading out of the world and delving into another filled with numbers and variables that once seemed to be gibberish.

Little did she know that the already suffocating library could become even more tight in the near future. Completely oblivious, she continued on, momentarily humming a seemingly random jingle.

[Cade Maddox]

Okay, so this was a horrible idea. Catagorically. Why did he even do it. What was the point. Nope, he was going to the auditorium, she would understand, Cade was certain many cancelled tutor appointments.

Cade stood in the doorway to the library this whole time, nearly wearing out his shoes as he kept picking up his feet and putting them back down. What if Kailin wasn't there? What if it was someone else? No...he couldn't take the embarassment. He didn't really need help.

But...the shock of her leaving like she did...what happened...he had to say something...he had to apologize, it was horrible and he didn't mean for it...and...

He lost track of how long he had stood there. A libararian was staring at him. Finally Cade winced, and walked in, backpack over his shoulder. He was wearing a white t-shirt under a black jacket. The school was warm enough and he didn't mind the cold. (Probably because he had never been used to having much heating when he was growing up.)

Reaching the area where tutoring was supposed to be done, he stopped. His mind and heart and every single bit of him screamed in the moment. No character came to help ease his mind, to tell him to talk or to tell him to run. It was just him (alone!) with the girl he had thought about for most of this time just a few yards away.

Breathing as slowly as he could manage, he walked over to her and, as steadily as his voice would allow him, said, "I'm...I...I'm your last-minute appointment...I think...hi." The greeting at the end was so meek it looked like he was going to hide his head in his jacket.

[Kailin Bishop]

The world surrounding her melted, her concentration focused solely on the information fed to her through the assignment. Simple derivatives became more complex as she progressed, much to her delight, until finally Kailin tripped up on a single problem. The humming stopped, as did her focus on the assignment, when she heard a voice, studdering nervously.

Blue eyes glanced upward to find a familiar face (Cade, if she recalled correctly), anxious and ready to jump out of the way should Kailin demand it.

Their last encounter was awkward, among other things, and yet he came looking for her? Clearly, Kailin had absolutely no recollection of making an appointment with him, and Sean never gave her his name to add. He came on his own accord, and Kailin had a rather suspicious feeling that it was for more than Algebra homework.

"You're my only appointment," Kailin said, "So what do you need help with?"

[Cade Maddox]

Help? Cade's mind was blank, as he was trying to face the music (what appropriate wording). Stumbling over sentences as he tried to remember how to talk, "I...well...book...uh..." Suddenly his backpack was swung around and he was digging in the bag for...right, Math. He found the book, which had half-a-dozen sticky notes, all about dance routines stickied on the front...he didn't really pay attention in class. Unfortunately for Cade, he grabbed it by the spine and plopped it on the table before remembering that.

Cheeks flashing red, Cade quickly stammered out, "I...sometimes I use the book as like a clipboard..." He managed to find his way into a seat without knocking it, himself, or anything else over, and his backpack managed to find the ground without spilling its contents.

For someone so coordinated and focused when he was on the stage, these moments couldn't have been more scattered for him. "So...math. It's not fun but I have to pass if I ever want to leave here..." He said all of tha half-heartedly. Honestly, he was scared to leave Hammel. It wasn't like he could go to college, or afford to go anywhere really.

Clasping his hands in a totally not-awkward way, he tried to act serious to her...so she wouldn't know he was just here to apologize. He honestly didn't know if it worked or not.

[Kailin Bishop]

Kailin jumped in her seat from the rather hurried and unexpected shift of Cade's backpack. The book fell on the worn wood of the table with a loud thud, causing an annoyed shush by the librarian. The blonde shifted toward the old woman with an apologetic smile, mouthing the word "Sorry," in the process.

Either she was freezing or just in a bad mood because the woman didn't seem to take the apology seriously.

With a shrug, Kailin returned her attention to the algebra book, stickied with some sort of writing that she had little time to read before he started explaining himself. "I get it, most people think math is boring and would rather be anywhere else." A genuine, amused smile pulled at her lips, "Well, maybe I don't get it 100 percent, 'cause I love math, but I always did that in English."

Clearly he was uncomfortable, his jerky movements and stuttered speech confirmed it, but so was she. Kailin, however, tried to be a bit more discreet about it all. After all, professionalism always made it easy to remove the personal awkwardness from a situation.

"Lucky for you, I've tutored a few people in math before. The first thing you gotta to do is just take the problem step by step. Step 1, Step 2, Step 3, and then once you understand each step, you can begin to combine it all."

In some ways, Kailin put it in a dance analogy without even meaning to. She had been a cheerleader, after all, and it transferred over in that, as well. "So you have something specific you need help with?"

[Cade Maddox]

Cade was so distracted with his seat taking that the exchange with the librarian went completely unnoticed. Though the librarian was likely unamused at him more than her. But it didn't take long for the pretty, smiling blonde to be looking at him again,

"Well..." Cade began, trying to settle in his seat before leaning in slightly, "I...think school is boring period and would rather be anywhere else...so..." Cade shrugged at her in a very non-committal way. Realizing what he said probably wouldn't help any, he added, "Sooo, I'm here. That way, I can make up for what I missed in class when I was...drawing these much more important things."

Yeah, that was better. Right?

Okay. She was actually talking and working with him and not running away frightened again. He wasn't a monster? Yes. Progress. Please, dear Lord, let this be progress. Putting one hand out on the table, he listened to her describe the math tutoring and listened. Honestly he hadn't though of it that way before, it was genuinely helpful. He found himself nodding along before he shook his head and remembered why he was there. School didn't matter. This did.

"Yes, I do have something spe-specific. You...you said steps, so I'll put it that way. Step 1...when I last saw you, you left suddenly after collapsing..." He awkwardly paused and looked down, "Step 2...I was worried I had scared you or done something wrong..."

Cade bit his lip and looked back to her face, second hand on the table, almost as if he was trying to bare himself open to her, hiding nothing. "Step 3, I remembered why you came to Hammel now. Step 4, I'm here...St-Step 5...I'm sorry."

[Kailin Bishop]

The idea of school as a place of torture rather than enjoyment never truly registered with Kailin. Either the institution of education provided a well-needed rest from family life, or it gave Kailin an opportunity to shine a light on herself. After all, graduating High School with a perfect 4.0 GPA definitely made her shine above her peers.

That being said, School was one of the only things Kailin was good at. Sure, the blonde found herself on the cheer squad and track team and didn't necessarily do poorly, but others simply outshined her 0:2.

However, with his stuttered reply, the Illusion Manip returned from her own mind and into a place where her comfort level plummeted even further. He apologized for her fainting? In all seriousness, she felt so embarrassed by that incident, she attempted to forget it all together.

In this case, Kailin failed to withold a blush.

"I pushed myself to my limit. You didn't." She said. After all, Kales wanted nothing to do with the conversation, and the less they spoke about it, the better.

[Cade Maddox]

Cade still felt bad and like apologizing, even if it seemed like she was trying to put it off with her short response, "I didn't know it was so hard for you...I wouldn't have asked if I knew it would hurt you. It was hard for me too, but I thought it was fun, and I knew I wasn't gonna collapse from it or anything like that." Cade was talking quickly enough for her not to reply, and as soon as he realized this, he stopped, hoping that she could or would say something.

Looking down, he was regretting coming here now. He truly didn't care about school. No way was he going to college, he could pass his classes enough to graduate. His power were just about under control...actually, Cade could argue they were too under control. Clearly Kailin took this seriously, and Cade just wasn't able to. There was no benefit for him. Math wouldn't help him act. English wouldn't help him dance. Geography wouldn't help him sing. Chemistry wouldn't help him play the piano. This is what he cared about, where he knew he could do something.

At least, he was reasonably sure...okay, kinda sure, that it was something he could do. But school wasn't something he could or would do, that's for sure.