Both Sides | ✓

Chapter 6

Cleo's POV:

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I laid on my back, staring up at the ceiling and listening to my least scratched up CD droning along. I was bored out of my mind and had no plan on finishing any schoolwork. My brother had gotten home from work a few minutes ago and was surely passed out on the couch. No parties were happening, I didn't have a boyfriend to spend time with. Olivia was definitely studying.

My missing assignments were piling up and I had barely a week to turn everything in, but that was the last thing I wanted to deal with right now. I glanced at the backpack on my floor and groaned. I would literally rather bang my head against a wall 20 times than write an essay. Instead of following through with either option, I picked up my phone and texted Olivia.

Me: heyyy wyd?

Olivia: Studying

Called it.

Me: lame. i'm bored

Olivia: Shouldn't you be studying, too? We have a bio test on Tuesday.

Me: idc, studying is too hard

Olivia: Not if you have a good tutor. What's your preferred studying method?

Me: wtf there's different methods?

Olivia: You seem like a notecard kinda person. Do you have any at your house?

Me: ur funny

Olivia: Ok, if you're not gonna listen then I have to get back to my work.

Me: WAIT i'm sorry i'll study

Olivia: Good girl.

Olivia: Now, go over pages 123-146. It's not a whole lot of information. TAKE NOTES. Text me if you have questions.

Me: yes ma'am

I turned off my phone and tossed it onto the pillow behind me. Normally, I would ignore her advice and continue slacking off but every time I made a good grade, her face lit up like I had just given her the best news in the world. "Nice job, Cleo! You worked so hard," she would exclaim and wrap me up in a hug. I actually felt proud of myself because of her.

Maybe that was silly. I had gotten along alright for half of high school without needing to try. It wasn't like I was gonna change my entire outlook because of one random tutor.

I unzipped the bag and grabbed my biology textbook. Olivia's had sticky notes peeking out of the pages with information on each one. Her handwriting was small and pretty and 100% nicer than mine. My book looked empty compared to hers. I flipped to page 123 and started reading, writing down the occasional vocabulary word or important statement.

Time went by and before I knew it, I had reached page 146 and my notebook page was covered in writing. I grinned widely and reached for my phone, dialing Via's number and pressing the speaker to my ear.

"Hello?" she said, her voice bare through the speaker.

"Via," I exclaimed. "I did it! I studied! Like, all the pages you told me to AND I took notes."

Olivia chuckled on the other line which only made my smile grow. "Nice work, Cleo. But it's late and you should probably get to sleep."

I glanced at the alarm clock on my desk. 1:46 AM.

"Oh shit, did I wake you up? Sorry, I-"

"No, no. I've been working on some school stuff. I couldn't sleep anyway," she explained.