The Tutor (Eremin) {Editing}

3. 10,000 emerald pools~børns

3. 10,000 emerald pools~børns

Armin's POV

Daydreams swirled around in my head as I sat in class, gazing at the vibrant trees. Seas of orange and red and yellow greeted me, leaves drifting to the ground with the wind. I returned my focus to my notebook, continuing my sketch of a pair of eyes as green as jades.

"It's time to unveil our student of the month for September!" My teacher's voice interrupted my haze of thoughts. There was a collective murmur, anticipation piquing in the room.

"I know we're well into October, so this is coming pretty late, but I wanted to take my time and decide who really deserves to be honored." Mr. Smith picked up the yellow piece of paper, which was always decorated to look like a certificate. "Though not very vocal, has continually shown me what a brilliant student he is. Our student of the month is Armin Arlert!"

Lackluster applause speckled the room as I accepted the paper with a meek smile, meeting Mr. Smith's encouraging eyes. I rushed back to my seat, burying myself deep in my sweater.

The ringing of the bell relieved me, and I waited for my classmates to file out, their voices swelling as the announcements boomed over the loudspeaker. Someone shoved past me with a sneer, he and his friends laughing as they stomped out the door. I didn't react, gathering up my belongings slowly and hoisting my backpack onto my shoulders.

"Thank you again, Mr. Smith," I said softly, grateful for his smile as I left the empty room.

I liked Trost in some ways, and hated it in others. I liked my teachers, and the challenge of my classes, and the picturesque campus. But I hated the commute, and the uniforms, and the pretentious attitudes of my wealthy peers, and the rampant homophobia amongst the athletes. My classmates excelled at making me miserable, so I learned to hide. Avoid. Be silent.

When I received that acceptance letter in eighth grade, I was simultaneously excited and defeated. I almost wanted to reject their offer and just go to a local public high school like the rest of my eighth grade class. But I knew my parents had always wanted the best education for me possible. I couldn't turn down the massive scholarship I received as an incoming freshman, not while knowing how proud they would be.

It seems impossible that anybody could make it through high school being completely alone. But that was me. I barely even had acquaintances, let alone friends. Trost was an all-boys school, and I had always tended to get along better with girls. Since I lived so far, I never got involved in clubs or any activities, because I always wanted so badly to get home and finish my homework so I could watch a show or read a book. I was a classic introvert, my only real socializing happening when I started my job as a tutor. Even then, there was never any connection.

But Eren was different.

Eren was the first person in my life who truly felt like a friend.

Of course, I thought of him as more. He was on my mind a lot. When I opened a romance novel, I envisioned myself as the lead and Eren as the beautiful bad boy love interest. I had countless doodles of green eyes in my notebooks. I got so flustered when he smiled, and when he had asked me to read to him, and after he gave me his number, my thumb hovered over his contact, debating whether or not to text him. In the end, I was too nervous.

Eren was just so cool, and the fact that he even spoke to me outside of an academic context was enough to keep me up at night. Seeing him every week was kind of overwhelming, if not exhilarating. After I had gotten home that Wednesday, my grandfather regarded me with curious eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked, slightly amused. "Your face is flushed."

That only made me blush more.