LIMINAL || 𝙅𝙖𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙃𝙖𝙡𝙚 [1]

𝟡 | 𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕜𝕤 & 𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕤

I hated Mondays. And Tuesdays. I was even starting to hate Wednesdays a little. It seemed like anywhere I went, something or someone was getting on my nerves. Cara was at home and at work, and she wasn't in the best mood. It didn't take an empath to know that. I had tried to reach out to her, offering to rent a few movies and have a girls night last Sunday, but she barely paid any attention at all while we watched romcom after romcom. I didn't see her at the hospital much, but I was afraid that I would catch her in a bad mood if I did. Then there was Deborah, who was mostly out of my way, though still abrasive as ever.

Jasper had started being even colder than normal. Because my calculus grade was improving, he took it upon himself to ask Mr. Savrda if he could quit tutoring me already. Whether he knew I had been waiting by the door to have my weekly check in with Mr. Savrda, I wasn't sure. Either way, it still hurt my feelings that he had some personal vendetta against me. We were getting along fine, what was his problem?

Mr. Savrda, on the other hand, was pleased with the arrangement.

"You made a 90 on your last quiz. I'd say the tutoring is working, wouldn't you?"

I nodded and smiled a little.

"It is, thank you for suggesting it. I just wish...nevermind," I stopped before going any further. I'm sure my math teacher wasn't particularly worried about Jasper being an ass.

"You wish I'd paired you with a different tutor, don't you?" Mr. Savrda wore a knowing grin, as if he had expected us to not get along from the get-go. Had he known somehow that Jasper and I weren't the best of friends? We sat too far away from each other in class to talk, not that we would want to anyway. And the only other class we shared was AP English. We didn't talk in that class either. I nodded my head, unsure of where this was headed.

"Miss Walker, the thing is, Jasper is one of the best calculus students I've ever had. Sometimes I wonder if he understands the material better than I do. Given how much he's been able to help you in such a small amount of time, my suspicions may not be too far off. However, he never gives me more than just the surface. I think he's capable of more, a lot more. The performance he displays in class is phenomenal, but I want to push him to be his very best. Do you understand?"

I nodded again.

"Plus, he really has been an attendance issue. Of course, most of those attendances have been excused with a doctor's note from the hospital," he trailed off in a grumble. "Anyway, this has been a good opportunity to push him while helping you catch up. I think it's working well, but I'd like for you two to continue with your current schedule. I don't want you getting behind as we get into more difficult material."

I was afraid he was going to say that. On one hand, Jasper was a great tutor. I was starting to comprehend a lot more than I could have on my own. On the other hand, he would probably rather jump off the tallest building in Forks than spend another minute in the library with me. You win some, you lose some, I guess.

Matt wasn't too happy about the arrangement either.

"They're kind of weird," he had said during Wednesday at break. "Hale in particular. They've always kept to themselves until Bella moved to Forks. And then, there was the whole thing when they moved and came back. I've just never felt comfortable around them."

"What do you mean? Like you think they're dangerous?" Could it be that Matt also got a little apprehensive around the Cullens, like I had? That he was afraid of them?

"No, I don't think they're dangerous. But I also don't like the idea of you having to be alone with Hale for 30 to 45 minutes in the library every day."

I just shrugged. It was unpleasant but I would survive. I couldn't give up on my passing calculus grade now.

"Can I walk you down there from lunch? And then pick you up after?" Matt's hand brushed mine tentatively. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jessica give me a wink and then turned back to whatever she was saying to Mike. She was still trying to get him to ask her to the dance, though he hadn't yet.