mr. payne // liam payne

one

"Hi Mr. Payne, you look very handsome today" Kelsey, the school-wide bitch, winked at our teacher upon entering the room. I rolled my eyes at her blunt comment. It's been a few months since school started, and pretty much all girls except for me have been throwing themselves at Mr. Payne's, hoping to catch his attention.

Mr. Payne simply chuckled, "Why thank you, Kelsey"

She smiled wide at him and took her seat in the back with the rest of her crew. All of them were just as obnoxious and equally bitchy.

"God, she's so annoying" Brooke huffed.

I nodded in agreement, "I know. I don't know how Mr. Payne puts up with her horniness"

Brooke and Annie giggled at my comment, because we all knew it was true.

"Alright class, before we start, I'm going to pass out your tests from last week"  He announced. He grabbed the stack from his desk and went up and down the aisles handing out tests.

He placed the test on my desk and my eyes widened when I saw the letter 'D' largely written in bold red ink. Under it was written "see me after class". I groaned, catching Annie's attention.

"What? The Joelle Taylor gets a D on her math test? The world must be coming to an end!" My best friend joked.

"Ugh, I studied so hard for this!" I whined.

"Hey, at least you get to spend some alone time with Mr. Payne after class" She winked. I playfully rolled my eyes at her. Sure I found him attractive, but I would never stoop so low as the rest of my classmates have to get his attention.

I zoned out the rest of the period, still angry about my grade. Math was the class I was actually good at, how could I let this happen?! The bell rang, signaling that class was over. As girls wished Mr. Payne a good weekend on their way out, I stayed in my seat.

"Jo, do you want me to wait for you?" Brooke asked, standing up from her desk and slinging the backpack around her shoulder. We were neighbors so she drove me to and from school everyday.

"It's fine, Brookie. I'm not sure how long this will take. I can just walk" I replied.

"Alrighty, text me later!" she grinned. Her and Annie bid their farewell to Mr. Payne and left the classroom, leaving me by myself.

"How are you doing today, Joelle?" Mr. Payne asked, taking a seat on top of his desk which was placed right in front of mine.

"Honestly, not too great" I sighed, staring down at my test.

"It's alright. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes," He reassured, "And you're a bright girl, so I know you can raise your grade"

"Thanks" I muttered.

"But, I do think that there's something we can do to boost your grade" he added. I looked up at him and met his chocolate brown eyes.

"We?" I asked, confused.

"Yeah. I've been getting the understanding that you're struggling with this topic. Am I wrong?"  I shook my head, accepting the fact that trigonometry wasn't exactly my thing. My. Payne nodded, "Right. So, I think that we should begin some tutoring sessions after school"

I frowned slightly, "I'm sorry but I don't think that'll work..I usually have work after school"

"What about today?" he asked with an eyebrow raised.

I hesitated to tell him that Fridays were my only off day because I didn't want to spend the start of my weekend being tutored by my math teacher, contrary to the rest of the girls in my class. I guess I took too long to answer, because he spoke before I could respond.