A Little More Than Xs And Os

Surprise, Peyton

It starts raining in 6th period. I stare out the window, but still focus on the lesson. Trevor is staying after for some sport today, and can't give me a ride home. I think I'm at odds with Peyton right now, so I don't want to ask her to spend time tutoring me if she has football or soccer practice to attend.

I sigh. “Mr. Greene! I don't know what is so interesting about that window, but maybe you'd like to come up here and show the class how to do this!” Mr. Calaway demands of me. I sigh again, but walk up to the board, all eyes on me, some laughter occurs.

“Solve the problem.” He nods to the board with the equation wrote on it. So I solve it. Piece of cake. It was just a stupid little Linear equation. That's Math 1 basics.

Mr. C's mouth drops. “Tell the class how you did it.” Okay, well now he must think I've cheated or something. This crap is self-explanatory. “You know what, just explain how you're cheating right now instead.” I give him a dirty glance, and the look is shared.

“I'm not cheating. I know this stuff from, like, 9th grade. It's Math 1 basics.” If his mouth could drop to the floor, it would've. The bell rings just then and I make a dash for my desk to retrieve my binder. Mr. Calaway stops me though.

“Stay right here, Adam. I need to talk to you.” I shift my weight to my right leg and follow behind him to his desk in the back of the room.

I See Peyton out in the hall, and for a second, I lead myself to believe that she's waiting on me. Then I realize she's talking to her friends, who I still don't recognize. I face Mr. Calaway instead. “Adam, do you want to tell me how you know this without paying attention in my class?” I mentally groan. “I don't have to pay attention to absorb it.” He narrows his eyes at me. “What do you mean?” I sigh, audibly this time. “I don't know. I just glance at the board, hear you mumble on, and it sticks with me.” He sits in his desk chair now, like he literally couldn't stand knowing this.

“How come you don't show this on tests?” he sighs back. I shrug. “I don't put in that much effort, I guess. I know the stuff, believe me, but I don't think I'm mentally prepared for AP classes.” His fingers rest on his forehead. “Are you like this in other classes?” I look out the door, something inside me still longing for Peyton to want to see me. But she's gone, and so is everyone else in the hallway.

“I guess so. Mr. Calaway, I need to go–” He laughs. “Okay, you realize it's raining outside and you have to walk? And also, if you're just trying to catch up to Peyton, you should have also realized that soccer nor football will be practicing today. Again, rain.”

Here we are talking about how smart I could potentially be and he's already listing off the dumb things I'm thinking. This guy is good. I hate it.

“Why do you need a tutor?” he asks. I shrug, heading to the door. “My mom thinks it's best. Of course, she doesn't know what I'm capable of. A lot of you don't.” At that I walk out.

I pull my hood over my head and walk out the doors in the pouring rain. We had to practice in the rain in football, I don't know what Mr. Calaway is talking about. I decide to walk out there and see for myself. But I only reach the gate before Ms. York is behind me. I know the sound of her heals behind me.

“What are you doing out here, Adam?” I roll my eyes. “I was just seeing if the football team was practicing in the rain or not. By the way, has Mr. Calaway told you yet that I'm actually smart? Yeah, you should ask him about that.” I do a quick turn on my heels and dash away from her right after I sneak a peek at the empty football field. Weird.

I don't let Ms. York catch up. I run to my house all the way. When I reach the driveway, I bend over panting. Ryan opens the door for me when I get to it. “Thanks,” I gasp. I jump onto the couch. Ryan sits in the recliner in the corner.