Love You, Love You Not{Completed}

Math Tutor

"Alright, alright, settle down! In all seriousness, the topic is love. Write a 3-4 sentence paragraph describing what you think love is. You've got 20 minutes after which I'll be reading one paper out loud, and the rest will be returned to you, graded, tomorrow.

I stared at my blank paper for the first 5 minutes. I had nothing to say. I had never been in love before, I didn't know what it was like. So, I just wrote down what I thought it would be like. I scribbled down whatever I could in hopes of not being called out by Mrs. Lucas.

"James," she said about 10 minutes later. "Come on up, let's see what you have to say about love."

I swallowed my breath in and, heart pumping, stood up and went to stand next to Mrs. Lucas, before the entire class ready to read what I had written.

"We are all born with a gap in our hearts that can only be filled by one thing; love. When we find that one person who can fill that gap in our hearts, we will feel whole and complete. Be it a love full of sadness or happiness, we will always feel alive, regardless of its nature. Afterall, isn't that the definition of love in itself?"

I folded the paper and looked at my fellow classmates. Mrs. Lucas stood there smiling for about thirty seconds until she finally spoke.

"Good job Mr. Matherson," she said smiling at me. "88"

I smiled and went back to sit in my seat while the other students passed their papers forward and handed them to Mrs. Lucas.

That was the last thing we did before the bell finally rang signaling the end of class. I still hadn't read Riley's letter, and I was dying to know what she had written. I quickly packed up my things and hurried outside so that Neil wouldn't be able to catch up, and I'd be able to read the note. I dashed to the only quiet place I knew: the library. I openned the library doors and made my way to the 'Great Battles Of History' section, which was deserted, and looked like it had been so for quite some time. I rummaged through my pockets until I found the letter, then sunk down to the floor and started reading.

"Hey James, it's Riley. I don't know where to start. What happened, or almost happened, between us, it just can't happen again. I have Nick, I really like Nick...

So if you remember, there was a condition to me being your guide. I need a Math retest, and being your guide was the only way I could get it. However, since the incident, we haven't seen each other. So, please, let's not make a big deal over what happened, the trouble's not worth it. We just got caught up in the moment is all...

Meet me in front of the library after lunch, there's still one place I have to show you.

-Riley"

I sat there thinking about it for a minute. Could I stand being around Riley without exceeding my limits? Could we just be...friends?

I got up and made my way out of the library. I checked my schedual and found I had Calculus next. With 5 minutes left till the beginning of class, I hurried down the hallway, past the sports equipment closet, and into Mr. Anderson's classroom.

"Good day class," said Mr. Anderson as we sat down. "I corrected your quizes and..."

"Sorry I'm late!" interrupted Melissa, closing the classroom door as she enterred.

"It's fine Melissa, take a seat." retorted Mr. Anderson. "As I was saying, I corrected your quizes and it is my absolute pleasure to announce that you all passed. Not only that, but two of you got a perfect score. Well done Melissa and James!"

I smiled and winked at Melissa as Mr. Anderson handed me my quiz. He finished handing out the rest of the papers then proceeded on to explaining the lesson. About twenty minutes into it, he had already explained half the lesson, so he decided to allocate the rest of the period to an exercise he gave us, on which we would apply what we had just learned.