Weeping Willow

Chapter Two - Guillotine

My tutoring student emailed me a little after 4pm. He gave me his IM details and said chatting through there would be easier. I won't lie. I was kind of hesitant to go outside of using the very anonymous email Mr Bartlett had set up for me. But I needed to do this, so I went along with it.

I signed into IM and typed his chat name Guillotine into the search bar. He popped up right away so I sent a friend request. Within a few seconds the request disappeared and a small icon and his name popped up on my once empty friends list. I hovered over his name for a moment before clicking.

Solitaire – Guillotine? What kind of chat name is that.

Guillotine – At least mine sounds fierce...

Solitaire – I'm rolling my eyes right now.

Guillotine – I've got 58 minutes to study and then I have a date... can we speed this up? My English and Math teachers have said if I don't pull my grades up I can't.... I can't go to prom.

Solitaire – Prom? You're worried about prom?

Guillotine - We're seniors. It's a big deal.

Solitaire - Speak for yourself.

I sighed, This guy... was a Douche, with a capital D. Regret began to wash over me until another message popped up on screen.

Guillotine - Whatever. Can you help or not?

Solitaire - Have you got last week's English or Math homework?

Guillotine – No. I throw that shit out the minute it's graded.

Solitaire – Do me a favour and don't do that anymore okay. How the hell can I tutor you when I don't know what you're having trouble with?

Guillotine – your*

Solitaire – No, It's you're.

Guillotine – I know, I was just testing you.

Solitaire – Sure...

Guillotine – Look I'll keep my homework from tomorrow and we can start again tomorrow after school. Okay Miss Solitaire.

Solitaire – Fine.

Guillotine – I really appreciate your help keeping this quiet. The guys would laugh if they knew I needed a tutor.

Solitaire – Real friends wouldn't laugh at someone being proactive about their education.

Guillotine – Do you have any friends born this century? Friends these days laugh about anything.

Solitaire – I have to go. See you tomorrow.

I closed the chat box and let out a succession of shallow breaths. I felt like I'd been stuck inside a vortex, We'd worked on nothing, yet I felt like I'd been drained of everything I had ever learned. This was going to be harder than I had ever anticipated. Do you have any friends born this century? I sighed and looked down at my hands. I didn't have any friends. Period.

Like clockwork Dad came home from work at 5:30pm. Almost instantly the already hostile environment floating around the place I was meant to call home, felt even more so. He wasn't in a good mood, I could tell by the slamming of the door as he walked inside. Not that he was ever in a good mood. I don't think I'd seen him smile in the almost 18 years I'd been alive. Maybe he had been happy once, maybe Mom had too, but I'd never been a witness to it... ever.