His Last Hope | Ream Exclusive

01: Lincoln Pierce be damned.

"It's a tutoring proposition—"

I didn't let her finish. "I'll do it."

"Are you sure?" She asked. Her uncertainty putting a jam in my determination. Why wouldn't I take any opportunity offered to me at this point?

"If it means graduating on time and not putting my life on hold when I don't have to, then yes, I'm sure."

Mrs. Lake nodded, flipping through a new file she had buried in a stack of papers.

"Very well." She agreed, holding eye contact with me to gage my reaction. "Are you familiar with Lincoln Pierce?"

At the mention of his name I almost fell out of my chair. "He's looking for a tutor?"

"No. He is being assigned a tutor." The middle aged woman bit at the inside of her cheek. "Mr. Pierce is quite a bright young man to be fair. He's shown us his potential before, now he just seems to be distracted. The only solution I could come up with was giving him a tutor. Needless to say he isn't too fond of that idea."

Warning signs flashed at the back of my mind. "Well, then he obviously doesn't want a tutor..."

"The board has decided this will be Mr. Pierce's last attempt at graduating. If he doesn't manage to graduate this year the school will be denying his enrolment for next term."

The somber look on Mrs. Lake's face had me sympathizing along with her. But in all fairness Lincoln Pierce was my last concern. He wasn't the only person with the possibility of not graduating hanging over their head.

"That's fine. Whether he wants a tutor or not, I'll do it." I pressed.

"And that's fair. But I feel like I must warn you first." Mrs. Lake said, handing me a sheet of paper she dug up. "Last semester he went through eight different tutors. On top of that, another twelve students refused to even give the position a shot."

With knitted brows I scanned over the list of names, some of which were very familiar. "What is this?"

"A list of students in your grade who offer their services as part-time tutors. Many, like you, are just in it to meet their community service requirement."

"But there aren't even ten students on this list. How could he have possibly gone through that many people?"

Mrs. Lake's eyes sparkled in amusement at my observation.

"Let's just say many asked us to remove them from the list following their attempt at Mr. Pierce. The rest of them decided they either didn't have the time for it or had better things to do."

I didn't blame them. I had better things to do with my senior year than tutor someone with no care for his education. But unlike the rest of the individuals on that list, I didn't have very much freedom in my decision.

"That's fine." I said, shaking my head to rid myself of the self-pity that was clogging my mind. "I'll do it."

"It's not like you have much of a choice." Mrs. Lake's rosy lips parted, laughter fluttering around the office. For the sake of pleasantry I chortled along with her. However, the bold truth lingered in the air.

I really didn't.

"When do I start?" I asked, watching as Mrs. Lake packed up the file.

"Immediately." She said, plucking a pen off her desk and clicking it open. Reaching for her notepad she scribbled down a quick message. "The more time you have, the better. I will make arrangements for the both of you to meet this afternoon during your fourth period spare."

"And I have to tutor him everyday?" I asked, my mind drifting to the new position I had just picked up at a daycare in town.

"If you want to graduate you do. You have to make forty hours in the next two weeks, Calista. Between the two of you, you'll have to figure something out."

"And what if he refuses? You said so yourself, he doesn't want to be tutored."

"Then, unfortunately, you'll be returning for a victory lap."

Giving me a reassuring smile Mrs. Lake held out the pink sticky note to me. "Please deliver this to Mrs. Swiftly on your way out. I'll have her call Lincoln down at the start of next period."

"All right." Taking the bright square from her I gazed at the neat scrawl. Lincoln's name was written along with a quick set of instructions for the secretary outside. The flowing cursive was too pretty for someone like Lincoln Pierce.

"Enjoy the rest of your lunch, Calista."

"Thank you," I responded, already halfway out the door. "You too, Mrs. Lake."

It came as no surprise to me when I walked out to find Mrs. Swiftly sleeping with her head down on the oak desk. I stuck the note to the back of her hand and stepped into the front foyer with new found determination.

I was going to be wearing that blue gown with the rest of my graduating class at the end of July.

Lincoln Pierce be damned. 

A/N:

Hi!

Thanks for picking up His Last Hope, I hope you enjoy it. Please keep in mind this is the unedited first draft. I plan on polishing it up in the near future. Constructive criticism is always welcome. 

Happy reading!

- L