——Sam
"You're tutoring Aaron Lanter?!" Chloe shrieked. She checked and read the blue slip with Aaron's details written on it for the fourth time. "And the plot thickens."
"Calm down." I snatched the crumpled paper from her. "It's bound to be a major disaster. This is a mistake." I tossed myself on my bed with the blue paper in my hand and stared at it. Aaron James Lanter.
I felt like my world shrunk, and everyone had conspired against me when I read Aaron's name, written legibly on the blue slip earlier that day. Just when I got a B- for Gym class, I was assigned to tutor the school's most despicable, breathing creature. It rained, and it poured—hard.
I couldn't wipe the annoying grin on Chloe's NYX Cosmetics infested face. "What did Bruce think about it?"
"Nothing much. All he said was, and I quote, 'this is nothing personal, Sam.'" But, I know he was all behind it. And I am right most of the time. Bruce has been going on and on about this "opposites attract" mumbo jumbo. He believed that the universe is trying to get Aaron and me together.
Chloe wrinkled her nose in thought. "What subject does he need help with? Advanced Chem?"
I laughed. I had to. Her guess was funny to me. "No. Think again, Chloe."
"Math?"
I laughed again. "I'll you a give a hint. It's your favorite subject."
"Recess?" She laughed this time.
I rolled my eyes. "Come on."
"Oh, wait." Her eyes widened. "Oh, no. Literature?"
I nodded. "AP Lit."
She burst out laughing. It was true though. It was Chloe's favorite, and she had been acing it since the start of the school year.
"Wow. He must be going through some tough times to flunk literature," she said in between giggles. "No wonder he looked a bit disoriented at lunch today." She joined me on my bed and took the blue paper and stared at Aaron's name. "Aaron James Lanter. He's still very cute today. Disoriented or not."
I got up and threw her a disgusted look, which she ignored by smiling at Aaron's name. "And I still can't believe you let him cut in line like that. That was so rude."
"He looked so hungry. I had to help him."
"Chloe, we were all hungry. We, including those other students, were hungry."
She looked at me; her eyes twinkled in excitement. "And he looked at me. He saw me and even talked to me."
"Yeah, and he also called you Powerpuff Girl. Congratulations. What a dream come true for you." My sarcasm didn't seem to make any difference as she continued to smile and moon over our short encounter with the idiot.
"He's got to have the most captivating blue eyes ever."
"If you're so in love with him, why don't you break up with your useless boyfriend?" I pointed out to her. Aside from Gym class, nothing could be more dreadful than Chloe's college drop-out boyfriend, Vander Nash. He was the most indolent, audacious lecher I ever laid my eyes on. He had dated two other girls while he was seeing Chloe. The worst part was he had somehow managed to turn the tables and made it look like it was my best friend's fault.
"I can't do that," Chloe answered, looking at me a bit serious.
"Why not?" I gave her an even more serious look.
She sighed. "Aaron is just lovely to look at. He was created so that girls have someone they could look and drool over but can't have. Vander is someone you can have. Besides, I am not in love with Aaron. But I am with Vander."
I had to raise my eyebrows to what she just said. "You know what, Chloe? Sometimes I asked myself whether you're still the same girl I caught smoking, in my room, four years ago, or if you're someone completely different. You used to be so anti-romantic and almost hated everything human. What happened?"
She smiled and said, "Vander happened."
I made a face. I wanted to puke. "He cheated on your more than a couple of times." I reminded her. Although I knew it would be exposing old wounds, I didn't care.
"And he's sorry. He's changed now. People change, Sam." She stated a matter-of-factly with a nasty scowl gracing her face. "In fact, he's invited me to sleep over tomorrow night. He wants to spend some time with me."
"Let me guess. His parents are away?"
She nodded.
"Chloe, how can you be so blind?" I wanted to scream at her. "D'you have any idea why he's invited you? He's planning to have sex with you. I knew it! That jackass." I had expected her to be mad at Vander and to thank me for saving her from what could be the most terrible thing to happen to her, but no, Chloe smiled sheepishly instead.
"We kind of agreed that it's about time," she said. Her cheeks turned pink in seconds.
My jaw dropped, and for the first time, I was at a loss for words.
"I will be eighteen soon. I'm mature enough to engage in this type of thing."
"Chloe, you deserve someone better. Better than that douche. I know that this is just peer pressure. Don't listen to Martha and Ginger. You don't have to lose your virginity before graduation." My pleading eyes couldn't plead more.
She got up and grabbed her bag from the carpeted floor. "No one's pressuring me to do anything, Sam. I won't be making love with Vander just because Martha and Ginger have already done it. That's just stupid. I have decided to do it with him because I do love him. Simple as that."
But I wasn't ready to rest my case just yet. "And if he does love you, he'd wait for you. Wait for another couple of years. You just dated that scumbag for two years."
"And?"
"You used to be anti-romantic." I reminded her again.
A nasty scowl crept over her face. "You've got issues, Sam. You can't stand people who are happy in love."
"As your one and only best friend in our shrinking universe, I only want what's best for you."
Chloe took a deep breath. "I know you care about me. But your offensive name-calling stings me too. This conversation is stuck. We've hit the Vander Wall again. As usual." She was right; all the traces of the previous hysterics had vanished as soon as I brought up Vander's name. I couldn't help it; I just loathed the guy.
"Yeah. I guess I'll just see you tomorrow then?"
"Yes. And get some sleep and overdose yourself with multivitamins, you'll need that tomorrow." She smiled wryly. I knew what she meant. "By the way, why don't you back out? Or, switch places with somebody more willing to tutor Aaron?"
"I wanted to. But I can't. I need the extra credits, and no one wants to switch. They all think of this like a game show and want to see who comes out unscathed—me or that brute. And I don't think anyone smart would like to be near him, voluntarily. Everyone knows he's rude, annoying, arrogant and incapable of learning from others," I told her.
Chloe smiled. "My bet's on you. You've been totally kicking his cute ass lately." She added with a wink.
I gave her a full-blown smile. She giggled briefly before walking out of my room.
Right after dinner, I retreated to my room and started preparing for my lesson plan. It should be an easy-peasy work for me since I had read Sense and Sensibility more than a couple of times. As I stared at my notes, my mind started questioning the point in all this. Slowly, the actuality of the situation dawned on me. Aaron and I did nothing but throw insults and hate each other. Why did the universe actually think that it would be a good idea to make us work together?
Miguel was right when he said that Aaron and I would just end up killing each other. However, Bruce fanatically insisted otherwise. Had he been inhaling too much lab chemicals when he thought that Aaron would be the perfect guy for me? Aaron Lanter would never be the perfect human being for me. Why? Because I already found the guy and we broke up.
Yes, I had a boyfriend once; he was my first and probably my last. The affair only lasted for almost three months. Almost. He publicly claimed on Facebook that I was too bossy and too much of a know-it-all. I must admit though that we had our issues. My "No Date During Exams" policy was too much for him. I firmly believed that kissing on a first date was too physical for two people who were just trying to get to know each other, he thought differently. He said I always knew the right thing to say and always had the last word, and told me that "dating me was like dating his mother."
I was hurt.
Nonetheless, I moved on, and he transferred to the other side of the country. Since then, I had lost interest in the whole dating drama.
* * *
How could someone feel sick and not sick at the same time? Could that even be possible? I thought my world was slowly spiraling that day; my appetite was at its lowest point; my class participation wasn't as active as it should, and I felt like I was moving toward the end of the day faster than everyone else.
When Aaron made his morning ritual in Mr. Jacobs' class this morning by throwing some unwelcomed and totally unfunny remarks my way, I was very much tempted to throw the lesson plan I prepared to his face. He still hadn't got a clue that I was his tutor. The thought of us working closely together made my stomach churn. The image of us working harmoniously together had eluded me.
I remained silent and chose not to respond to any of his tasteless joke about my unruly dark hair. And after our class together, I made myself as invisible as I could.
By the time the last bell rang, signifying the end of the school day, I was already feeling seriously sick to my stomach. I had told myself repeatedly that I could do it. The session would end without bloodshed. I had tutored numerous students since I joined the club. I just had to set my hatred for Aaron aside and be as professional as I could.
I was walking to my locker when I saw Chloe. Hurriedly, I marched to her and clutched her arm tightly.
"Ouch! That hurts!" she complained.
"Chloe, I've never asked you a favor in my entire life—"
"Yes, you have." She protested. "You asked me to ask your ex-boyfriend whether he enjoyed your first kiss or not because you were too scared to find out the truth yourself."
"I meant this year. Could you come with me? I just want you to be there while I tutor that Aaron. I'm sure it's going to be bloody. Either he'll kill me or I'll kill him. But it's his house, so he'd most likely end up killing me." I blurted out, no longer able to hide what I was feeling inside.
"Oh, please, Sam, next thing you know, you guys are making tender faces at each other," she said, rolling her eyes—not the kind of reaction I was hoping for.
"Are you high? Has Bruce influenced you?"
"It's what always happens in movies and books," Chloe said like she had seen it happen before.
"Come on. Please?"
"I can't. Vander's picking me up." Chloe's parents travel a lot around the country, and this left her so much liberty to do almost anything.
My eyes widened in disbelief. "Oh. My. Gosh! You're totally going to do it with him tonight, aren't you?"
"I already told you." She sighed to let me know that talking about these things with me was pretty exhausting to her. "And please let's not argue about it anymore."
I shook my head disapprovingly. "You're hopeless." But on the inside, I was feeling the same thing.
We went our separate ways: Vander picked her up while I pedaled my way to my doom.
When I finally arrived at my final destination, I was already sweating profusely and sweltering even more as I stood in front of the Lanters' black-painted, driveway gate. He lived in an affluent neighborhood just I had expected.
I made my way over to the intercom that was attached to a large gabbro pillar on the right. I pressed the black button marked "buzzer." And in just two seconds, I heard a stern voice over the intercom. "Your name and the reason for coming?"
"Samantha Banks. I'm here to tutor Aaron? Aaron Lanter?" Within seconds, the gates opened.
My heart sunk. I had secretly hoped that the gate had remained closed, and Aaron, being his arrogant self, had sent me away instead. I swallowed hard and slowly entered the lion's lair. The lush, green, manicured lawn and the design of the house were nothing short of elegant.
I left my bicycle to the side and climbed the steps to the massive fiberglass door. Carefully, I turned the brass doorknob and stepped inside slowly. The house had every little thing that made it luxurious, from the high ceiling, marble floors, ornate glass window, a spiral staircase lined with gilt, not to mention the enormous crystal chandelier right above the open landing. Everything looked ridiculously expensive. I stood in the middle of the grand entryway, slack-jawed in awe.
"You might want to close your mouth, Miss Banks?"
I had been preoccupied admiring the house that I didn't notice that a tall, middle-aged man was already standing in front of me. I smiled at him awkwardly.
"My name is Arthur James Lanter. I'm Aaron's father," said the man, offering his hand to me. He was wearing a neatly pressed khaki pants and a long-sleeved, button-down cotton shirt. I felt my cheeks turned pink as I looked down at my blue, washed-out jeans and old pair of black Chucks. My casual attire was clearly out of place.
I shook his hand and smiled politely. "Hello, Mr. Lanter. My name is Samantha Banks. Pleased to meet you." I greeted, echoing his formal voice. It was weird talking like that to another Lanter.
"Follow me to study room, Miss Banks."
I followed him silently. The study room had more books than the Hemmings, our town's bookstore. I secretly sighed in admiration at the built-in bookcases, the pear-shaped fireplace, and the wood paneling that was just about the right color. Even the carpet on the floor was something to be admired!
"Please take a seat, Miss Banks." Mr. Lanter motioned me to sit on the tapestry sofa.
I hesitated for a moment before sitting down; clutching my bag nervously. The size of the house made me feel so small and lost, and I was scared to touch anything I might break. I could never afford anything inside that house.
"I'll call my son. Wait for him here," Mr. Lanter said before leaving me all by myself.
I looked around, unable to sit still. The entire room was bigger than my room and Christie's combined. Had Aaron read all these books? I scanned the bookshelves near me, but my eyes were drawn to one of my classic favorites, Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. It was the first book my dad gave me when he was still alive. A smile escaped my mouth as I reminisced, holding the book tightly to my chest.
"You shouldn't keep your tutor waiting." The sound of Mr. Lanter's stern voice pulled me out of my trance, and my heart nearly popped out of my chest.
Quickly, I returned the book and walked back to the sofa, sat for a mere second, stood up, and sat again. Obviously flustered. I just then pretended to look for something in my bag as Mr. Lanter and Aaron entered the room.
"Miss Banks," Mr. Lanter spoke. My heart jumped again, the power of his voice was something else. "Aaron's ready now."
I smiled at Mr. Lanter, but my face didn't make any effort for Aaron. His facial expression, mirrored mine, it was deadpan.
"Aren't you going to greet your tutor, Aaron?" Mr. Lanter said, apparently clueless about the real deal between his son and me.
Aaron's lips stretched into a forced smile and extended his hand to me. It took me a few seconds to accept his hand for a quick handshake. His hand felt shockingly smooth against mine. He briefly squeezed my hand before pulling away awkwardly, shoving his into his side pocket.
"How are you, Sam?" His voice was nothing but friendly. I was completely dumbfounded. "I was supposed to pick you up from your house, but I forgot to ask for your address. My apologies if you had to bike your way to our house."
Did Aaron Lanter just use the word apologies, together with my name, in one sentence? I thought he had skipped learning that word. And he was supposed to pick me up from my house? I mentally paused for a moment. That couldn't be true. No way.
"Well, I'd better leave now, or I'll be late for my flight." Then Mr. Lanter turned to me. "We have prepared dinner. Please join Aaron later, Miss Banks, before you leave."
"Huh."
He ignored my reaction and left the study room without even saying anything to Aaron.
"Shall we start, Sam?"
I couldn't believe it. Aaron-freaking-Lanter was strangely polite and very welcoming to me. I followed him to the walnut coffee table by the fireplace.
My heart was beating fast as soon as I was alone with him. I looked at him. Was that all an act? I knew I was about to find out.
"Listen, I didn't choose this," I explained right away. "I didn't make this happened. I would have picked someone else if given a choice."
Aaron sat comfortably in the space on the Chesterfield sofa in front of me. "Look, I don't care. You are here to make me pass that goddamned class. Just do it."
And I was right. It was all an act. He was faking it in front of his father.
But as I have reminded myself many times, I had to remain professional. I couldn't let our hatred for each other affect my tutoring career. While brushing off the urge to strangle him, I began to unpack my books and teaching materials.
"Okay, do you have the book with you?" I asked him.
"What?"
"The book we're supposed to study together?" I asked. "We'll read it together, discuss it, and then you will go through the assignment."
Aaron laughed. "But that's what you're here for—to do my assignment. You read the damn book and do my assignment for me. That's how this whole thing works."
I could feel the muscles in my face tightened, but I forced to push my feelings aside. This time I needed to treat Aaron how I had treated the other hard-headed students I had tutored.
He tossed a notebook on the table. "I wrote the assignment on the second page. Just copy it, and you can go home after. I'm sure you'd rather work on it in your house than in here" He glanced at his watch. "Better hurry. Nicole will be here soon. She doesn't like you."
"Excuse me?"
"One thing I hate doing is repeating myself, Banks. My time is gold. I don't have any plans of wasting any minute of it by telling you one simple instruction over and over again. You're smart, right? Or, do you just pretend to be smart?"
That's it. How could I possibly help this self-righteous creature? Extremely annoyed and on the verge of punching the smug look on his face, I stood up and pointed at him. "Listen, Lanter, you are the one flunking a subject that even my ten-year-old sister can perfectly comprehend." I shoved my books and his notebook into my bag and made my way to the door.
But Aaron grabbed my arm so fast that I didn't even have time to react. His face was inches away from mine. Again.
Why did he always have to stand so close to me to make a point?
Breathing heavily and not knowing what he was about to do next, I glared straight into his unreasonably magnetic cornflower blue eyes. However, blue eyes or not, we continued to hatefully stare at each other for a moment when his eyes slowly traveled down to my pursed lips.
"You're thinking I'm going to kiss you, aren't you?" He then let go of me and laughed scornfully. "Dream on, Banks. Have I told you that you were a lousy kisser? You were, and I'm pretty sure you still are. Or have you been practicing?"
"Listen, assrat." I pointed my finger at him again. "I kissed you because I was dared to kiss you. It wasn't even because I lust for you. I was drunk. I kissed you out of stupidity. My lips were on your lips, but my mind was off somewhere else, thinking about someone else. So let the kiss rest in peace already. I already buried it six-feet under!" I marched out of the room and slammed the door behind me.
"You will regret this, Lanter," I muttered to myself and left the house. A plan was already running through my head.