School Life #3 Physics Tutoring

"Punctuality will be appreciated"

Those words greeted me the moment I stepped into the red car awaiting silently for me under the big shady tree.

Where do I hear those words again?
I racked my mind for that piece of memory.

*light bulb flickering*
Ah. It's the note that I wrote and stuck on my Sis's laptop.
=P in case she's too engrossed in the virtual world and forgotten to pick me up!

Turned out that I have to eat my own words instead.
Thanks to that 'Board of Class Monitors' meeting.

Anyway, we sped off the moment I plopped myself on the cushion.
No time to spare.
My schedule's as tight as a celebrity could be.
I need to head to my physics tutoring in about 10 minutes before I'm officially declared late, and made a big-show entrance.

When we reached there, it was already 4.17 pm.
My tutoring started at 4.30 pm, so I was taken back when I opened the door....to an empty room.
Gee...seriously, can anyone tell me what's the definition of 'punctuality' in this modern era?!

I picked my seat at the back, like always.
Then, I'm lost to my own little realm, accompanied my my iPod.

As the minute hand creeps closer and closer to 30, people started to stream in.
Right. This person. Know him/her from last year.
Ooo....This person. Either new student/just changed to my session this year.
Aaah....This person. Familiar face. Seen him around in school.

All of a sudden,
Eeeek! This person?! How...? Why is 'this person' in my session?! I saw him like...almost everywhere! Even my Chemistry tutoring for godsake!

He moved into the room and revealed another more appalling figure.
0_o (my expression)
This cannot be happening. This cannot be happening. This cannot be happening.
(the chant in my head)

It's him. Pretty notorious in our school for his 'activities'.
Saying him a leader of the underworld might not be exaggerating.

Though I maintained a calm don't-give-a-damn composure,
my heart was hammering like mad in my ribcage.
Wait. What's he doing?! He's heading towards my row, my place!
I glanced at the seat on my right side.
Shyt.

It's empty.
It's practically hanging a huge, bright V-A-C-A-N-T neon sign on it.

*groaning in my head*
I have to sit with him?

No way man. That is just SO RANDOM!!!! Me and him is like a thousand world apart, and to hell with all those fanfics, or Korean dramas, our fate will NOT be entwined, or some sort rubbish like that. Why can't he choose other session?! I'm pretty comfortable with a few of my classmates here...etc

While I was busy arguing destiny in my head, he got into my row, and just sat next to me.

Just
Sat
Next
To Me.

x.x doom doom doom doom doom

It was pretty awkward.
The table isn't that large too, mind you.
I cleared my things from his side, and put it at my other side, closer to my classmate.
See? Ain't I kind? Giving him a larger space.

That's the most I could do I guess....
since I don't really fancy doing the get-to-know-each-other part.
To hell I'm gonna say, "Hi. I'm barleyfreak. What's your name?"
Any student in the school who don't know his name really have to double check if they're in the same school. Seriously. Asking his name will be like, "Hey. What's your gender?"
Redundant huh?

So. Our tutor came in and the tutoring begun.
It was pretty easy to banish all the jitteries and awkwardness evoked from his presence by my side.
I just have to concentrate on the tutoring, that's all.
I mind my business, he mind his.
See? Mutualism.

As the assignments are passed from the front, we have to wait until it reach our table.
When it finally does, the guy beside me caught me offguard again.
"Thank you," he said to the person in front of him.

WHAT?!
Did I hear wrong?!
That came out of his mouth?!

I'm really surprised.
I mean, does the word' thank you', a show of gratitude, actually capable to flow through the lips of a guy like him?!

Hmm....looks like there's more about him than what meets the eye. Or ears.

I thought that we would share nothing but awkward silence between us, throughout the one-and-a-half hour tutoring. Turned out that I was wrong.
He is truly an extrovert.

--please take note that all the following conversations is conversed in Chinese. Translation might distort the dialogues...a little.--

"Is there any toilet here?"
My senses sharpen instantly. What should I do? What should I answer?!
"Um...yes?" duh.
"Where is it?!" he prompted again.
"Outside from here. You just have to go outside, walk ahead, the toilet's there." I replied.
"Oh. So I just have to walk through the door and the toilet will be there? Walk through the door, is it?" he asked
"Yeah. The toilet has a door. So of course you have to walk through it."
He gave a light laugh. "Of course toilet has a door!"

+_+

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Him: "Gee..you know all the answers to the questions. Do you read at home?!"
Me: *startled* "No. The answers are all in the book. See?"
--silence--
-_-

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Him: "Are you the type who could remember by reading once?"
Me: *raising my eyebrows* "I guess you can say that...."
"Wow. I have to read 10 times, and I still don't get it."

*laugh*

#_#

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Me: *after seeing his assignments are still blank* Don't you understand what teacher said?
Him: No....
Me: Then why don't you ask?!
Him: So many people....feel embarrassed to do so.
Me: *in my head* Gee..you have the element of shyness in you too?! YOU?! *scoff* unbelievable!

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That's only the second day of the tutoring.
Gee...80++ to go....