Eye Opener

"Ugh, don't get me started on the pop quiz tomorrow," Claire groaned in frustration as she stepped into the place of the guy who just left with his tray. "It's like I've been cursed this whole week."

I chuckled in response, shaking my head, standing behind her as the matron took her food tray and dished out her portion.

Our voices were barely audible due to the hustle and bustle of the cafeteria which was full as usual and infected with a bad case of moody teens. The rich aroma of food emanated everywhere.

"Really? All you can do is laugh when I'm literally sharing my pain with you?" Claire deadpanned at me as she left the cue for me to take her place, looking at me playfully as if I were a monster.

"What do you want me to do?" I shrugged at her as my tray was being filled. "It's not like there isn't any solution for your problem."

"Oh yeah, and what's that smart guy?" She rolled her grey eyes at me as I took my tray.

A smirk drew on my face, "Easy, just study."

"Easy for you to say. It's not like I'm Einstein when it comes to Math," She sighed helplessly as we left the cue area. "Just trying to read the textbooks gives me migraines sometimes."

"Yeesh, that's worse than I thought."

"You don't know the half of it." She sighed comically once again as we walked through a long space flanked on both sides by the long rows of occupied dining tables and chairs.

"Well, you got this far without flunking Math so I'm pretty sure, you'll figure something out." I turned my head to her and commented with a smile and she flashed me one in return.

"Yeah, hopefully."

The conversation paused as we walked down the path, the loud chattering of the dining students ringing in my ears, as our eyes searched for an empty table.

We found one at the end of the room and as we changed our directions and stepped towards it, a light scowl crept on her face as we neared a certain table on our right.

It was a table occupied by some cheerleading girls in their full shells who were busy giggling and gossiping about God knows what with their meals untouched in front of them.

"Are you okay Claire?" I whispered to her as their attention shifted to us, their pretty faces changing.

She shook her head, her scowl disappearing with a nonchalant look taking its place, "Yeah, never mind. Just saw something I didn't want to see here."

"...That bad huh?" I muttered, turning my head slightly to take another look at them as we passed by their table. Their gazes were still on us.

"...Yeah." She muttered casually and meaningfully as we reached the table, setting our trays on it as we sat down.

Her relationship with Jackie and the cheerleading squad had been deteriorating ever since we started hanging out.

Courtesy of Jackie either being jealous of our closeness, or the fact that she was just a massive bitch, or probably even both.

Either way, she and Claire have been on opposite sides ever since and the fact that Claire wasn't indulging her 'special attitude' was like putting salt to injury.

Plus, after the whole Brody fiasco, Jackie spread rumors in the cheerleading group that Claire was the one responsible for him switching schools, robbing the school of their precious MVP.

So, Claire's whole relationship with the team has soured to the point that she was skipping practice, even though she was the team's co-captain with none of them bothering to rat her out to the coach.

Gotta love high school drama...

"Hey at least be grateful that this is what you saw. Mine is way worse," I started mysteriously, massaging my forehead with my hand and she looked up at me with curious eyes. "...I saw Jackie," I said, forcing my voice to quiver as I feigned a look of horror.

She froze, her eyes widening a little in terror, and the next moment, we both started laughing.

"Pfft, hahaha, that was a good one." She covered her mouth with her palm and squeezed out amidst her soft laughter.

I stopped laughing and nodded, a smile on my face, as I looked down to dig into the rice portion with my fork.

"Feeling better now?"

"Yeah, thanks." She stopped laughing at my words and beamed at me.

"Don't mention it."

The first couple of minutes after this was spent in silence and the next was spent in casual and idle chatter as we ate.

Before we even knew it, the siren rang again signaling the end of the break. We were done eating by then.

"Hey, can I ask you for a favor?" Claire asked softly as we got up to dump our trays in the trash.

"Yeah, shoot."

"So, I was thinking about what you said earlier about the quiz tomorrow and I think I've found the answer to my problem."

"...Okay and what's it?" I cocked an eyebrow in suspicion as I noticed the devilish smile creeping on her face as we started walking, side by side, with the rest of the students towards the exit.

"You."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, I was thinking after school, you pop by my place and tutor me for the quiz. Not a bad idea right?"

"Hell no. I've got stuff to do Claire."

"Awww, c'mon," She started whining as we came out of the cafeteria. "I promise I won't take too much of your time and I'll pay you." She added enticingly with pleading eyes.

The last bit made me pause in the hallway.

"With?..."

"Cupcakes and muffins, mom baked some today. My share and a whole lot more will be yours if you a—"

"Deal." I cut her off and nodded with a serious look on my face as fond memories of the almost divine taste of her Mother's cooking sprouted up in my mind.

I could get a buttload of top-notch spectacular high-calorie baked goods and all I had to do was to teach Claire for a few hours? It was a good deal to me.

As much as I liked my dad's cooking and eating Thai food every evening, it was getting bland and it seriously paled in comparison with Mrs. Bennett's cooking.

It was just that good.

"Perfect. Then I'll meet you by your car when its closing," She heaved a little sigh of relief with a bright smile on her face and turned. "See you later Xander. Don't forget." She added excitedly and walked away.

"Yeah, yeah," I muttered and turned to walk in the opposite direction, clutching one of the shoulder straps of my backpack.

"Hopefully the day ends before I know it."

•••

"Apart from that formula, you can use the 'sum of roots' and 'product of roots' technique," I explained seriously. "It's basically thinking of two numbers that when added will give you the figure of 'b' and when multiplied will give you the figure of 'c' in the equation."

Seated next to me, with her eyes focused on the figures I was pointing at with the pencil on the book like a hawk, Claire nodded seriously in understanding.

"I think I get it. So in this case, the roots are six and three since their product will give you eighteen, and their sum will give you nine. Am I right?" Claire deduced carefully, turning her almond-shaped eyes to look at me as she asked.

"Bingo," I smiled at her and nodded. "Turns out you're not that bad after all." I complimented.

Her lips curled up into a proud smile at the sound of this.

"Now it's time to test your understanding," I said and flipped to another page in the textbook. "Try solving these." I pointed at a list of questions.

"Alright." She nodded at me and with confident eyes, shifted the text and exercise books from my side to hers, placing all her focus on them.

I relaxed into my swivel chair, my hands placed at the back of my neck, as my attention shifted from the white table to the open window, gazing at the distant stars that dotted the black sky.

It had been close to three hours since Claire and I came to her room after school for the tutorial session.

Glancing at the time on the analog clock hanging on the wall, I realized only twenty minutes were left before it was seven o'clock.

It was getting late. In a couple of minutes, my dad would start calling me, and I didn't want the old man to worry. It was time to leave...

My eyes drifted to Claire's figure and I couldn't help but admire her for a few seconds.

She had removed her pink sweater, leaving only her blue tube top that highlighted her abundant chest and from where I sat, I could see her cleavage, making some thoughts come to mind.

I had never taken time to really examine her features but today, in this room, I had and it opened my eyes.

From her unblemished heart-shaped face, her rosebud pink lips, her clear grey eyes, and her straight medium-length blonde hair, to her athletic body, Claire had all the requirements to become a top-class model and even more.

She hadn't even peaked yet. She was really something to look at and I didn't know if it was because of the hormones or not, but I started seeing her in a different light, as something more...

A wry smile came on my face and I shook my head to dispel these thoughts. It wasn't the right time for anything like that yet.

There were more important matters to think about, like my survival in this turbulent period. Maybe, after all the chaos had been settled and all that, I would think about it, who knows?

"I think it's time I leave," I commented as I stood up and Claire paused her writing, trailing her gaze to me.

She turned her head to glance at the clock, sighed when she noted the time, and then stood up with a small smile on her face.

"I guess so." She let out a soft sigh. "C'mon, I'll escort you outside." She gestured with her head as she grabbed her sweater hung on her chair and put it on.

I nodded and then with her in the lead, both of us left her room, descending the staircase to the first floor. As we neared the end, we met Lyle who was about to ascend.

"What's up, Lyle?" I greeted the boy casually with a smile, my hands tucked in the pockets of my hoodie.

"Cool. Are you leaving?" Lyle smiled back and asked, pausing at the mouth of the staircase as we reached it.

Lyle was Claire's younger brother. A young pre-teen with a lean body, short blond hair, bright blue eyes like his father, and a handsome baby face.

He was decked in a white cardigan and baggy blue Jeans.

"Yeah, it's getting late," I answered with a smile and he nodded in understanding.

"Okay then I guess I'll see you later," He said. "Bye Xander." He waved as he began his ascent, giving his sister a certain look.

"You too Lyle." I waved back and then we walked out of the front door. Cold air hugged me the moment we came out, making me shiver a little but Claire remained unfazed.

"See you at school tomorrow Xander," She said as she punched my shoulder lightly. "Oh, and thanks for today." She thanked me with a grateful smile that infected me.

I waved my hand in dismissal, "Don't mention it and besides, I got my compensation, so you don't need to thank me." I smiled cheekily at her and rubbed my belly playfully, making her giggle.

Thank God for Mrs. Bennett and her muffins...

"Yeah, sure. Goodbye, Xander."

"Same Claire. I'll see you tomorrow." I said and stepped towards my car parked near the driveway.

The next moment, I paused as something came to mind, so I turned back and stopped Claire as she was about to enter the house.

"Claire wait."

She stopped, and the door opened as she turned to face me with a raised eyebrow, "What?"

"Did you mean what you said about the homecoming?" I asked her meaningfully and she froze for a second, her eyes dropping in thought.

"...Yeah I guess. I mean, after all that's happened with Brody and my powers, the whole school spirit thing is kinda becoming meaningless.

"I mean, sure if I win and become Queen, I'll be happy but if I don't, I won't fuss about it like I would if it was a week ago.

"So yeah, Jackie can win Homecoming Queen for all I care. Hopefully, she'll become less bitchy after that."

She explained and shrugged with a calm and peaceful smile.

Hah? I guess meeting me did a number of her growth. Birds of the same feather really do flock together...

"I see," I nodded with a smile then turned. "Goodbye Claire." I flashed her a wave and after she replied with a wave of her own, I continued the short trip to my car, unlocked it, and stepped inside.

It had been a long day. Now, it was time to get home. There were things to do and plans to plot...