Teaching Cassandra

For a moment I am stunned by the Eldest's lack of faith in me. Then excitement bubbles up. "Awesome! When is it starting? Is it in the Metorium?"

"Today, after school, and yes."

The warning bell rings at that moment, putting an end to our conversation. "See you during lunch." I wave to Drew and walk as fast as I can to homeroom.

Time slows to a crawl for the rest of the morning. It doesn't dampen my good mood though. After school, I am going to learn how to use magic, how on earth could anything stop me from feeling anything other than pure joy.

My joy seems to affect my brain somehow, as all the topics taught suddenly feel easier to understand. If only things could be like this every day, then I would have no problem with school.

Once the bell rings for lunch, I waste no time, packing up my stuff and heading straight to the cafeteria. I head towards my usual table, and surprisingly Drew is already seated.

I drop my lunch on the table, ignoring it as I turn to Drew, ready to start firing all the questions that had come to my mind throughout the morning. He speaks before I can even begin to start asking.

"Your girlfriend is coming." He says.

For a moment I am confused, but then something in my brain clicks. I turn around to see Cassandra walking toward the table. As usual, my heart begins to beat faster.

"Hey guys," she says once she is close to the table. She sits beside me, causing my calming heart to pick up the pace once again.

"Hey," I say.

Drew says."Sup."

She turns to me. "You have a free period after lunch, right?"

I think for a moment then nodded. I actually have two.

"Well," she says, "so do I. I was wondering if we could begin the tutoring today? During the free period."

"Sure," I say.

She beams a smile at me, once again causing my heart to race. "Thank you so much. Well, I guess I'll see you then." She waves goodbye and walks away from the table.

"It seems my plan is working well," Drew says once she has left the table.

I raise an eyebrow at him. "What plan?"

He smiles a knowing smile. "You know nothing, Ian Walker."

"Right. Anyway, I've got a load of questions for you so get ready."

Drew groans. "Don't you ever stop asking questions?"

I smile at him and answer his question with my own. "What is the first thing they are going to teach me about magic."

"You'll find out soon enough."

"For how long will I be taught?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

"Am I going to have different teachers? Wait, are there different branches of magic?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

I glare at him. "Will you stop answering my questions like that?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

I let my expression say what I want to say next.

Drew raises his hands. "Look, I just don't see the point in answering questions you'll soon know the answer to. Ask me a question other than anything you'll find out today, and I promise you I'll answer."

I shake my head and decide to focus on my lunch, he is a bit right, after all, all my questions are things I will get the answers to before the end of today. I might as well be patient.

As lunch ends, I realize I have no idea where to meet up with Cassandra for the tutoring. In the end, I just decide to stand somewhere conspicuous outside the cafeteria, feeling somewhat foolish as people walk by.

After some time, I spot Cassandra coming out of the cafeteria with some of her friends, it doesn't take long before she sees me too. I expect something weird to happen, like her giving me a strange look or something, but instead, she says something to her friends, waves them goodbye, and comes over to me.

"So," she says, "where are we going to do it?"

"I have no idea," I say honestly. I truly hadn't thought of that until now. Once she mentions it though, I begin to think of all the possible places where I could tutor her. But I could only think of one place. The geography class. Apart from the teacher, it is usually completely empty at this time of the day.

"Why don't we try the geography class?" I suggest. "I don't think Mr. Sherman will object."

"Okay." She agrees, and we begin to walk toward the class. "You know, I kinda envy you."

"You envy me? Why?"

"Well, it's not exactly you, but your closeness to the teachers. I'm pretty sure if any other person asked Mr. Sherman for something like this, he will disagree."

"He hasn't agreed yet."

"He will."

"He might not," I argue.

"Okay then, let's bet on it?"

I open my mouth, then after a moment of hesitation close it. I shake my head.

"C'mon, don't be a scaredy-cat. It's just a small bet. It won't hurt you."

Again I shake my head. "I don't make bets. There's always a probability you might lose. I don't want to take that risk."

"So, you don't like taking risks."

"I don't like taking some risks. There are different types of risks after all."

"Really. I always thought risks were just risks, I didn't know they had classifications. So, what are the types?"

"...Low and high."

She narrows her eyes as she turns to look at me, a slight smile on her lips. "Why do I get the feeling those were not the types you were talking about."

I just smile.

We get to the class and I open the door. Seated in front of a desk at the front of the class is Mr. Sherman.

Mr. Sherman is an old man, rumored to have taught in the school for over twenty years. His face is covered by wrinkles, something that gives him a stern look and makes students falsely think him to be strict, and is typing away on his laptop. He looks up when he hears the door open, his wrinkles deepening as he frowns. His expression relaxes once he sees me.

"Good afternoon Mr. Sherman."

"Ian! How are you."

"I'm okay," I say as Cassandra walks in behind me.

He glances questioningly at her and I decide to cut to the chase. I walk up to his table and lower my voice. "Cassandra wanted me to tutor her in pre-calculus, we have a free period right now and we're wondering if we could use your class."

"Tutoring eh? Fine, as long as you don't make a noise you can use the class."

"We won't sir. Thank you."

I motion for Cassandra to come in and head for the back of the class. I pick a table and arrange two chairs on opposite sides of each other. Time to get to work. I push away the distraction of feelings and do my best to focus on the task at hand. Helping her get better at pre-calculus.

She brings out her textbook and a notebook, and without wasting time I begin teaching. I do my best to make sure she understands every little thing, bombarding her with questions at every opportunity and while she is a bit slow at first, she learns fast.

Sometime later, Mr. Sherman stands up and after instructing me to watch over the class, leaves the classroom, leaving me alone with Cassandra.

Time passes by quickly and before I know what is going on, the bell rings, signaling the end of the first of my two free periods. With that reminder, I decided to wrap up the lesson.

"Okay," I say, "that's all for now."

Cassandra closes her eyes and sighs with relief. "Finally."

"Don't be too happy yet, there are still some exercises you've got to solve before we are truly done."

She groans. "Come on, can't I just have a second of rest? My brain feels like it's about to explode."

I wait for a second. "Okay, now that your second of rest is over, solve these."

For a moment, she looks like she is about to say something but eventually decides against it, choosing instead to just shake her head as she lets out a small laugh. "Let's just get this over with."