Chapter 5

School the next day was a special kind of torture for Ed. News of his 'big reveal' had raced around the school populace so everyone seemed to be looking at him differently. The only saving grace was that not one of the people who'd been in that room had taken a picture. Some had their phones out but were too stunned to act in time.

The 'Mister Ed' nickname was being excessively overused, even by students he didn't know. He endured this all day and by the last class he just wanted to get through it and go home. He saw Mrs. Dmitrov, his chemistry teacher, staring at him repeatedly during the class.

Near the end of the period she handed back a test they'd recently had and he saw he'd gotten a D, which in her class was a borderline failure. He saw she'd written instructions at the top of the page for him to stay after class to discuss the grade. She'd done this to a number of other students and afterwards there was always a vacant desk the following day. He needed the grade to graduate. Having to take a summer course to get the credit would screw up the job he'd gotten lined up for himself. A job he couldn't afford to lose.

The bell rang and the students rushed out of the room as he packed up. He left the test and his chemistry notes out.

Mrs. Dmitrov never smiled and her thick Eastern Europe accent made her class especially difficult for many students. Generally most people were uneasy around her. Students were scared because she held their future in her cold, uncaring hands. Other teachers disliked her because she never fraternized with them and treated them with disinterest. She was smarter than everyone else in the school and no one else seemed to be worth the effort to get to know.

She had greying brown hair, always pulled back in a severe bun and she wore plain black framed glasses over her brown eyes. She dressed in brown and green almost every day. She didn't wear any jewellery or makeup. She smelled like non-perfumed soap. She stood 5' 10" in flat shoes and while no one would call her beautiful she wasn't ugly so much as plain. While she did appear to have large breasts, her large framed body was uniformly thick so if she had curves they were hidden under her drab clothes.

She looked up from writing something and gestured for him to come to the front of the class next to her desk. It was situated to the left side of the blackboard next to the windows. When he arrived she pointed to the spare chair next to the desk and he sat with his stuff on his lap.

She glanced at his test. "You are failing my class."

"I really need this grade. Are there any assignments I can do, any make up tests available?" he said with worry in his tone.

"What is difficult in my lessons for you?" she asked.

"I had trouble with the last section and I'm worried about the next one," he said honestly.

Just the smallest hint of a smile appeared on her lips. "You read next section? Good. You get seventy five in next section, you will pass."

"Seventy five?" he gasped. "I've been getting sixties in your class so far. How am I going to get seventy five?

"I could tutor you but not for free," she said, staring at him intently.

Ed's heart dropped. "I have no money."

A look of distaste passed over her features and she waved his words aside. "First I must know the truth."

He looked blankly at her.

"There is a rumor I overhear two teachers repeating today. You were at football party?" she seemed nervous and Ed had never seen that on her before. Then he blushed as her words sunk in. Her eyes lit up.

"You are aware of rumor. Is true? You are big?" Her accent was getting thicker with her nervousness.

"Uh, I'm not comfortable talking about this-" he croaked before she interrupted.

"If I do not tutor you, how will you pass my class?" she pressed, her eyes locked on his.

He looked at her and realized he had no choice. He nodded.

"Is true?"

He hesitated then nodded again, his blush racing across his face.

She held out her hand for his notebook and she quickly went over his notes. "Yes, you are grasping basics. I can work with this. You will come to my house tomorrow at 1PM for three hours. Yes?"

Tomorrow was Saturday. He had the early shift at the home center, 7AM until noon so he could work that in. He nodded and she handed him his notes back with a slip of paper. He saw a map drawn on the paper.

"Map to get to my place. Do not be late, bring your text and notes, and be ready to study! I do not do this for anyone else so you cannot mention it to anyone. Understood?"

He nodded.

She looked back to her work and he was obviously dismissed. He got up and left the school as quickly as he could.