The Reluctant Tutor (Black Thunder and Anachron)

[Anachron]

"Mom, do I have to?" Sarah's voice was pleading.

"We talked about this before," her mother Elizabeth said.

"But Thursday evening is when my D&D group meets. I got up to fifth level last week! You know how many weeks it took me to get my character up that high? Fifth-level wizard!"

"The college admissions people don't care if you have a high-level wizard, Sarah. They do care that you get involved in school and community activities." Her mother was slicing some tomatoes to add to the stew she was working on in the kitchen. "And, except for the Science Club, you haven't done anything."

"Mom, I'm just not into that kind of stuff. I'm not...you know, social."

"Well, we all have to do things in life that make us uncomfortable. It's called stepping out of our comfort zone."

"But tutoring jocks? These people don't like me anyway! Mom, you don't understand. They're jocks, I'm a geek...sheesh, didn't you ever see Revenge of the Nerds. You grew up in the Eighties, you can't tell me you didn't see--"

"Yes, I saw it. Stereotypes. You know, you could use a little exercise yourself. Maybe you'll learn something from them too. Wouldn't hurt you, you know. Now get going. You're gonna be late."

Sarah growled...but got her backpack with her reference books, calculator and PDA. It was a warm day outside, so she wore shorts and a button-up blouse. At least there wasn't a dress code for this sort of thing. Damn the whole college admissions thing anyway! What a dog and pony show...

At six feet tall, Sarah was quite a sight to see. She had long, blonde hair that caught the afternoon sun just right as she drove her Mazda hatchback the two miles to the school gym. The tutoring session was taking place in an outbuilding used by the school sports teams. She pulled up, saw a couple cars there.

Well, here goes nothing, the girl thought...

 

[Black Thunder]

Marcus Wilkes
6'5
200 lbs
black hair hazel eyes
choclate complexion
11.5
Senior


OOC:Marcus was the Peterson High School's starting center.He was beiing recruted by college from all over the country,but bad grades were keeping his chances of being offered a scholarship low.The coach,principal,and his mother were not going to let that happen.

IC:Music from Marcus' speakers was heard inside the library and Marcus pulled into the space next to Sarah's.He turned his Acura off and walked in the library.He was dressed in a track jacket with jeans and sneakers that cost more than Sarah's outfit.He walked into the library with his bookbag slung over his shoulder.He was told his tutor would be a blonde."Just look for a blonde you haven't fucked"he thought to himself.He saw her in a chair across the library and walked to her.Pulling out a chair he introduced himself.

"Hey,I'm Marcus"

 

[Anachron]

Sarah looked around the library. Mrs. Patterson, the librarian, was just cleaning up, preparing to go.

"So, you volunteered for the tutoring program? Good," the thirtysomething Caucasian woman in a floral dress said.

"Umm..." Volunteer wasn't exactly the right word, Sarah thought. Volunteered was more like it. "More like conscripted," the girl said, frowning. "My mother made all this noise about college admissions and how I hadn't gone out for any extracurricular activities."

"Well...she's probably right. Now, you and I both know you'll do just fine in college, whether you tutor or not, and the whole admissions process is silly and artificial. But, that's how the game is played."

"Yeah...and I had a D&D game to go to."

Mrs. Patterson chuckled. "People still play that?"

"Yes, we do."

"I did, when I was in high school. About the only girl who did."

The sound of rap music began to subtly but distinctly reverberate. A shiny car pulled up. "Well, at least I know who your client is. Marcus." Mrs. Patterson shook her head. "Basketball team star. And, just between you and me, not a star of anything else." The music cut off...through a window, Marcus could be seen getting out.

"Wow, he's tall."

"Yeah, that he is," the librarian said. "I don't know much about him, other than his name and what he does. Not like he spends much time here. They both chuckled at that. Mrs. Patterson moved toward the door, which was locked as it was after hours. Opening it, she regarded Marcus with an appraising look. "Are you here for tutoring?"

 

[Black Thunder]

Marcus walked around the library for awhile before finding Sarah talking to Mrs.Patterson.

He walked up to the two of them and asked "Do you know if a girl named Sarah is here?She's supposed to be tutoring me."He was expecting some dork with glasses and a retainer.

"The chick Mrs.Patterson was talking to is kinda cute." He thought as he waited for the two of them to finish their conversation.

 

[Anachron]

"Oh," Sarah said sheepishly, "I'm Sarah. I was just talking to Mrs. Patterson here." She extended her hand to Marcus...though the tall black boy thought he detected just a slight bit of reluctance on her part. Maybe.

(insert Marcus response here)

"So, you're here for the tutoring," Sarah asked. "What subjects were you needing help in? I'm gonna go grab a Mountain Dew from the vending machine; I'll be right back." The machine was in a back room attached to the library.

"Well," Mrs. Patterson said, "Sarah here is a library aide, so she can mind the store by herself. Sarah, don't forget to lock up. I'm going home for the night."

 

[Black Thunder]

"Oh," Sarah said sheepishly, "I'm Sarah. I was just talking to Mrs. Patterson here." She extended her hand to Marcus...though the tall black boy thought he detected just a slight bit of reluctance on her part. Maybe.

"What up?"Marcus extended his hand and engulfed Sarah's tiny hand in his.

"I really need help in Anatomy and that's about it."

He handed her a crisp dollar bill."Mind gettin' me one too?"

"Bye,Mrs.Patterson,I guees I'll be seeing more of you."He watched Sarah as she walked to the vending machine."Damn she got a fat ass for a white girl"he thought to himself.

 

[Anachron]

Sarah tried to be friendly as Marcus shook her hand. Damn he's big, the girl thought. She took the proffered dollar bill, walked to the vending machine. She could feel Marcus' eyes on her. It made her just the slightest bit uncomfortable. But what else did he have to look at, she thought. Not like this guy would be interested in books--and that's all that was in the library. Except for her.

She got two Cokes, brought Marcus one back. She gestured to a table near the window that overlooked the all-but-deserted school yard. Two other boys, also black, were hanging out under a tree about thirty feet from the window, just killing time.

"Anatomy, you say?" It didn't click with her--anatomy was an advanced subject. Not the kind of class a basketball player would be taking. "Hmm...English, math and history are more my thing."

 

[Black Thunder]

"It doesn't matter what we study as long as I pass".Marcus took out a pen and a notebook.


"So whenever you're ready,teach me".

 

[Anachron]

Sarah blinked. This wasn't going to go very well if she didn't know what he needed help in.

"Well...we should start by going over your grades." She sat down at the table across from him, took a swig of Coke. "What subjects do you have the lowest grades in?" The way she sat, the table edge held her breasts up a bit, making them look even bigger than they were. "Those are probably where we should begin."

 

[Black Thunder]

"I 'm doing the worst in Math and English."If she was sitting the way she was sitting any longer,math would be the last thing on his mind.

 

[Anachron]

"Okay...I think we'll start with those then." Sarah's smile was bright and cheery. "English is my strongest subject, with math a close second. Do you have any old tests or anything like that? I can take a look and see what concepts you need some help with."

Somewhere at the back of her mind was unease at being alone with this huge black kid. She still didn't really want to be here. She didn't have anything against black jocks...well, maybe a little bit. Their loud talking, rap music, and strange way of talking didn't endear them to her. Once a group of black jocks had whistled at her, and she had resented their attention.

 

[Black Thunder]

"No not really,I don't keep a lot of old tests with me."

He glanced at her noting her posture and seeing it was uneasy said "You alright?"