Chapter 85

With Charlotte’s permission, Shirley rushed over, clutching her stack of worksheets like a prize. As she passed Andrew, she spotted him glaring at her, his face twisted in annoyance. The look was so sharp she nearly lost her balance.
Charlotte noticed and shot Andrew a warning glance.
For a moment, their eyes locked. Andrew’s posture faltered, his bravado crumbling in an instant. He quickly looked away, strangely flustered.
Shirley stared at Charlotte, eyes round with astonishment and a hint of awe. Andrew was the school’s resident troublemaker, the one nobody dared to mess with-not students, not even teachers. Yet, she was pretty sure he was scared of Charlotte. That was impressive.
“Come sit over here.”
Shirley shuffled to the seat across from Charlotte and set the worksheets down, her voice a nervous whisper. “Charlotte, I… I put together a bunch of study materials for you. I think… they might help.”
Dark circles shadowed Shirley’s eyes and she looked completely wiped out.
“Did you stay up all night working on this?” Charlotte asked, her tone soft.
Shirley nodded, cheeks coloring. “Yeah. I’m your tutor now. I… I have to be responsible, you know?” She’d pulled an all-nighter just to finish everything in time.
“Alright then. Teach me,” Charlotte said, resting her chin in her hand, her face tilted up, eyes fixed on the worksheets with a look that said she was trying to seem interested-even if she wasn’t.
Shirley picked up her pen, trying to sound encouraging. “Remember the homework I gave you yesterday? That worksheet
Charlotte paused, then switched the hand supporting her chin. “It was too hard. I didn’t do it.”
Shirley didn’t look surprised. She just pulled out a new worksheet. “This one’s a lot easier.”
Charlotte glanced over the paper. Sure enough, it was simple.
“First question. About electrical power
Charlotte stared down, listening, but her eyelids started to droop. She was having trouble staying awake.
“Second question. equals three
Charlotte stifled a yawn, struggling to keep her eyes open.
Off to the side, Parrish watched the whole thing and shook his head. “One’s brave enough to teach, the other’s bold enough to pretend to learn.”
Charlotte’s face seemed to say, “You can teach all you want. Good luck getting any of it to stick.”
Andrew, popping his gum and jiggling his leg, mumbled, “I can’t believe there’s actually someone at Vanguard High who’s even more hopeless than me.”
Parrish let out a laugh. “Feels pretty good to move up a spot in the rankings without lifting a finger, huh?”
Andrew grinned. If he could just
keep the worst student from leaving, he’d have a better shot at staying off the bottom Besides, he’d need to be on good behavior if he ever wanted a favor from Anthony.
Time slipped by. Shirley taught for a full hour.
“Charlotte, we’re done,” she finally said, setting her pen down. When she looked up, Charlotte’s eyes were closed. She looked like she might be asleep.
Shirley hesitated, then gently tapped Charlotte’s shoulder. “Charlotte, did you understand any of that?”
Charlotte yawned and glanced down at the worksheet, covered in Shirley’s neat handwriting. She frowned slightly. “Yeah, I got it,” she replied without missing a beat.
“Really? Then what’s the answer to the last question I explained?” Shirley asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Charlotte took a few seconds,
studying the blank space, then
picked up her pen and scribbled out
the answer ter method was
flawless. The steps and fina result
were spot on.
Shirley’s jaw dropped in disbelief. “Charlotte, that last question was the hardest one. I couldn’t even figure it Qut, so skipped it. How did you know how to solve it?”
Charlotte went quiet, frozen in place.