|| Thursday, late evening ||

     It wasn’t the best idea for Callum to stay for dinner at the Ainsley’s. Not in the least because he felt awkward about the amount of food that they were able to serve for dinner. But mostly because—even if he was tutoring Elliot for a whole lot more reasons than just helping him—they should remain professional to the outside world.

Staying with a family in Hobtown for dinner wasn’t on the list of things they should be doing.

But Elliot had asked him to stay for dinner, and Callum couldn’t say no to him.

And now Callum arrived at home late and was immediately met with an angry mother.

As soon as the front door closed behind Callum, she called for him to come over to the kitchen, where she was cleaning the dishes.

“Where have you been? Tutoring was from 4 to 5:30, not 8,” she asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“Oh, I forgot to mention,” Callum started with his made-up excuse. “I went to Arlon afterwards. He needed some help with school.”

“You forgot to mention,” his mother said. She was visibly annoyed and not willing to let this slip just like that. “Why do we pay for your phone if you’re not going to use it to inform us of your whereabouts?”

“I forgot,” Callum replied with a sigh. “I’m only human, I can forget things.”

“Honey, it’s not anything new for him to eat at Arlon’s place,” his dad said when he entered the kitchen with a few empty plates. “And it’s nothing new that he’s not contacting us about it either.”

“And I’m sick and tired of wondering where the hell he is,” she snapped at her husband. “You either will start using that phone for the right purposes, or I will stop paying for it.”

Which would mean Callum wouldn’t have a phone. He had no job, he had no money, he had no way to pay for his own phone bill. So far, his parents had payed for anything he needed or wanted so that he could focus on his education. But now that he had a few months without school, he figured it was only a matter of time before his parents would tell him to get a job and pay for his own things.

He just had no idea what job he wanted. He needed to be able to combine it with college as soon as that started. Even if he still didn’t know exactly which college he would go to.

For all he knew, it could be miles away from his hometown.

So, maybe a temporary job would be better.

But he still wanted to combine it with tutoring Elliot.

“Stop threatening to take away his phone,” Callum’s father was now facing his wife with an angry stance. “We won’t take it away, so treats are useless.”

“It’s okay, dad,” Calum said, putting a hand on his father’s shoulder. “I’ll contact you guys next time I’m staying out without planning it ahead.”

“Thank you, Callum,” his mother sighed. “I just need you to act responsible. You might have finished primary school early, but that doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want during the months until you head of to college.”

“I know, I know…”

“He’s not officially an adult, Eleanor,” his father defended Callum again. “Even if he controls his emotions, he still is a teenager. And teenagers do stupid things. I’m just glad none of our kids has ever gotten themselves in any real trouble.”

“Right,” Eleanor nodded. “Have you heard about Giovanni, Callum?”

“Have I heard what?”

“He got suspended from school for bullying,” his mother told him, turning away from him and her husband.

Apparently, the conversation about him staying out was over, and his mother now wanted to serve the latest tea. His mother loved gossiping a little too much if you asked Callum.

“Gio got suspended?” Callum cocked a brow in surprise. “He hasn’t mentioned that to me yet.”

“It’s kind of a coincidence, though…” his mother drawled, turning her head to look at him. “Because he was severely bullying Elliot. He has never bothered with kids like him, and now he got suspended for hitting Elliot.”

“Wait, he hit Elliot?” Callum stared at her in shock. “How? I just saw Elliot today and I didn’t see anything.”

“Oh, I don’t know the details, honey,” she replied sheepishly. “I heard it from Daley’s mother when we saw each other in the grocery store. Apparently, it was quite a big deal. It happened during lunch.”

“That’s really unlike Gio, though,” Callum weakly protested, taking his phone out of his pocket. He sent both Gio and Elliot a text to ask what happened and why they hadn’t told him.

“Anyway,” his mother spoke up again. “I then talked to Gio’s mother Hazel. She was pretty upset because there’s a big test coming up and Gio’s been struggling with the secondary dyad combinations. I told her you’re tutoring Elliot and suggested for you to help Gio out while he’s suspended.”

Callum groaned, looking up to the ceiling for a few good seconds, before he faced her again. “Why did you offer on my behalf?” he asked, feeling highly irritated. “Why says I’ve got time for that?”

“I do,” his mother replied, sounding a bit confused. “The only thing you do is tutoring Elliot. You have plenty of time, and he’s your best friend—”

“Gio’s been acting like an idiot lately,” Callum said, suddenly too tired to discus the whole matter. “Besides, Poppy Vanderbilt and Jessica Sherrington approached me today to ask if I could tutor Constance and Lewis. Apparently they fell a little behind too.”

“Is every kid suddenly falling behind on their education? What’s going on lately?” his mother asked with a frown. “This is getting seriously out of hand.”

“What? It’s just three who fell behind,”

“No, honey, it’s not just them,” his father told him while he sat down at the table with a book in his hand. “We’ve been hearing a lot of people who claim their kids are behind on their education.”

“Exactly,” his mother agreed. “We really need to get to business and change a few things before this is going to become irreversible.” The look she sent to her husband told Callum they had already been discussing the problem with the rest pf the government.

Maybe it was why they had been so crazy busy with their governmental tasks.

“Is it that big of a problem?” Callum asked, feeling curious now. He never had the impression a lot of teenagers were struggling. But then again, emotions came natural to him, and the fact others were struggling was hard to grasp.

“It is becoming bigger each year. The group of people with a high EQ on Terraqua is becoming smaller and smaller. Numbers are shocking.”

“Oh, never noticed,” Callum replied lamely.

“Lot’s of people don’t realize how bad things are lately. Which is why I expect you to help your friends out. Even if Gio is acting like an idiot lately. He’s probably struggling because of his education. As are Constance and Lewis,” his mother sent him a smile. “Besides, it’s a great way for you to start earning your own money and save up a little for later.”

Callum silently stared at her for a few seconds while he allowed her words to sink in. His mother was right.

He might not charge Elliot or his family for tutoring him, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t charge others.

It was a great way to make money, while still being able to help Elliot.

“You’re right. I should help them,” Callum agreed. “And it is a great way to make some money. I’ll contact them tomorrow to discuss the details.”

“Good, I’m proud of you, Callum.”