Thursday, October 1
As Alex and I sat at a nearby cafe, I watched over him as he finished one of the math problems I gave him. He had away games on Monday and Wednesday, so we really didn’t get a lot of time to have any tutoring sessions. Alex said he was having a quiz tomorrow in Calc and really needed to study.
We didn’t have Chemistry, and I didn’t notice Alex’s texts because I left my phone in my backpack. He finally found me after school at my locker, and begged me for a quick lesson. Auntie was having a meeting in her classroom, so we decided to try the library. There were a bunch of kids hanging out or trying to study. It was kind of quiet, but people were going in and out and shuffling around with their stuff.
After a few minutes of trying to focus, Alex and I agreed to go somewhere else. Alex drove us into town, and stopped a small cafe. He parked in front, and we walked inside.
“Welcome, Alex,” one of the waiters said, looking at Alex with grey eyes. He wore a dark blazer over a white polo shirt with black pants. A white apron hung around his waist with three pockets. The cafe looked quite small on the outside, but it was fairly big with plenty of places to sit.
“Hey Max,” Alex replied. “Is it alright if we use the back table?”
“Go ahead,” the waiter said, going back to work. Alex lead me towards the back of the cafe, and saw a table for four in the corner. He and I sat across from each other, and he took out the notebook to finish the problems I gave him.
“You come here often?” I asked, looking around at the bustling waiters and chatting people.
“I work here,” Alex responded.
I shot him a look. “What? You? Work here?”
Alex looked up. “Yeah. I’ve been working here since I was a freshmen.”
He went back to his problems, and I stared at him. I knew he would have a part time job, but at a fancy cafe like this? I imagined him wearing the uniform, and quickly shook my head. I felt my cheeks begin to heat up, and quickly tried to think of anything else but that.
“Stupid,” I muttered, resting my elbow on the table and my head in my palm.
“Me?” Alex asked, stopping and looking at his work.
“No. Nothing. Keep working.” As Alex went back to work, I pulled my phone out and froze.
Scott: Are you home?
No way.
Why was Scott texting me? He should still be with Mom and Father in Europe. Why was he asking if I was home?
I checked the time for the message. 27 minutes ago.
If he was texting from the airport, he wouldn’t be home for at least another 40 minutes. I was safe for that long.
Just then another message appeared.
Scott: I’m almost home, so unlock the door.
I shot up, scaring Alex.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Something came up,” I asked. “We’re going to have to cut this short.”
“What? Why?”
“Please just do it!”
Alex sighed, putting his notebook away and shouldering his backpack. We headed out of the cafe, and went over to his car. It would take about three minutes to get home, and hopefully Scott was more than three minutes away. As Alex pulled into the driveway, I grabbed my bag and jumped out of his car.
“Thanks, and I’m sorry,” I said. “Text me if you have any questions.”
I ran up to the front door, scurrying inside. Glancing outside, Alex was already heading back down the street. I let out a sigh, heading up to my room and putting my backpack down. Scott hadn’t texted since, so I assumed I would just have to wait for him.
My phone rang, and I saw the caller ID read Auntie.
“Hey,” I responded.
“I heard from your mother that Scott was returning for a visit,” she said. “Has he arrived yet?”
“No. I’m at home waiting for him.”
“Weren’t you going to tutor Alex?”
“He kinda interrupted with a text. I didn’t know he was coming back today. I didn’t have time to explain it to Alex, either. I’ll have to apologize tomorrow.”
“Alright. What would you like for dinner? I can pick something up for you if you’d like.”
“Scott will probably just want pizza or something, so we’ll get it delivered.”
“If that’s what you want. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow. Make sure to do your homework and don’t stay up all night reading.”
“You don’t have to remind me anymore. I know how to take care of myself. I think Scott is here, so I need to go.”
“Take care.”
I hung up, heading back out of my room and downstairs to greet Scott at the door. The faint sound of the car door closing was heard, and a few moments later the door opened and Scott walked inside. He had a small bag over his shoulder, and medium sized suitcase at his side.
His dark chocolate hair was neatly combed, and his matching eyes looked at me warmly. He wore a white button-down shirt under a navy blazer along with navy pants and a black buckled belt. Even though he was four years older than me, he would always make an effort to spend time with me.
“There’s my one and only little brother!” Scott exclaimed, putting his arms around me. “How are you doing? Did you get skinnier? Are you eating proper meals?”
“Stop it,” I chuckled. “You’re suffocating me.”
“Well I don’t get to see you every day anymore,” Scott said. “So what have you been up to these days? How’s school? Do you have any new friends? It’s your senior year already. Are you getting through your college essays and applications alright?”
“Too many questions!” I exclaimed. “Jeez. Why don’t you put your stuff away before you bombard me with questions!”
Scott laughed, and took his suitcase to go upstairs. “Why don’t you order us a few pizzas. Invite Jack over as well. I haven’t seen him since last spring.”
“Whatever you say.”
I pulled my phone out, and dialed our go-to pizza place. After ordering two large cheese pizzas, I called up Jack.
“What’s up?” he answered immediately.
“Scott came home today and requested to see you,” I explained.
“Whoa, really?” Jack asked, surprised. “He came back? Did you know? Did Ms. Thompson know? Did Ms. Thompson know and not tell you?”
“The last one.”
“I’ll come over, but I’m in the middle of work. My sift ends at 6, so I’ll be there around 6:15.”
“Cool. Oh. Could you also grab the pizzas while you’re out? It’s under my phone number.”
Jack laughed. “Of course. I should’ve know you would ask for that. I gotta get back to work now. See you soon.” Jack hung up, and I went over to the fridge to see what drinks there was. Half a carton of lemonade, some apple juice and water. I heard Scott’s shower on, and decided to get my homework from upstairs.
I sat at the island, finishing up some Spanish homework when Scott came downstairs. He wore a light grey T-shirt with matching sweatpants and black rimmed glasses.
“Did I disturb you?” he asked.
“I’m just finishing up,” I explained. “You were good at Spanish, right? Can you read this over?” Scott sat next to me, and looked at my assignment. He didn’t say anything for a couple moments, abut then smiled.
“It’s fine. Just finish the last question and it’ll be perfect.”
There was a knock on the door, and Jack popped his head in.
“Hope I’m not too late,” he said, stepping inside with two pizzas. “My manager was talking to me about a new employee we were getting.”
“You have the pizza so all is forgiven,” I said as he walked over. He put the pizzas on the island, and Scott and I immediately took a slice.
“Slow down,” Jack said. “Put your homework away, Paul. Scott, at least pretend to Be a good example!”
“Are you my mom?” Scott and I said at the same time. Jack just blinked, and then crossed his arms. I put my slice back into the box, putting my homework away.
“So what’s with the unannounced visit?” I asked, returning to my slice of pizza.
“Well I have a surprise,” Scott said. “I’m staying here through Thanksgiving!”
“What?” I exclaimed, looking at him. “Are you serious?” He nodded, and went back to the pizza. I glanced at Jack, who gave me a worried look.
I was going to have a much harder time tutoring Alex with Scott back home.
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