The final bell rang, signaling to bored students and overworked teachers alike that the school day was over. The hallway walls were littered with daily affirmations of "Tomorrow Is An Opportunity For Potential" and C-list celebrities baring their pearly whites, with information beside them explaining how to prepare yourself for college. Slowly but surely, students leaked into the halls and down the third-story staircase towards the freedom of the outside. All students but Melody of course. She raced from her last class to another at the other end of the hall to meet up with her teacher. As she meandered around the snail-like students conversing by doors and crowding the hallways, she wondered how she could explain her situation to her teacher. Her heart paced the entire day waiting for this moment; she could hear it beating through her ears. It even suppressed her hunger, as though she were heading to the gallows. She hated being in trouble, but she really had no choice in the matter. This time, it was either do or die.

When she got there, gasping for air from carrying her textbook-dense bag on her back and the short sprint to the place, her eyes caught Mr. Frain, her math teacher, studying papers on his desk by the door. Mr. Frain was usually kind-hearted and understanding, so Melody thought that he would let her off the hook. But as soon as his eyes met Melody’s, his mouth sank in disappointment.

"Well, hello Melody. How are you today?" he said, rising up from his chair and strolling toward his pupil. He was still a relatively new teacher, this school year being his second year after he had graduated college. If you had walked into one of his classes and he wasn't by the board or his desk, you would have wondered where a teacher was. He was liked by many students for being relatable and understandable. He even let students go in and out of his room for the bathroom or emergencies without needing his permission, while most teachers demanded a full explanation for just getting a drink of water. Melody hoped that he would be lenient with her.

"It could be better, honestly," Melody said, controlling her pace and dropping her bag on a nearby chair.

"Thank you for coming after school to talk about your grade for this class," Mr. Frain said, finding the words to not upset her. "It’s at 52%. That’s a failing grade, Melody."

"I know; I’m sorry. I won't make any excuses," she said, looking at some random formula he kept on the board for students to use and trying not to meet his glare. But she was never the kind of person to not look at someone when they were talking to her, so she tried to be strong.

"Is everything okay, at home, I mean? You’re such a bright student; I never imagined that out of all of my students, you would be struggling like this." He said this, looking deep into her eyes for the truth. She could lie to him, but her eyes would say exactly what was wrong. Melody looked away from his glare, trying to give an acceptable answer.

"Yeah, these last couple of weeks have been rough... That’s why I was wondering if you could give me any extra credit work or maybe turn in any late work for half credit or something? " Melody asked, looking at him for any good news from the situation. She was in a hopeless place if she couldn't do something. This wasn’t like her. She was never known to get a C for a class, let alone a failing grade.

"I can’t do that," he said, shaking his head and marching back towards his desk to type something up on his computer. After moments of silence broken by periodic typing and mouse clicking, he spoke again. "Yeah, unfortunately, even with half credit, you might have a ‘D’ because of your low test scores. I know you don’t want that either, but at least you’ll pass."

"Okay, I understand," Melody said, her eyes stinging as she fought back tears. Her future depended on having perfect grades so that she could go to a good college, get a good job, and leave all the crushing realities of her reality behind. She didn't want to repeat the lives of her parents, but it seemed like she was one step closer to repeating the process.

As Melody began to grab her bag to prepare to leave, she peered over at Mr. Frain, still busy on the computer. And in one quick moment, his eyes lit up.

"Okay, Melody," he said, getting up and advancing towards her before she started to leave. She was shocked by the smile on his face, as if he had found the holy grail. "Since the semester is ending in the next week or so, there’s little I can do to help you raise your grade now," he said, clapping his hands together as he shared his ideas. "But I can give you an incomplete and change it next semester if you can help me with another student of mine."

"Yeah, I could do that," she said, lighting up a bit. She didn't like the fact that her grade would be incomplete for now, but if she was able to change it, she would be willing to do anything for a better grade.

"You will be meeting up with a student in my remedial class in the library on Tuesday and Thursday for an hour and a half to two hours after school next semester. I’ll let you know more details around the first week of the next semester, okay?" he said, looking proud that he was able to help out a student the best way he could.

"That sounds great! Thank you so much for helping me out," she said, a bit relieved.

"Melody," He said with concern in his eyes. "Remember that you can always talk to me if anything’s going on."

"I will," She waved goodbye at her teacher as she left for home, a bit more hopeful than she had ever been in a while.