Secrets & Surrender 2 (2 page)

“You saw that?”

“Yep.” She grinned. “Let’s get one thing straight, though. I’m not going to be that girl who tells you who you can and can’t be friends with. But, you have to know, Kristie still has a thing for you.”

Why do all girls think like that? I’d just told Mandi there was nothing going on, no lingering feelings whatsoever. “I don’t think so. According to what Bianca’s told me, Kristie’s gone out with a lot of other guys. It’s not like she’s sitting at home pining over me.”

“What about the ring? Who keeps things like that?”

“Kristie does. She has a sterling silver box with all her baby teeth. She takes that thing with her everywhere.”

“Eww.”

I laughed. “You know that bow on her head?”

“How could I miss it? That thing is bigger than her head.”

“I swear it’s the same one she wore the last time I saw her. The girl doesn’t throw away anything. It probably took her five U-Hauls just to move her into the dorm.”

She chuckled.

“So we really are okay? We’re going to make this work?”

“Yes. And you should be proud. I didn’t take my earrings off once.” She gave me a sexy smile as she slid a hand up my chest. “I guess this was our first fight, huh?”

“Umm, I think we’ve had other fights before.”

“Really? I always thought they were just heated conversations.”

I chuckled, kissing her forehead. “If you want to consider this our first official fight, then I’m fine with that, especially since now comes the fun part.”

“What’s that?”

“The hot make-up sex.” I kissed her deeply.

She moaned against my lips. “You’re going to have to stop that, Mr. Marcelli. There’s nowhere for us to have some privacy and the walls in your dorm room are paper thin.”

“I’ve talked with some of the guys. There are exactly twenty-two places where we can have some privacy. Come on, I’ll show you one.”

I took hold of her hand with every intention that by the end of the semester, we’ll have visited all of them.

M
aroon-o-rama. Now this was a room!

I scanned the large area of the SWT Tutor Zone. Everything was covered in maroon, the official SWT school color. Every single space on the wall was taken up with Bobcat posters—the official college mascot. I looked over the football banner covered cubicles, wondering which of the dozens of office cubicles would be assigned to me. I was so excited to have a job that didn’t require changing diapers or washing nasty brown stains off of tighty whities that I didn’t even hear my new boss’s, Mrs. Henley’s, question.

“Ms. Ruiz!”

“What! Uh, I mean, yes, ma’am?”

Mrs. Henley glared at me over rectangular shaped glasses sitting on the tip of her nose.

“Are we hard of hearing, Ms. Ruiz? Or do we simply lack the focus needed to do the task at hand?”

Crap! I’m going to get fired and I hadn’t even started yet.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Henley. I’m just so excited.”

“You do realize that this job requires actual work? We are in desperate need of math tutors, and if you didn’t have such high scores in math and a glowing letter of recommendation from your math teacher, I would send you on your way this instant.”

I knew my math grades would land me this job, but Mr. Bonehead writing me that letter...whoa! Though, I had a funny feeling Nic probably had something to do with that.

“I promise I’m not normally like this. I’m a hard worker, really.”

“Um hmm. We’ll see about that.” She eyed me cautiously for a moment before whipping out a pen and clicking it. “Now, when are you available?”

“All my classes are in the morning, so I can work in the afternoons.”

“Hmm, morning classes.” Her perfectly arched eyebrow lifted, appearing impressed. “Most students take classes in the afternoon. They like to sleep in after their nights of drunken debauchery.”

“I’m here to focus on my studies. Besides, I’m up early anyway. I live with my parents, and I have to drop off my brother at school before my eight o’clock.”

“Good. Good. Can you work Fridays?”

I hesitated. I was hoping to visit Cassie on the weekends once in a while. It had been a crazy summer with moving and taking a couple of summer classes with Nic. I hadn’t even had a chance to call her.

“Yeah, no problem.”

“Okay, so I have you down for afternoons Monday through Friday.” She scribbled on her clipboard. “Now, most students you’ll be helping are struggling with pre-algebra and algebra courses. I hate to say it, but most of them are from wealthy families, and they’re used to passing based on that fact alone. Don’t be surprised if you have to basically teach them from scratch.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good.” I followed as she directed me back to the front of the room. “We have a sign in sheet at the reception desk. Students place their name by a time slot on this list for tutoring help. As you can see here, we’re already filled for the next two days. You’ll be very busy.”

I took in a deep breath. I wasn’t a stranger to long hours of work. I’d been hoping that maybe I’d have some free time to study, but I really needed this job. Despite my full scholarship, college costs like textbooks, equipment, and fees added up fast. I tried to live as frugally as I could, but after paying for summer courses and now fall courses, it wasn’t working. It was barely in the middle of fall semester and I was already broke. And there was no way I was going to ask my parents for money, especially now that they had to pay a neighbor to take care of Miguelito and Selina. Mom had found some housecleaning work, and even though Dad was worried about her working, she had insisted. At one point, Juan had even volunteered to dropout of school so he could get a job. With a swift whack on the head, Mom ended that conversation real quick.

I had tried to convince them that I could take care of the kids in the afternoons and that way they could save money. But they wouldn’t hear of it. They wanted me to focus on my studies and enjoy my time in college. I was so lucky to have parents like them and Nic—that sneaky bastard.

Somehow Nic had managed to pay for a lot of things I couldn’t, like “accidentally” buying the wrong textbooks that just happened to be the books I needed for my classes. And then saying that he couldn’t return them and making up some lame excuse that I just knew was totally bogus.

“I’m ready to take it on, Mrs. Henley. Thanks again for considering my application. I know it’s late in the semester.”

“Yes, yes. Now, I have a favor to ask of you. I know you don’t officially begin work until tomorrow, and I normally don’t allow this, but it’s a special case. I have a student who’s been waiting all day for some help on an assignment. The poor dear is struggling.”

I was shocked to see Mrs. Henley’s stern face actually soften.

“Sure. I have about an hour.”

“Wonderful.” She handed me a clipboard and a form. “Here’s the student’s form. She’s in the waiting area. I’ve assigned you to cubicle J.  It’s located in the back corner of the room.”

After tossing my backpack in the cubicle, I walked to the waiting area to pick up my first tutoring client. I looked over the form, which contained information completed by the student. In perfect looping handwriting, the student indicated she was majoring in elementary education. She described previous math grades and her current academic struggles. The list was endless.

I squinted when I noticed something strange about the handwriting. The “I’s” were dotted with little hearts. I sighed. She was one of
those
girls. I rubbed my forehead, feeling a headache start to bloom behind my right eye. Well, I’d better get used to it. This student was the type of student I was bound to be working with for the next year and hopefully more.

“I’m looking for a...” I flipped the form over, looking for a name.

No way!

No freaking way!

“Kristie Stanton.”

My eyes darted up. Sitting in a chair by the entrance door was a beaming Kristie.

What was it with that big ass polka dotted bow on her head? And of course it had to match the red blouse and skirt she was wearing. Just slap a pair of white gloves on her and call her Minnie.

“That’s me. Oh my God! Mandi!” she squealed, running up to me. “Are you my tutor? That would be so cool.”

She hugged me. The girl actually hugged me!

Aww, hell no!

I stiffened in her arms, looking around the room. This was a test. It had to be. Was I on
Candid Camera
or something?

I had made it through most of the summer and fall semester without having to see the perky redhead. Even though I’d told Nic that I was okay with him seeing any of his friends, including Kristie, he’d kept true to his word. He never mentioned her. Now here she was, bouncing up and down in all her redheaded glory, endless squeaks coming out of her mouth.

Wait. I think those sounds are words.

“Bianca told me how smart you are with math and everything. And algebra is way harder than it was in high school. And I really don’t have anyone who can help me. I’ve been so busy trying to study, I haven’t been able to make any friends. And I don’t really know anyone around here. And I left Nic a few messages to see if you two wanted to hang out or maybe go tubing down the San Marcos River. Did you know they had tubes for that? I didn’t. Anyhoo, I guess you two have been really busy because he hasn’t returned my calls. And now you’re here. How cool is that?”

I gazed into her way too happy baby blue eyes. Why did she have to look all innocent like that? It really looked like she wanted to be friends. Well, I wasn’t going to fall for it. She had to have some type of hidden agenda. No one was that nice.

“Yeah, it’s cool,” I said, trying to keep the skeptical tone out of my voice. “Come on, let’s get started.”

* * *

I
n about ten seconds, I was going to kill Kristie Stanton.

The girl was driving me ape-shit. She was totally clueless. Okay, so maybe that was a little mean. But really, I had no idea how the girl had graduated from high school.

We’d been working on the same algebra problem for an hour! The same one! For some reason, she couldn’t get it. Her tiny face would scrunch up, looking at me like I was speaking a foreign language. Maybe the weight of all her hair and that big bow on her head was preventing brain synapses from firing or something because for someone who went to one of the best private school’s in the country, she didn’t have a clue about basic algebraic properties.

“Look, Kristie,” I threw down my pencil in frustration, “I don’t know how else to explain it to you.”

“I’m sorry, Mandi. I’m trying. Really, I am.”

I fought back the guilt that flashed through me when wet blue eyes met mine. She wanted me to feel bad. Yeah, that’s right. It was all an act. It had to be. She was totally bogus. 

“You know what your problem is, Kristie?”

“What?”

She looked at me with wide eyes, like I was about to reveal the secret to algebra or something. I so wanted to tell her off, to tell her that her problem was that she was being fake and was only here to get her perfectly manicured claws into Nic. Yeah, I was going to tell her off and give her a piece of my mind.

“You’re in the wrong section. I heard that Professor Thompson gets off on flunking over half his students at midterm.”

Way to tell Kristie off. Even worse, I’d actually given her a tip to help her out.

“You could switch sections. Professor Hall’s class is way easier, and he even gives extra credit for watching movies based on anything remotely related to math.”

“No, I want to stay in Professor Thompson’s class.”

Whoa! That was so not the answer I was expecting.

“You’re kidding, right? I mean, why make it so hard on yourself. It’s just one class. Besides, you’re majoring in elementary education. You just need the basics.”

“I don’t want just the basics.” Her voice shook as her cheeks reddened. “I know I’m slow, but I can do it. I want to do it. I’m tired of being treated like I don’t know anything. For once, I want to be good at something. Look at you! You’re here on a scholarship because you’re smart. Did you know Poppy had to pay SWT to take me? Do you know how embarrassing that is?”

“Poppy?”

“My father.” She sniffed. “And Mumsy didn’t even want me to come to tutoring. She said not to bother since I’ll only be here for one semester, two at the most. She says I’m here for my M-R-S not a B.S. and that I should have fun instead of studying all the time. I want more than that, Mandi. I want to be an elementary school teacher. I want to teach little girls that they’re smart and that they can be anything they want to be when they grow up. I know I can do this. I just need a little help. Or maybe a lot of help. But I can do this. I know I can.”

“I didn’t know.” I watched as she pulled a tissue out of her polka dot covered purse, feeling a little bit of admiration for her. She really did want to make a difference. It wasn’t an act. She was the real thing. I hated to admit it, but I could see why Nic liked her. Beneath all the hair was a girl struggling to be taken seriously. I knew exactly how she felt. I guess I was lucky to have my parents and Nic. She was alone. And I’d taken away the one true friend she had on campus.

Shimmering baby blue eyes gazed back at me, waiting for my help, wanting a friend.

Aww, man. Don’t do it. Look away and stick to your job.

I glanced down, fiddling with the algebra book. The girl’s family was loaded. They could hire her a private tutor.

My head whipped back up. That’s why she’s here. They weren’t supporting her at all. This was all she had.

“Okay, I’ll help you. I know you can get this. It’ll just take some more time.”

“Really? You’ll still tutor me?” Her face beamed.

Ugh! I couldn’t believe what I was about to do.

“Of course. Let’s meet again tomorrow, okay?”

“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” She threw her arms around me. “I’ll work really hard. I promise. I’ll do whatever readings or exercises you think will help.”

My arms flailed, not knowing whether to hug or pat her. “Uh, I know you will.”

“It feels so good to finally have a friend on campus.”