Page 1 of Tutoring Mr. Hotshot

CHAPTER1

Rodney

“I won’t have time to help out this year, Yaz. It’s not because I hate you. I swear it.” My words are genuine, though a bit exaggerated.

The truth is that I do have the time to help, I simply don’t want to. The past couple of years have proven to me that I don’t have the ability to tutor my peers without it turning ugly. I’ve given so much of myself to the detriment of my own priorities.

If I could say I only want to work with non-male students, then it might be fine. But that’s considered discrimination, hence why I need to bow out completely.

“It’s not fair,” Yaz whines. “You’re the best tutor we have. Everyone we send to you passes with flying colors. There was a damn waitlist for your name over the summer, Rodney!”

I fight the laugh that wants to come at the way she stomps her foot. Yaz is all for the dramatics, much the same as some other people in my life.

Thinking of a compromise, I offer the last Hail Mary I can. “Look, I’ll make a deal. If you have someone who comes in that just absolutely can’t work with anyone else, then I’ll help. But I’m talking desperate measures here, woman. I refuse to repeat last year.”

She has the decency to wince at my mention of ‘the time that shan’t be named’. It was not a fun time for me to deal with the blowback from one particular student feeling entitled to my time and efforts. Said student also thought I’d simply do the work for him.

Needless to say, he wound up benched from the rest of the hockey season, and we almost missed going to the playoffs. I was enemy number one since so many people believed I should have just done what he asked.

Thankfully, there are more than a few people who understand my side of the story so I’m not a total pariah. Plus, the team is said to be back and better than ever this year. Not that I’ll be paying attention.

Having grown up in a house with an athlete, I can honestly say that sports don’t matter to me. I’d rather read a good book or discuss the latest TedTalk than go over stats about a player or debate who is best for the Ice Kings Fantasy League.

My alarm goes off, signaling it’s time for me to head home. I’ve got a paper due next week that I need to start, and I’d like to get ahead on my research for the semester if possible. It’s not like my workload is insurmountable. If anything, I have more free time than I know what to do with.

I’ve taken nearly every class Bellport University has to offer in my fields of study. Since I’m working on my second PhD, that means most of my time is spent preparing to defend my thesis when the time comes. Other than that, I’m open to a variety of things, which in the past has included tutoring for Yaz, being a TA, and volunteering my time to any academic organizations that needed able-bodied workers.

While I might not be one for athletics, I believe encouraging others in their pursuits of learning is important. If I hadn’t had someone do the same for me, I wouldn’t have been on the advanced path I am on today.

Graduating college at sixteen. Getting my first PhD before my nineteenth birthday. Working on my second one now that I’m twenty-one.

Yeah, it’s definitely due to the encouragement from others that I’m here. That and my lack of a social life.

I make my way through the quad to head towards the parking lot. It’s not all that busy, which I’m thankful for. The less people there are, the better my chances of making it to my car without having to defend myself.

“Yo, Ro! What are you doing here?” Arms wrap around me from behind before I get the chance to flee.

I groan, wiggling in a feeble attempt to free myself from the asshole of the day. He lets me loose after holding on for a minute too long.

When I turn, I’m greeted by his smug grin. “What do you want, Liam?”

“What’s wrong with you? Don’t bark at me. You should be thanking me for sending my friends on to practice before they saw you.”

I take my glasses off and rub my eyes at his words.Why in the world did I tell him thanks for that?While one bully was better than a herd of them, he could have simply let me go on my way without any interference at all.

His attention to me makes no sense.

Ma once told me that people picked on me because they were jealous of my smarts. They wanted to make themselves feel better by belittling the younger kid in class.

I find the idea ridiculous.

Aries went so far as to say they were teasing me because they liked me. I reminded him that it was an entire subgroup of people doing so — all of whom were athletes. While I knew I wasn’t ugly by any means, I had no belief that I was attractive enough to warrant the attention of all of them.

“I don’t have time for this today. Is there something you needed? I’ve got somewhere to be,” I tell him once I slip the glasses back on.

He scowls, then looks over his shoulder towards the athletics building. It’s large enough we can see a good portion of it from here. It towers above everything else, proving just how much Bellport appreciates sports over academics.

If this wasn’t home, then I’d likely be studying anywhere else in the world to finish my degrees. With Ma and Aries here though, I can’t imagine leaving just yet.

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