"ꜰᴀᴛᴇꜰᴜʟʟʏ, ɪ ᴛʀɪᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴘɪᴄᴋ ᴍʏ ʙᴀᴛᴛʟᴇꜱ 'ᴛɪʟ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴀᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴘɪᴄᴋᴇᴅ ᴍᴇ"

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

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Have you ever never wanted to interact with someone so much, but in the end, all your efforts are futile and now you have to interact with them?

Well, unfortunately for me, this is exactly what is happening to me right now. I am so lucky when it comes to this. I have spent my entire school life staying blissfully away from Kyran Drake and now, I'm being pulled into his twisted orbit.

Why does this have to happen to me? I have an extraordinarily strong feeling that Ms. Walton knew what she was doing when she asked me to tutor him. Honestly.

When I first looked at the offer, it seemed like a dream come true. Of course, I get paid, and my grade will be fixed back to an A+. That's excellent news, except the major catch is that I must tutor Kyran Drake.

Shit.

I looked back to see Ms. Walton aggressively typing away on her laptop and refrained from asking her to reconsider her offer and let me tutor someone else. Kyran was nearly failing. His GPA was a remarkable sight. There's a reason Ms. Walton wanted Kyran to up his grades ASAP.

Oooh, what if they're related?

That doesn't help my case. I started with printing out all the freshman schedules, followed by the sophomore and the juniors. Arranging them neatly into the form folders, I felt triumphant, yet there was a worry inside of me.

I really didn't want to tutor Kyran. It could go very wrong.

I reassured myself by saying that I didn't know Kyran, so there's a possibility that he's just a nice guy with bad company.

Haha, funny joke.

I ignored my thoughts and started working to clear my mind.

I was nearly 40 minutes in when people started pouring into the reception to collect their schedules. The freshmen looked incredibly apprehensive and were over-apologizing to me, believing that I was a hired secretary. It made me feel important and boosted my ego until someone who had seen me before glared at me while walking past. By quarter to eight, I had gotten the entire folders organized, handed out the IDs to freshmen and I was ready to tell Ms. Walton that I needed to go to my first class which happened to be - English Language and Literature.

Delightful, Kyran just had to be in this class.

Ms. Walton gave me a thumbs up and mouthed a quick thank you from inside her room. I smiled and took my schedule and a copy of Kyran's and his report card in my backpack. Walking through these corridors suddenly felt different. I made my way to the English, feeling anxious and dejected.

I was the first one there. Class starts in five minutes, and I was the only person in the room. How meticulously defiant of them.

I feel like Shakespeare already.

Mr. Sherman walked in with his shoulder bag and his books in one hand. He looked cheerful, as usual, and he placed a copy of Macbeth on the desk, and it fell with a thump. Behind, a group of teenagers swarmed in, leaving their manners outside the door. They screamed, some giggled and some took one long stare at me for being the first person in the room.

Cringing and pretending not to notice, I grabbed my copy of Macbeth and waited for the class to start. I don't sit at the front of the class. I've decided that ever since people started to believe that I was trying too hard to be liked by teachers. So, I chose the seat with the best ventilation, next to a window, to avoid people.

Sitting in a classroom is literally social suicide.

The seat next to me stayed empty. I didn't mind at all. It just meant that I had extra space to put my stuff.

That sounds sad.

Well, I don't particularly find it sad. It's a luxury to have extra legroom and space to yourself in school classrooms. Trust me. Well, another reason for the seat next to me being empty is the fact that I had no friends. Just had to affirm that in case it wasn't clear enough to you already. Everyone in this school is normal, so therefore they come into class with one other person that they can sit next to.

"Welcome, young impressionable minds! I'm Mr. Sherman and I have the great privilege of educating you on the wonders of the English language!" he declared enthusiastically, and I resisted the urge to giggle. Although I resisted the urge, others were not able to do so. Some involuntarily snorted and covered it up with a cough. Some didn't even bother hiding but silently giggled.

"We are going to begin with Shakespeare's magnum opus, many disagree with me, but I believe that Macbeth is Shakespeare's greatest work. Who agrees?" he asked.

The silence was deafening. No, I didn't agree with him. Hamlet had to be Shakespeare's best work or, I just think that because I have mommy issues too.

Not my greatest thought.

The silence was starting to get uncomfortable. Mr. Sherman was staring around, hoping to get an answer out of someone but everyone remained quiet. I was secretly hoping that someone, anyone would talk so that I didn't have to.

No one talked.

Hesitantly, I put my hand up. I felt ridiculous already, and I could feel people whispering about me, but Mr. Sherman smiled and asked me to proceed, but not before a knock on the door startled us. Everyone suddenly turned to the door to see the cause of the interruption and to my luck, guess who was standing there?

Yep, Kyran Drake.

I knew he was in this class, but I didn't bother looking around to find him. I knew I would have to talk to him about this situation. Yes, I find tutoring him a dangerous situation. He was tall, at least 5"9 and he was wearing a black puffer vest jacket over a black t-shirt. His dark hair was disheveled as if he just woke up and didn't bother to brush his hair. I don't know why I was so surprised; he looked this way every day anyway. His tattoos on his arm seemed to be even more crammed, meaning he got more over the summer. I caught myself staring at his new lip ring on the left side of his mouth and he looked...interesting.

Mr. Sherman spoke up interrupting my thought process. "Hello. Late for your first class, not a good sign sir. Your name?"

"Kyran. Kyran Drake," he replied with a mischievous grin on his face. I rolled my eyes. I didn't understand how mature this guy even was.

"Well, Mr. Drake. Please refrain from interrupting my class once again. And please take a seat next to-", he trailed off, inspecting the empty seats in the classroom. He suddenly pointed at me.

Fuck my life.

"Sorry, I didn't get your name. You are?" Mr. Sherman asked.

"Avery Turner, sir," I said, praying that Mr. Sherman would change his mind. I knew I had to deal with Kyran anyway, but I didn't want to at 8 a.m. in the morning.

"Mr. Drake, please take a seat next to Avery," he said and there were murmurs around the classroom. I didn't look around, but whoever was behind me laughed.

"Poor Kyran. Imagine being stuck with her!"

Figures. Mr. Sherman's way of punishing Kyran was to make him sit next to me for the rest of the year. Way to increase my self-esteem. Kyran didn't look incredibly pleased to be sitting next to me either. He scowled, the smirk from earlier turned into a frown as I forcefully moved my bag and my stuff off the desk next to me.

He sat down as I stared at my copy of Macbeth focusing on the red spot on the front cover and didn't look up.

"Now, Avery, you were going to say something?" Mr. Sherman reminded me and I started to tremble.

"Oh, um, yes. Right, I think Macbeth is great, but Hamlet is so focused on the psychological states of characters and the drama is, in turn, more thrilling than the Witches and the supernatural in Macbeth," I said.

"That's a good take on it. Anyone else?" Mr. Sherman asked when the voice next to me spoke up. I turned to look at him, and he had that arrogance etched on his face, making me want to punch him.

"So, you're saying that Hamlet is better because battles and witches ain't your thing, so a guy getting revenge because he has undiagnosed serious mommy issues is a better story?" he questioned me, slightly turning his head in my direction.

Anger. That's all I felt. I was pissed. "No, I'm saying that Macbeth is your typical teenage boy story where the protagonist is an evil scumbag that believes that he's entitled to the throne because he's so great. Hamlet is more intellectual, it's a revenge story, yes. But the main point is his development to his tragic death. Macbeth's death is not tragic, Hamlet's is," I said calmly, although fury was burning in every part of my body.

"Thou art wrong, Everly. Macbeth is an allegory for politics and the world. Duh, so studying it is more relevant than Hamlet having mental health issues."

"So, you're saying that mental health issues aren't relevant enough?"

"Alright. How about characters then, I didn't take you for a misogynist Everly, after all, you're a woman. Lady Macbeth is a powerful influence on her husband. Queen Gertrude had an affair with her husband's brother who happened to kill him. So, you should be rooting for Macbeth, not Hamlet."

"Now, you're slut shaming," I answered, and Mr. Sherman clapped his hands.

"Alright. Let's move on. Thank you for the remarkably interesting debate, Avery and Kyran," he said, "Yes, what's your question?"

I turned around to see a girl at the back with her hand up.

"Mr. Sherman, that girl spoiled the story when she said that Macbeth dies," she said in a whiny voice, and I controlled my urge and get up and leave. I grabbed my water bottle and started sipping when Kyran nudged me.

"Calm down Everly, you'll kill someone with the way you're holding that water bottle," he said, and I rolled my eyes.

"My name is Avery," I told him while looking out the window. Jumping out of it was starting to look unbelievably tempting.

"Please open your copies of Macbeth, we'll start with the prologue," Mr. Sherman said as I felt another nudge, this time, it hurt. It seemed like Kyran stabbed his elbow to my side.

"Ow, what the hell do you want?" I whispered, and his smile faltered. He was starting to look more like the Kyran I knew, his eyebrows raised, gray eyes staring at me with slight anger.

I retreated slightly and broke the eye contact. His eyes were intense, I felt like I was being sucked into them.

"Can I look into your book?" he asked simply, his early playfulness gone. Do all guys have severe mood swings? I nodded curtly and moved my book slightly so that he could see it as well. He didn't say thank you and I cursed him under my breath.

The class droned on more slowly after that. It felt like all the excitement had died down the second Kyran and I finished arguing about Macbeth vs Hamlet. Kyran didn't say another word to me throughout the entire class and when the bell rang, I was extremely glad for it to be over.

Packing my things up, I waited for Kyran to move so that I could eat my croissant before Calculus. This was a dire need, and I was starting to get hungry.

"Excuse me, can I leave?" I asked Kyran as he took his time putting his notepad into his backpack. Everyone left by now, with the last student leaving just now.

I need that croissant now.

"Look Everly, if this is about Shakespeare, stop being so defensive. What, do you have mommy issues as well or something? Why do you like Hamlet so much?"

"I'm sorry, but I need to go to class and eat something because I'm hungry. I don't care about a 400-year-old play that much. Now, can I please leave?" I asked, and he moved away. I nearly tripped over his leg on the way out and I glared at him as I saw him snigger and left the room.

What did I do to deserve this?

My locker happened to be next to the English classroom, so I grabbed my books for Calc and raced upstairs while munching on my croissant at the same time. I looked like an idiot, running up the stairs but I didn't particularly care.

Some freshmen that came to me earlier when I was at the reception said hello and I was stopped by a guy who looked lost.

"Hiiii, aren't you the secretary?" he asked confused, watching me pant from running with a half-eaten croissant in my hand.

"Part-time", I said breathlessly as he sighed.

"Can you help me? I can't find where the computer lab is, and I don't wanna be late and-"

I interrupted his speech. I knew what it felt like to be a freshman that was lost in this big school. However, this kid's search for the computer room has left me much to consider. I pointed behind him at the large, printed banner on the door that said 'Computer Room' and smiled.

"Thank you so much!" he said happily and left for his class. Meanwhile, I hurried onto Calculus with one minute to spare.

By the time I got there, I was already tired and hungry with zero motivation to go to this class. However, I knew very well that this class was super important and I'm not one to be missing classes.

Mr. Clarkson has been teaching me Calculus since freshman year. I was super psyched to see that I had gotten him again because he was one of my favorite teachers of all time. He also wouldn't kill me if I accidentally missed an assignment. *Cough* Take note Ms. Johnson! *cough*

Not that I missed a Calculus assignment ever before.

"Hey Avery, what's up?" he asked as I walked in. This class wasn't usually the most popular one and that's because not many people could take this class unless they finished all the main precalc classes.

There were around 20 people so far, and my gut feeling told me that at least 5 were going to drop this class by the end of the first week.

"Hello Mr. Clarkson," I replied, making my way to the corner seats of the room. You had to have a certain familiarity with the school to be able to know where to sit in each classroom. This room, on the third floor of the school, had incredibly good air conditioning. In fact, it was way too good. It was usually freezing in here. The corners however hold the pipe that connects the radiators which was usually warm.

"We're going to start with some revision of differentiation and integration. I know that you haven't forgotten it. Well, I hope you didn't. But we need to go over it before we do anything new. So, let's get going!"

The class didn't drag as much as English did.

I found myself at Ms. Walton's office once again, right after Calculus when I was supposed to have Web Design, but Ms. Walton suggested that I drop it. There I was once again, questioning my life choices after a mere three hours.

She was sitting at the reception, looking stressed and her face immediately lit up when she saw me.

"Avery, perfect timing. There's a list of things that need to be done this week, so if you could just do them in order of priority that would be perfect. Oh, and... did you think about what you wanted to swap Web Design to? I can readjust your schedule now," she said quickly, as if she was in a rush.

"Could I do creative writing Ms. Walton? I'll submit the pieces as required. I'll talk to Mrs. Tunstead about it as well. I don't think she'll mind that I am not in classes," I stated, and I was hoping that she would say yes. I knew that she wanted me to take up something that didn't add more work to my existing workload, but I needed to do this, Mrs. Tunstead happened to be a lovely woman and she wouldn't mind having me just submit work separately.

"Yes, I'll arrange that. Did you talk to Kyran Drake yet? About the tutoring sessions?" she asked, and I didn't say anything. She could tell that I didn't from the look on my face. She could tell that I didn't want to do it.

"Avery. There's a very good reason for this. He needs a football scholarship, and his grades are not going to get him there even if he's the greatest young footballer of all time. Our school needs his rankings, and he needs better grades, and you need a better grade. He knows that. Please just ask him. I know you don't like him very much from what I can tell..."

I felt sorry for her. She was singlehandedly dealing with everything right now. I realized that I wasn't her only star student. She had others as well. The school needed Kyran Drake, just as much as it needed me to do well. She was investing in us to get funding for the school.

Kyran's future, my future, and the school's future were in my hands and my control.

No pressure, Avery.

"Yes, of course, Ms. Walton. I just didn't get a chance to ask him this morning. I'll do so by the end of today," I assured her, and she walked back into her office, leaving me with a large to-do list and a troubled mind.

I guess I didn't have a choice now.

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Hello air-breathing dry landers, 

 I have a calculus exam in three days and I'm writing instead. Totally enjoying this more than partial fraction decomposition. (*Update: Yes, partial fraction decomposition ended up on the exam and I totally messed up*) No regrets though. 😁

Thank you for reading this chapter! If you liked it, don't forget to vote and leave a comment. I'm not sure how many people read both Macbeth and Hamlet, but let me know which one you think is better. 

Q: What's your opinion on Kyran's character so far? Did he make a good first impression? 

I'll see you guys next time with another exciting chapter. 😍

XOXO

Audrey. 💕😘