We'd already been at school a week. I had tried to find Tyler. I even asked around. I knew most of the kids since it was a smallish school i assumed finding a kid you'd never seen before wouldn't be that hard. No, i was wrong. I'd have to go to the office and ask the secretary for help.

       "Hi Ms. Lavern, Can you do me a favor?" I asked the secretary. "Sure thing, what do you need darling?" "I'm looking for a student, Tyler Hillcroft. He's new this year. I'm his mentor. I just need to get with him about studying can you page him and ask him to meet me here?" I asked her. 

       "Sure thing just one second." She looked up his name on the computer and saw his fourth block teacher. "Mr. Jenkins can you please send Tyler Hillcroft to the office please?" She buzzed on the intercom. "Sure thing." He said. I took a seat on the bench to wait. "Thank you." I told her. "Anytime dear." 

       Finally the door swung open and a kid i had never seen before walked in. Bingo. "You wanted to see me?" He asked Ms. Lavern. "Oh no dear she did." She pointed to me. I took in his form. He looked built from head to toe. If he got into a fight at his old school I'm sure he won. He had longish brown hair that fell into his. And he had the most piercing brown eyes i had ever seen. 

       He steeled them up on me. "Who are you?" I stood up. "Oh I'm Brooke your..." "I don't need a tutor." He said turning to leave. "Wait." I held my arm out. "Look I'm just supposed to be a mentor you're new i can help you with anything. I mean show you around school or.." "I found my way just fine i don't need some Brain to annoy me too. I've had a long day ok? So if you don't mind I'm going to go." He said turning to leave.

       "Now just hold on for one minute!! I do mind. I don't care how long of a day you had. I am supposed to spend time with you.  So you are going to spend time with me weather you like it or not! I won't fail this because of you!" I said getting loud. He snickered. "Yea i bet you don't fail a lot of things." He said eyeing me.

       "What's that supposed to mean!?" Some punk was not going to come in here and act like he had better things to do. Or that i was some pathetic girl who worried way to much about school. He was going to spend time with me whether he liked it or not. 

       He looked me up and down and snorted again. He didn't say another word as he started to leave the school. I picked my backpack up and followed him out of the school. "Why are you following me?" He asked. "I told you we are going to spend time together!!" I said scowling at his retreating back. "I can't think of a more boring person to spend my time with, no thanks." He said.

       "I can judge you right back and trust me you don't want to know what I'm thinking." I said. "Oh maybe i do, this might be interesting." He said sliding his back pack higher up on his shoulder. We got to the parking lot and stopped. "Ok how about we take my car to grab a bite to eat and get to know each other and I'll tell you on the way exactly what i think." I said. "Oh this will be to good to pass up. You just got a little less boring."

        I got into the car and buckled up. He did the same. I pulled out of the parking lot headed in the direction of town where all the fast food places were located. "Go head and tell me what you think of me, since you know me oh so well." He said smirking. "I don't know you but i could easily write you off on your looks alone. You look like you could kill a guy with your bare hands. And secondly it says you're changing schools your senior year. So did you kill a guy with your bare hands? Are you a bad kid. Are you hooked on drugs? Why aren't you going to college? Why don't you apply yourself?" I said getting heated up. I finally stopped to take a breath and looked at him. 

       "I don't know where to start! A killer, you think so much of me." He said giving me a pointed look. "It's not funny." "Fine, what else did you say? You just went on a bender there for a minute." He said. He sighed. "Well, i don't want to apply myself because school is boring i think college is a scam anyways. They say you need higher education to get a job. That's stupid! Why? Some people are more qualified for the job but get turned away all because they don't have some stupid piece of paper saying they are qualified. Then you have these stupid idiots who come in for a job and the employer sees you have college and bam they hire you. It's all stupid to me." He said throwing his hands up.

        "Ok fine so you want to work at burger king for the rest of your life, can you say would you like fries with that?" I asked. "I will work at my dads garage then." He shrugged. "Wow big dreams." I said rolling my eyes. "You want to settle for working with your dad instead of doing something amazing because you have all these preconceived notions about college!" i said. 

       "Well what about you? What do you want to do?" "I'd like to be a pediatrician." He snorted. "What? I like kids and i would like to help make them feel better and don't make fun of me you're going to settle working at your family business when you probably don't even wont to." I pointed out again. "Not like i have a choice my dad has already put my name on the sign." He shrugged. "That is about as stupid as your college theory.  What's the worse that will happen? Your dad will have to paint over the sign?" I said pointing out the holes in his plan.

       "I guess but i think he wants me to work there you know." He said giving me a tight smile. "That's all fine and well if that's what YOU want to do. Is that what you want to do?" I asked. "I don't know i kind of thought about being an architect." He said. "You draw?" I asked surprised. Didn't see that one coming.

        "Yes haven't you ever heard of the brooding artist?" He chuckled. "Of course i have. Then we can do that." I said. "Do what?" "Get you into college for that." I said simply. "Yea right my grades suck." He frowned. "Colleges are okay with that. We can study all year and bring your gpa up and then we can prepare you for the Sat's." I said getting excited. It was only our first meeting and he was already talking about college. I wanted to pat myself on the back.

       "Don't bother i just told you my dad was a mechanic i can't afford college." He said. My face deflated. Well so much for patting myself on the back. We were at Mc Donald's, so we got out. "So this will be easy for you. You can pretend you are helping me study and I'll tell them you were the best mentor ever!" He said clasping his hands together.

       "People like you make me sick." I said getting aggravated. "What people like me?" "You are so lazy and think that you can't do it anyways so why even bother if i had that attitude i wouldn't be going to college. You don't think i work hard for my grades? I literally just told you we could do this and you wanna cop out." I said getting angrier.

        "Well were in the same boat people like you make me sick." "Oh you don't know anything about people like me." "Sure i do, you're a smarty pants. So study buddy, what do you do on the weekends? I don't know maybe... study? And then perhaps you study some more?" He said mock shock covering his hansom features.

         "You don't understand." I said shrinking into myself. "Try me." "My parents expect this from me." I said. "So what? You told me that i couldn't let my dad tell me what to so do why are you?" He asked. "You're right but you haven't met my sister. She's Ms. perfect its as if she can do no wrong and no matter how hard i try to measure up to her i just can't." I said sighing.

       "Then stop trying, just be yourself." He said as if it was the easiest thing in the world to do. "And have my mom look at me like I'm a failure? No thank you." "Okay fine. It's clear that you could use my help. But you have got to loosen up." He said moving the hair from his eyes. "Wait wait, no I'm supposed to be helping you!" I said. "I know that." He grinned. "But you need my help just as much as you think i need yours. So we can see where this goes. If you try to loosen up." He said. We had been standing outside of McDonalds for a few minutes. People came in and out of the restaurant. 

       My stomach let out a growl. "I'll try but you have to give this a real try. And you can't rule out college just yet." I said. "I told you i can't afford it. Let it go." He said. "Oh give it up, there are all kinds of scholarships you can apply for. If you apply yourself we can do this. You could even take out student loans. They let you pay it back a little over time." He put his hands on his temples. "Great this sounds like a lot of work." He groaned. 

       "Welcome to my life." I said as we walked inside to eat. Once we had our food and were sitting at the table i wanted to know more about him. "So this architect thing why did you decide that's what you wanted to do?" "I don't know, i like clean lines i like the look of tall buildings i enjoy drawing with a ruler and making things symmetric blame some of it on my OCD." "Ah, well then it sounds like a great job for you." "What about you why did you decide you wanted to be a pediatrician?" He asked with a look of disbelief in his eyes almost as if he didn't actually believe i could want a job this lame. I shrugged. "Like i said i just wanna help. I love kids and if i could do something to make them feel better then it sounds like a pretty good job to me." I said popping a fry into my mouth.

       He sat for a minute in thoughtful silence. He dipped his fry in his ketchup and looked up at me. "What?" He asked noticing me staring at him. "I don't want to press or anything but why are you here?" I asked. "I'm hungry..." He shrugged not understanding my question. "No not here here i mean at our school. Why did you leave your school at the peak of your senior year?" I asked hopping i wasn't pressing to much. "Ah that. Stuff happened." He shrugged.

        "Yea but don't you miss your friends and stuff?" "Of course i do but it's better for me here." "Okay, I'm not going to press i was just curious." I said. "I really don't think you'd understand. And besides some things are just better left unsaid." He said. "Fine i can respect that, are you about done?" I asked gathering up my trash. "Yea." He said standing up. He took my garbage and added it to his taking it to the garbage cans. 

       "Ready to go back and get your car?" I asked. He scratched the back of his head. "I ride the bus...I know it's super lame my dad owns a garage and i don't even have a car." He nodded. "Oh no it's fine I'll be more then happy to drive you home." "No i can walk." He said. "Don't be silly it's probably far i can take you." He groaned. "Fine." He said sounding really annoyed.

       We walked outside. What was his deal? It was just a ride home. We got into the car and i pulled out. He directed to me his house and i parked on the curb. He didn't say anything. He looked at me expectantly. "What?" I asked looking at him funny. "Aren't you going to make fun of me for living here or something?" 

       "No...Why would i?" "It's just I'm sure you live in a much nicer place...it's just me and my dad so with just his job it's what we get by with." He said embarrassed. Now i see why he didn't want me to drive him home. "And now you see why i never expected college." He said sighing. "Look it's nothing to be embarrassed about." I said. He didn't say anything. 

       "So when do you want to get together and study i could come over or.." "Or what." I could sense he didn't want me here. "Ok...well we could go to the library on the corner i can come pick you up." "Don't be ridiculous i can walk." He grumbled. "Ok fine." I put my hands up. He was obviously a very prideful person and i didn't want to make things worse. He had agreed to meet me and i wasn't going to rock the boat.

        "When's good for you?" I tried again. "I have a test Friday, so i guess Thursday is fine." He said. "Ok see you at five?" "Ok sounds good." He said opening the door and getting out of the car. He was mumbling something about not needing a tutor. Well too bad for him. He stomped up the walk to his house and used a key from his back pack to get in. Then he was gone.