Free Time's Up by Annie Bryant Page A

starring a poster of Orlando. Betsy would be over in five minutes. It would be so strange to have the Betsy Fitzgerald right here in her bedroom! I better straighten up, she thought as she began anxiously shoveling things into her drawers. She didn’t want Betsy thinking she was a total disaster.
    Maeve was still worried that she was betraying Katani by having Betsy tutor her. But Katani could finish her work without help from anyone. That’s the way she was. “But that is not the way I am,” Maeve said out loud. Still, she knew Katani well enough to know that she would be, if not angry, at least hurt. How could she understand Maeve really needed help when she never did?
    The idea of an angry Katani made Maeve even more nervous. She should have talked this through with the BSG. Now it was too late. Betsy would be here any second.
    Just then the doorbell rang. Maeve rushed downstairsand opened the door to find Betsy standing there with a worn leather briefcase.
    â€œHi, Betsy,” Maeve said. “You look so…so professional.”
    â€œThanks.” Betsy shrugged. “It’s my mom’s. My files don’t fit in my backpack. I have to keep all this tutoring stuff straight.”
    â€œI thought maybe you were going to try to sell me something!”
    â€œOh, no!” Betsy looked shocked. “Just tutoring!”
    They laughed, breaking the awkwardness between them. Then Maeve said, “Let’s go to my room before my little brother comes out to spy on us.”
    Upstairs, Betsy’s eyes widened and she stood frozen in the doorway of Maeve’s pink palace. “I love this!” she exclaimed. “It’s so, um, wonderfully pink in here! You could open your own Think Pink!”
    â€œNo, being onstage is my dream.”
    â€œI feel like I should put on my sunglasses. It’s so dazzling!” Betsy pointed to the pink shelves of ribbons and trophies. “Did you win all those?”
    Maeve nodded. “I’ve been taking dance practically my whole life.”
    â€œYou must be really good at it.”
    â€œBetter than math!” Maeve agreed, giggling.
    â€œWe better get started,” a suddenly nervous Betsy said. They’d agreed to spend the first half of the session on math and the second on the English paper.
    As Betsy spread all her material out on Maeve’s desk, Maeve noticed her tutor glance up at her “cute boy alert” wall.
    â€œWho’s your favorite?” Maeve asked.
    â€œDefinitely Orlando.”
    â€œReally?” Maeve never would have guessed that about studious Betsy!
    â€œI adore him,” Betsy admitted, blushing a little. “But back to tutoring.” Betsy was nothing if not focused. “We can start with your homework and go from there.”
    Maeve smiled and opened her book. Step by step, Betsy went through the first problem so Maeve could actually follow it. Then she said, “Okay, why don’t you start the next one. Don’t worry if you forget something. I’m going to walk you through it.”
    Maeve looked down at the swirl of numbers and then back up at Betsy. “I could show you a couple of dance moves if you want.”
    â€œReally?” Betsy looked surprised. Then her eyes fell on her watch. “Maybe when we’re done. But I’m not much of a dancer. Let’s keep going. What would you do next here?”
    When they got to problem number three, Maeve couldn’t stop herself from asking, “Did you like Orlando better in The Lord of the Rings or Pirates of the Caribbean ?”
    â€œOh Pirates , definitely.”
    â€œMe too!”
    The girls stared at the poster of Orlando with his moussed hair, black hoodie, and adorable grin.
    â€œHe’s so cool, and those eyes,” Maeve gushed. “He always seems like he’s staring right at me!”
    â€œMaybe we should start on the English paper?” Betsy suggested.
    Maeve sighed.