attention on my locker so I donât have to stare into his eyes anymore.
âAnd we need to come up with some time to talk about tutoring,â he says.
My stomach drops.
Iâm supposed to be tutoring Kyle.
I am so conflicted.
Because on the one hand, itâs not very professional of me to back out when I told him that I would help. I have my reputation as a peer tutor to uphold. On the other hand, thereâs a good chance that the girlfriend of the guy Iâm supposed to be tutoring will kill me if I spend quality time with him.
I need to man up and talk to Ruby.
âSo?â Kyle prods.
âDo you have something due soon?â
âI have that paper I told you about.â
âAll right, weâll figure it out,â I promise.
But first I have to talk to your girlfriend.
Iâm about to walk away, to eat my lunch alone in the student activity office and come up with a plan of action for talking to Ruby, but Kyle grabs my arm.
âAnd if you could maybe not tell anyone youâre tutoring me?â he says, his voice crackling with nerves.
âNobody knows youâre having trouble?â I ask.
âNobody but you, me, and Ms. Gupta.â
âOh.â
Well, this just got a lot harder to deal with.
Ruby
I sneak up on Gideon because I know otherwise he might run away. But I need to talk to him. Itâs killing me not to talk to him about what I know.
Iâm not gonna lie: the fact that he hasnât talked to me isnât helping his case. It makes me want to play with him, like a dog with a chew toy. Itâs not fair, but guess what? Life isnât fair. Thatâs become very obvious to me lately.
Kyle told me that Gideon was heading in the direction of the student activity office last he saw him, so I make my way over there after I finish eating lunch.
When I get to the door of the office, I find Gideon sitting at the table in the center of the room, hunched over a sandwich and furiously writing in a composition notebook, like his whole life is a test.
âKnock, knock,â I say, instead of actually knocking.
He gasps a little when he sees me, but he keeps his composure and sits up straight, folding his hands in his lap.
âHello, Ruby.â
âHey.â I take a seat across from him. âI thought you might come find me today, or you know, at least text me back.â
âUm. Well.â He licks his lips and takes a deep breath. âI wasnât really sure what you expected me to say.â
âYouâre smart. I thought youâd figure something out.â
He cracks his knuckles. âFine. What do you want from me?â
âWhat makes you think I want something from you?â
âI donât know. Your semi-threatening text, your ominous appearance in what I like to think of as my safe space. I donât know what to make of the situation. You basically know all my secrets. Iâd like to know what youâre planning on doing with your knowledge.â He swallows and stares at the table, like heâs awaiting sentencing.
âItâs just kind of funny, because recently Iâve noticed the way you look at Kyle.â
âAnd how is that?â
âLike you want him. Like you want to steal him from me.â
âThe point of those lists wasnât that I wanted to âstealâ him from you,â he says, making air quotes around the word.
âThen what was the point?â
âThey were for me. I wanted to organize my thoughts and eventually find a way to get over him, since heâs with you and he likes you. I donât want to come between you guys.â
Iâm not sure how to respond. It feels like heâs telling the truth, but that would mean he has absolutely no idea of how much power he truly holds over Kyle. Is he really that oblivious?
âAre you actually threatened by me?â he asks.
âNo, Gideon, Iâm not threatened by you,â I say,