Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 25

"Hi Nick", they greeted me in unison. "We saved this seat just for you!"

"That's great, thanks a lot." I managed to say with some forced enthusiasm.

I really didn't like having to sit in the front row, it was too easy for the teacher to catch you at something; but on the other hand, I didn't mind sitting between the twins again. They both had personalities that were more mature than their physical forms. More than once I had noticed one, or both of them observing me with a somewhat calculating look on their faces. As soon as I glanced at either of them they were all smiles. I couldn't help but wonder what the two of them were thinking about, and what they may be possibly being plotting. Their smiles were inscrutable though... they gave nothing away when I looked at one or the other of them.

Today's science class dealt with crystalline formations within stone geodes, I was able to hold my own with that topic... my Grandfather made jewelry using exactly the crystals and geodes we were discussing. The teacher was Impressed and congratulated me on my knowledge of the subject. I smiled at the teacher and she smiled back at me. She was an older woman with. a somewhat severe look about her. I was genuinely surprised when she spoke; she had a very pleasant voice and was actually quite easy to listen to.

Her severe look dissipated somewhat and I could see there was a handsome woman under that steely exterior.

The twins also seemed to be impressed by my knowledge of the subject, they were gesturing to each other in some unknown sign language, probably of their own design, and mouthing words to each other. I just watched for a few seconds before turning back to the blackboard.

Science class ended and Mathematics started. I was well ahead of the bell in this class and found an empty desk three rows back. There seemed to be fewer students in this class than the other ones I was taking. As I was wondering at the reason for that, the twins and Sylvia entered the room and took the three remaining seats in the front row with Sylvia sitting between the twins.

All through the class the three of them were thick as thieves, passing notes and whispering to each other. More than once the teacher gave them menacing glares as he cleared his throat at them. I smiled a bit as I watched, it was fun to see the chatting threesome being warned about their behavior. I also wondered what they found so fascinating that they were willing to tempt the wrath of the teacher to chatter on about it.

I tumed my attention to the teacher and what he was writing on the black board. I understood everything that was discussed in Math class... It was the one subject that I really excelled at. The teacher took note of my ability and jotted a few things down in a notebook he had opened at his desk. I wondered what he had written about me, but kept my focus on the material.

By some wonderful scheduling quirk, I had a spare period as my last period of the day and was looking forward to getting outside for a smoke. I really missed the one I didn't have a lunch-time and was keen to get outdoors as soon as possible.

Just as the bell started ringing the teacher called my name and asked me to come over to his desk. wasn't too worried though, I knew I was probably one of the best students in his class. Math and I had been friends since I was first introduced to it.

"Yes Sir?" I asked.

"Nick, I see that you are really proficient in math, I wish all of my students would show the same enthusiasm as you do."

"Well Sir, I am not nearly as good as I would like to be in some of my other courses."

"I know Nick; your English teacher and I have been talking about you in the staff-room."

I'm sure the look of panic on my face was absolutely easy to see as he continued, "Don't worry, she knows you are trying your hardest to learn the material and that you already have a brilliant English student as a tutor."

I was relieved to hear that my English teacher had nothing bad to say about me. I relaxed and looked uncertainly at him, trying to divine what he was driving at.

"As brilliant as Sylvia and the twins are with English, they are equally as poor in Math as you are in English. I don't understand it really, the three of them are among the brightest students in the whole school. They do quite well in all their other courses, but can't seem to get their heads around Mathematics."

I said nothing as I waited for him to continue.

"If you wouldn't mind Nick, I'd like you to help Sylvia and the twins with their math homework. You could probably tutor Sylvia in math while she helps you out with English. And I hope you can find time to help the twins out as well."

In spite of what he had just told me, I found it really hard to believe that Sylvia or the twins could be that bad with Mathematics. To me, math was easy... everything had to add up, so to speak. There were no unknown variables in math; something was either right or wrong. There were no shades of grey with math. And certainly not like English where a stray preposition could trip you up like a bola around your ankles. Verbs, adverbs and the rest of them were just looking for people like me so they could ruin my day.

I was still wondering about it, but had already made up my mind that I was going to get to the bottom of this little mystery.

"I'd be happy to help Sylvia; she really helped me last night. And I'm sure I can fit the twins in somewhere."

I got a sharp look for that last bit, but had nothing but honest sincerity in my voice and on my face.

"Humph... well, that's good. I'm sure they'll appreciate your efforts. Okay then, away with you." And with that he dismissed me from his class and his train of thought.

I quickly made my way to my locker... spare period or no, getting caught in the hallways while classes were on was still a major offence, and could get you a detention if you were caught. As I neared my locker I saw Anna, who smiled and waved at me. "Hi Nick!" she greeted me, in that soft voice of hers.

"Hi Anna! How is your day going?" I asked her, hoping that she hadn't encountered any difficulties.

"So far, so good. Thanks to you I didn't have any trouble with my locker and made it to all my classes on time, except for the first one, and my hall pass kept me out of trouble there. So yes, so far, so good." She had a wonderful smile, the kind you dream about seeing directed at yourself.

"I'm glad I could help Anna, if you ever need help with anything, Just let me know and I'll do whatever I can to help you. I was truly sincere as I spoke those words and I'm sure that Anna knew it as well.