“Wow…” Dae sat in the passenger’s seat, looking at a complete loss for words.
“And there’s more.” I frowned. “My uncle doesn’t want me to tell anyone.”
“Keep the tutoring sessions secret? Why?” Dae asked.
“He doesn’t want the other guys on the team getting psyched out about the possibility of their star player riding the bench or even getting kicked off the team. He said it could cost Fuller and some of the other guys a scholarship.” Thanks to my grandpa, I loved watching basketball, especially our high school team, and I certainly didn’t want to do anything that would hurt the other guys… But, when it came down to it, did I love it enough to put up with Fuller James?
“Wow…” Dae’s dark brown eyes met mine. “That’s… To be honest, I don’t even know what to say.”
“I know, right? It’s totally not fair. I mean, I know I shouldn’t have thrown the mashed potatoes, but Fuller and his teammates, minus Brandon, are always pulling stupid crap like that, and they never get in trouble. At least, not real trouble. I do it once and bam! I’m stuck deciding if I want a permanent mark on my record and screwing STEM camp, or tutoring the most arrogant boy in the entire school. Not to mention, the person responsible for giving me the worst nickname ever. I mean, he hasn’t even started reading The Hate U Give, and our topics are due in two days.” My chest rose and fell dramatically. “He didn’t even have a pen or a pencil with him. Who does that?”
“Take a deep breath,” Dae instructed. “He’s a total douche, but let’s put things into perspective. What’s the end goal?”
I let my head fall back against the headrest. “I have to tutor him until he brings his grade up to at least a C minus. He should be able to do that with good grades on this paper and a few assignments.”
Dae grabbed my hand. “That should take only, what, like a week or two?”
“There’s only a week and a half until the season opener.” I closed my eyes and rubbed my face.
“That’s only nine days.” Dae squeezed my hand. “You can totally handle nine days.”
“You’re right. It’s not that long.” Even though it would feel like an eternity, if Fuller did the work and brought up his grade, I’d be rid of him before the first game. “As long as he brings his grade up. Otherwise, we’re going to have to come up with a backup plan; there’s no way I’m going to get saddled with tutoring him for the foreseeable future.”
“Let’s stick with the nine-day goal. That means spending forty-five minutes a day with him for nine days, so that comes to, what?” Dae stared at the ceiling of my car, attempting to solve the math problem in his head.
“Six hours and forty-five minutes,” I said, letting my arms fall to my sides.
“See, that’s less than seven hours. That’s not even one full school day. You can totally handle that, right?”
“I guess.”
“Focus on getting through it, one day at a time, and then you’ll never have to talk to him again,” Dae said with a smile. “Except when you’re yelling at him from the stands. Plus, you and I both know that you want them to win the state championship again.”
“Yeah. You’re right, Dae. Thanks for the pep talk.” If Fuller acted like a decent human being, I’d survive the next nine days. On the other hand, if he continued to slack off and act like a moron, there’s no way he’d bring his grade up in time, and my uncle would be majorly disappointed in me.
Even worse, I’d be stuck with Fuller James for who knew how long.
Now that would be a nightmare.
Chapter Four
Fuller
The shrill sound from Coach’s whistle echoed against the gym walls. “Warm-up time. Ten laps.”
Some of the guys groaned, but I didn’t care. Running around the gym helped clear my head. Which, after working with Wren today, I really needed. I’d never felt so guilty in my entire life. Making a stupid bet that could end only one way—badly.
Plus, I was still furious with myself for letting my grade slip down to an F in the first place. I could make a list of excuses, but it came down to one thing, I simply didn’t have time to read everything the teachers assigned us, do all my homework, go to practice, and work out in my spare time. At least Wren had told me about those audiobook things. I’d be able to listen to the book tonight after practice.
I started out slow, the gym floor squeaking under my sneakers, but I quickly picked up the pace. Most mornings, I got up at five o’clock and ran outside for an hour before heading back to the house, showering, and going to school to shoot buckets until seven thirty. I was usually the only one in the gym at that time. It was my sanctuary.
Now I’d gone and messed everything up. My chest tightened as I thought about sitting on the bench instead of playing in the game.
A hand on my shoulder caused me to flinch. Turning around, I came face-to-face with TyShaun, who had caught up to me, taking matching strides. “You really think you’re going to score with Wrentainer?”
Every muscle in my body tensed. “What did you just say?”
“You and Wrentainer? Magnolia Valley’s newest couple?”
I grimaced, forcing myself to inhale and exhale slowly before responding.
“Well?” TyShaun pressed. “What happened? Did you hit your head on something last night?” He stared into my eyes. “Do you have a concussion?”
“That bet was supposed to stay between Marc and me.” I picked up the pace, leaving TyShaun several steps behind me.
“Hold up, hold up.” His shoes squeaked as he caught up with me. “You’re telling me that you don’t have some kind of head trauma? You’re actually into her?”
My muscles started to burn as my quads and hamstrings pumped. “No head trauma. But keep your voice down.” Crap. How could Marc blab about this to TyShaun? We had been friends since kindergarten. TyShaun and I were friends, too, but I didn’t trust him like I did Marc.
TyShaun shook his head. “You’re going after Wrentainer, but you don’t want anyone to know?”
“Whatever, she’s got legs for days and her face isn’t bad, either. Plus, she’ll help pass the time until Marissa and I get back together.” My throat felt thick. I hated lying anywhere, but it was the absolute worst to lie while on the court. After all, the gym was like my church. It was practically sacrilegious to lie here. But I couldn’t help myself. It had been only a few hours and I was already in too deep. Failing a class, being forced to work with Wren, the bet, what was next?