Misadventures in Filgersville
By Michael Colbert
Published by Michael Colbert at Smashwords
Copyright 2008 Michael Colbert
This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the
written permission of the Author, except where permitted by law.
ISBN: 978-1-4661-0302-3
This book is dedicated to my grandparents, Grandmother,
Grandfather, and Ga-ga. Also, in loving memory of Pa-pa. And
finally, this is to Mom, who has always supported me and my
writing and has spent so much time helping me.
CHAPTER 1
CHRIS HASTINGS
“Homerun!” the announcer shouted. Although it was only youth all-star baseball it was very competitive. Chris Hastings scored the winning run advancing his team to the championship in the state playoffs.
Chris ran into the crowd waiting for him at home plate. He was overjoyed that his team would be going to the championships. His coach, Coach Delvecchio, told everybody to line up for high-fives. The other team obviously didn’t mean any of the “good games,” they said because it sounded more like they said, “ood ame.”
"Guys, come on over here,” Coach Delvecchio ordered his team, waiting at home plate. The team knelt down in a circle next to their coach.
“You guys played great. Today’s game ball will have to go to Chris. Chris you played outstanding today, well you do every day, but anyways you deserve this ball. Good job to the rest of you guys. I’ll see you at practice,” Coach Delvecchio congratulated.
Chris walked towards his dad who was waiting on the bleachers. As usual, his team gave him the normal knuckle bashes and high fives. Dan, a teammate, ran up to Chris a few seconds after the bombardment of Chris’s ‘fans.’
“Once again, Chris Hastings scores the winning run,” Dan observed.
“We’re in the state championships now. It’s great,” Chris remarked.
“It’s all because of me,” Dan paused, “and you too of course.”
‘He hasn’t done much this year. He shouldn’t give himself so much credit. He should give me twice as much credit as he gave us put together.’ Chris thought.
“Hello, are you alive there?” Dan asked.
“Oh yeah, we did everything,” Chris lied.
“We need to win the next game for our team. We don’t want to let them down, you know?” Dan questioned.
“Yup definitely,” Chris lied again.
‘Why is he so annoying’ he thought.
“I’ve got to go. See you at practice,” Dan said.
“Bye,” Chris replied.
Chris walked over to his dad, who at this point was leaning on the fence. When he saw Chris, he smiled and stuck out his hand for a high-five. Chris took it and followed him to the car. Mr. Hastings was tall, had brown hair, and was one of the best heart surgeons in the whole county.
“Good job today. You got quite a few homeruns,” his dad congratulated.
“Thanks, we’re in the finals now. I really want our team to be the state champs this year. That would be awesome!” Chris exclaimed. “Anyways, why is Dan so annoying? I mean he came up to me and bragged about how good he played. He’s horrible. He’s one of the worst players on our team. He just plays so he can look good in front of his girlfriend. Because he’s on my team he takes the glory for what I do.” They hopped into the car and shut the doors.
“He’s not that bad. Don’t be so hard on him, maybe you’re just too good,” his dad joked. He messed with Chris’s dirty blond hair as he said that.
“I am too good. I just can’t stand that stupid kid. He’s such a lazy bum,” Chris insulted. Chris was usually a nice, thoughtful kid, but he couldn’t stand Dan, the bum, as he had named him.
“Chris I was kidding, it’s not good to brag, that’s how you get yourself into tight situations,” his dad advised.
“I’m not bragging. I’m telling the truth. I’m the best on my team. Except for Connor, the Delvecchios, and me, nobody on my team is good,” Chris debated.
“There are plenty of good people on your…”
“Who, name one?” Chris interrupted.
“Well there are AJ and Curt. Those are just a few,” his dad started.
“They’re okay, but compared to other people they are horrible!” he exclaimed.
“Chris, you shouldn’t be conceited,” his dad scolded.
“I’m not whatever you said. I’m just bragging right now. But hey, it’s the truth,” Chris admitted.
His dad paused and stifled a laugh.
“What, what’s so funny?” Chris questioned.
“How did you do on your report card last term?” his dad asked.
“Why are you changing the subject?” Chris asked impatiently.
“Just answer me,” his dad demanded.
“D’s mostly, some C’s, except in gym I got an A+,” Chris answered.
“I think you should focus more on your schoolwork instead of sports,” his dad suggested.
Chris rolled his eyes and looked out the window.
***
Chris had showered and was talking online in his room with his best friend Connor, and a bunch of other people.
Grandslam9334: Hi Connor.
CNNR417: Hey Chris, what’s up?
Grandslam9334: My parents are being really unfair. My dad said I should focus on my schoolwork more than sports.
CNNR417: That stinks.
Grandslam9334: You’re lucky, you’re smart and athletic. I’m athletic and dumb.
CNNR417: No, you’re not.
Knock, knock.
“Chris, it’s your parents, can we come in?” his mom asked.
Sure,” Chris replied.
Grandslam9334: BRB.
His parents walked in. They looked very serious.
“What?” Chris asked.
“Chris, we just called your coach. We told him you can’t come to your next game,” his dad informed.
“You’re kidding, right?” Chris asked.
“At our last parent-teacher conference your teachers all said you are too focused on sports and not school” his mom started.
“I do fine in school, what are you talking about?” Chris defended himself.
“Son, C’s are okay, but D’s aren’t acceptable.” his dad announced.
“What exactly are you saying?” Chris asked.
“Your mom and I think it would be best if you didn’t play sports for a while. You need to work harder on your school work, academics come first,” his dad explained.
“But dad,” Chris whined.
“We regret it, but it’s what we have to do,” his dad replied.
Chris sat down on his bed, baseball was his life and having it taken away was like a death in the family. His mom sat down next to him, trying to console him.
“It’s getting late, why don’t you go to bed honey?” his mom suggested.
“Fine,” Chris agreed.
“Good night,” his parents said.
“Good night,” Chris repeated.
His mom left his room and shut the door. Chris signed off instant messenger without bothering to say good-bye to anybody, not even Connor. He changed into his pajamas and got into bed.
He couldn’t sleep. He twisted and turned, but couldn’t settle down. He heard voices coming from his parent’s room. He strained to hear what they were saying.
“You went too far with Chris,” his mom stated.
“No, I didn’t, I laid it easy on him. I could’ve said much worse things, you could’ve helped too,” his dad exclaimed.
Their voices quieted down and he only heard fragments of the conversation.
“…not the sharpest tool in the shed…does okay…baseball…extremely important,” his mom whispered.
“No…doesn’t…baseball…too obsessed,” his dad debated.
“What about lacrosse…play it?” his mom asked.
He had completely forgotten about lacrosse and other sports since what his dad said.
“No,” he said.
“Wow, I’m not allowed to play any sports now, this stinks,” Chris thought.
His parents’ voices rose again. “You have to let him play some sport. You shouldn’t have banned him from playing baseball in the first place,” his mom pestered his dad.
“I’ll think about it,” his dad considered.
Chris couldn’t concentrate on his parents’ conversation anymore. He sat on his bed and thought about what they’d said. He knew he wasn’t as smart as some kids in his grade, one being Melvin Moore, who got straight A pluses. He was the geekiest kid in the whole school. If his dad wanted him to be like that, Chris would die of stress before he’d get his average to a B.
CHAPTER 2
TUTOR TROUBLE
“You seriously aren’t allowed to play anymore?” Connor questioned.
“Yeah, it’s so unfair,” Chris protested.
The weekend passed as quickly as it came, and he was back on the bus on his way to school. Chris was sitting next to Connor on the bus. Connor had brown spiked hair, green eyes, and was one of the taller kids in his grade. Behind him sat Brett Locton and Jack Delvecchio. Brett used to be called curly top for his very curly blond hair but that name was dropped after elementary school. He was the shortest of the bunch and was very thin. Jack was the youngest of the Delvecchio boys but he had a younger sister, Rose in sixth grade. He also had brown hair, he always wore a fitted green baseball hat backwards, and was called the Italian Leprechaun at times for always wearing tons of green.
“That is a little ridiculous,” Brett agreed, “What about swimming?”
“I can’t do that either,” he replied.
“Or lacrosse?” Jack asked
“Nope,” he answered, “Nothing, never.”
“That’s so cheap. Just because you’re stupid you aren’t allowed to play sports. No offense or anything,” Connor explained.
“I know I’m dumb but banning me from doing one thing I do good at is so harsh,” Chris added.
Beatrice London, who had wavy sandy hair, glasses, and was rather short, turned around from her seat.
“Don’t you know any proper grammar? You should’ve said, ‘I do well at’ not good at. And it’s not nothing never, it’s nothing ever,” Beatrice corrected.
“Thanks for the grammar lesson Ms. Know-it-all, it really taught us a life lesson,” Connor joked.
“Funny,” Beatrice sneered.
“Aren’t I?” Connor asked.
Beatrice gave him her signature look that said, “I was being sarcastic you conceited jerk.”
“You got her,” Brett and Jack jeered.
“Yeah,” Connor agreed.
They knuckle bashed each other and the bus stopped at the school. Everybody disembarked from the bus. Their bus driver Delores always came as late as possible, so the bell rang as they got off. Chris, Connor, Jack, and Brett all walked to their first class of the day. Chris had English and Connor, Jack, and Brett had math. Beatrice pushed past the group. On her way she tripped over Chris’s big foot. She fell face first onto the concrete ground. She pushed herself up. Chris noticed she had cut herself.
“Sorry, are you okay?” Chris asked.
“I don’t need help from you, super jock flunky and your jerky friends,” she scowled.
She pressed on, tears streaming down her face.
***
“Grand slam! Chris Hastings has hit his fourth grand slam in the major leagues this year,”
“Chris, Chris, Chris, Chris, Chris…Chris…Chris…Chris wake up!” his teacher Mrs. Scottson shouted, “You were sleeping through class. Class is over now. Everybody can leave. Except for you Mr. Hastings,” she instructed.
Mrs. Scottson walked to her desk and sat down.
“Take a seat Chris,” she ordered.
He pulled a chair over in front of her desk.
“Chris, I’ve noticed your academic performance hasn’t been so great recently. Sleeping in class is not acceptable. It’s critical that you improve in class. I’ve talked to your parents about getting a professional tutor. They would help with every subject from science to English. Or maybe even a learning center,” she explained.
“Okay,” Chris responded.
“Here take a hall pass,” she said, “You’ll be late for your next class.” She pulled out a white slip of paper and signed it. Chris left Mrs. Scottson’s room. He went to his locker to get his
books for science.
“Does everyone think I’m a dumb jock and can’t be smart at all?” Chris thought.
The rest of the school day dragged on. He finally got on the bus to go home after another boring day. Connor and he plopped into a seat in the middle of the bus, right behind Beatrice again. The bus started to move and Chris and Connor began to talk.
“Mrs. Scottson suggested I get a tutor,” Chris informed.
“Wow that really stinks. Why would you need a tutor, you can manage on your own,” Connor consoled.
“I think it wouldn’t be half bad for him to get a tutor. He doesn’t use proper grammar, a third grader has better grammar than him,” Beatrice criticized.
“We weren’t asking for your opinion,” Connor scolded.
“Well, if he wants to play baseball, he has to get better grades. A tutor would be beneficial because it would be one on one sessions. You could learn more from a tutor than another teacher in a large group,” Beatrice explained.
“Thanks for your philosophy on life,” Connor ungratefully kidded.
“You’re such a jerk,” Beatrice yelled.
“That scarred me for life, you’re so mean,” Connor joked.
“At least I have other words in my vocabulary besides swears,” Beatrice came back.
“You’re so cold,” Connor sarcastically replied.
“What’s your problem?” Beatrice asked.
“You!” Connor exclaimed.
“Why are you so conceited?” Beatrice asked.
“I’m not conceited or egotistical. I’m just so good at everything that I have the right to brag,” he replied.
Beatrice rolled her eyes and turned around in her seat.
“That got rid of her,” Connor sighed.
“Anyways, my parents were talking about my bad grades last night and they probably said something about a tutor,” Chris mentioned.
“Yeah, I personally wouldn’t want a tutor. Melvin Moore could end up tutoring me,” Connor agreed.
***
Meanwhile in the front of the bus Melvin Moore sat next to his friend Maximillian.
“I can’t believe my dad wants me to get a trainer,” Melvin whined.
“Yeah, that would really stink,” Maximillian agreed, “besides, you’re not out of shape or anything.”
“He wants me to tone up and not be just skin and bones. And he wants me to be strong and good at sports,” Melvin commented.
“It wouldn’t be half bad being an athlete and becoming popular,” Maximillian thought aloud.
***
“Hi Chris, how was school?” his mom asked.
“Fine,” Chris answered.
“Last night your dad and I were talking and we thought it would be best to get you a tutor. He said he’d ask around,” his mom informed.
“Okay, thanks,” Chris replied.
“Chris, I need to go on some errands, will you come?” his mom asked.
“Sure,” he answered.
“We’re going now so get ready,” his mom told him.
Chris sat at the kitchen table while his mother finished getting ready. Once his mom came downstairs he went to the car and sat in the front seat. His mom shortly joined him and they started to drive to the book store. Once they arrived, Chris finally said something to his mother.
“Mom, why are we here?” Chris asked.
“I need some books,” his mom lied.
“Mom, one thing I do know is that you could start a library with all of the books you own and haven’t read,” Chris remarked.
“You’ll see what I need,” his mom replied.
Chris pondered his mother’s last words, “You’ll see what I need,” the phrase ringing like a broken record in his head.
Once they entered the store his mother told him he could browse and buy some books or magazines. She stressed the word ‘books’. Chris walked to the magazine rack; his mother had disappeared into the store. He flipped through some sports magazines.
Chris couldn’t believe his eyes. He thought... it couldn’t be… Melvin Moore was walking next to his mother and talking to her.
“Hi Chris, this is Melvin. Melvin, this is Chris,” his mom introduced.
“Mucho gusto, pleased to make your acquaintance,” Melvin showed off.
“Yeah, whatever,” Chris said rudely. He wondered why his mom brought Melvin over to him.
“Chris, be nice,” his mom ordered.
Chris rolled his eyes.
“Don’t mind him, he needs an attitude adjustment as much as tutoring,” his mom joked.
“You’re funny,” Melvin snorted. He pushed up his taped glasses because the snorting made them sink down.
“What do you mean? Melvin’s tutoring me? I thought we were getting a professional,” Chris interrogated his mother.
“He is a professional, in a way. I’ve heard about Melvin’s academic achievements and I just bumped into him in the computer science section. I asked who he was and told him our situation and he said he’d be glad to help,” she explained.
“But Mom, I …” Chris complained.
“Is tomorrow good? I know it’s sudden,” his mom asked.
“Its fine,” Melvin retorted.
“See you then,” his mom said.
Chris and his mother left without purchasing anything.
“Mom, he’s a nerd, it would be embarrassing!” Chris persisted.
“Do you want to play sports again?” his mom asked.
“Fine,” Chris acquiesced.
***
“They want me to tutor him,” Melvin said.
“What’s this kid like?” his father asked.
“Chris Hastings is an athlete. He thinks one plus one equals baseball and couldn’t solve three to the fifteenth power for his life,” Melvin explained.
“I have an idea, you can tutor him and he can train you,” his dad proposed. “Everyone wins.”
“Fine by me, we just need to ask Chris,” Melvin declared.
“I’ll call his parents,” his dad announced.
Meanwhile, Chris was talking to Connor, Brett, and Jack in a chat room.
CNNR417: They think Melvin Moore will help?
Grandslam9334: I don’t need you telling me how stupid I am.
CNNR417: Sorry, I’m just trying to save you from complete humiliation.
BLCKJCK724 Who is Melvin in the first place?
BLShark5: He’s some nerd, friends with Maximillian Stern.
BLCKJCK724: Oh, Maximillian, the kid who lives next to me?
BLShark5: Yeah.
“Chris, can I come in?” his mom asked.
“Sure,” he replied.
Grandslam9334: BRB
He minimized the IM conversation and his mother walked into his room.
“I just got off of the phone with Melvin’s father. He said tutoring would be great. He was also wondering if you’d train him, help him become more athletic. What do you think?” his mother questioned.
“No way, I am not helping Melvin. It’ll make me as dorky as him,” Chris refused.
“But Chris you both win,” his mom pointed out.
“No, I want a professional tutor not some nerdy kid in my school. And I’m not helping him become stronger, he can do that himself. He’ll probably brag about the fact that I’m helping him or that he’s helping me,” Chris defended.
“You have to, no matter what. I already said yes,” his mom replied.
“Then why’d you bother asking?” Chris asked.
“I wanted to see if it was okay with you,” she responded.
Chris sat and stared at her. He was trying to guilt her into saying he didn’t have to do it. His mom caught onto this and decided to play along.
“If it is totally unbearable you don’t have to do it. I’ll call Mr. Moore and tell him that Prince Christopher doesn’t feel like it” she offered.
Chris thought for a second. As much as he didn’t want to do this he thought he should. His parents would be proud of him and he could play sports again. Then again, what if somebody found out? Would it be worth the humiliation? He was ready to take a risk.
“I’ll do it,” Chris answered.
CHAPTER 3
TUESDAY
“I can’t wait to tutor Chris today. Maybe we can become friends and I’ll become popular!” Melvin thought.
Melvin was sitting in the second row of his English class. For once he wasn’t answering all of the teacher’s questions. He was staring aimlessly into space. He couldn’t keep his mind off of the afternoon.
Meanwhile in science, Chris was also thinking about the afternoon. “I don’t want to have anything to do with Melvin,” he thought. Chris wanted to get the afternoon over with and go back to his normal life.
***
Chris got on the bus and plopped down next to Connor. He was dreading the afternoon.
“What are you doing today?” Connor asked. He was yet to be informed of Chris’s tutoring session with Melvin.
“I have a thing to go to,” Chris replied. Even though Connor was his best friend, he still didn’t want anybody to know about Melvin.
“What kind of thing?” Connor questioned.
Not thinking Chris replied, “An orthodontist appointment.”
“You’ve already gotten your braces off and the retainer deal is set for a couple of more months. What’s going on?” Connor asked.
“Did I say orthodontist? I meant to say dentist,” Chris recovered. He thought he had Connor fooled.
“You had a dentist appointment last week. What’s going on?” Connor asked once again.
Chris had to create a good cover up story. He wasn’t very good at that because he never thought ahead.
“I have to umm…mow lawns. Yeah, that’s it, I have to mow the Carmine’s lawn,” Chris responded, using an old couple to make his story more believable.
Connor gave Chris a look as if to say, “you’ve got to be kidding me, it’s so obvious you’re not.”
“What’s going on? Everyone knows the Delvecchio twins, Anthony and Vince, mow their lawn. If you can’t trust your best friend I’ll leave, take your pick,” Connor threatened.
Chris thought a moment. “I don’t want anybody to know yet. I’ll tell you later,” Chris answered.
Connor stood up and walked past Chris. He walked to the back of the bus and sat next to Brett and Jack. The bus started to leave the school. It jerked to a sudden halt. The bus driver opened the doors.
“You’re lucky,” Delores said to a very flustered girl.
“Thanks for stopping,” the girl said, gasping for breath. Chris didn’t bother to look to see who it was until she sat down next to him. Beatrice was breathing very heavily.
“I’m glad I made the bus,” Beatrice boomed.
“What happened?” Chris asked.
“It’s a long story, but to shorten it, when I was trying to get my books, some low lives kept pushing me away and shutting my locker. I could never get my books. If it’s a friend who does it once it’s funny, but otherwise I don’t like it. People just keep picking on me and I don’t’ know why,” Beatrice explained.
“Did you do anything to them?” Chris asked.
“Not that I know of, so I’m wicked mad,” Beatrice replied, “How come you’re not sitting next to your little friend Connor?”
“Oh, it’s nothing,” Chris replied.
“It’s obviously something. What is it?” Beatrice persisted.
“We just got into an argument. He wanted me to tell him something that I wasn’t ready to tell anyone yet,” Chris answered.
“Did it involve the fact that Melvin is tutoring you?” Beatrice asked.
“How’d you know?” Chris asked, “I didn’t tell anybody.”
“Melvin is a living thing too, something hard to believe. He’s blabbed to people and now I know. Maximillian, his friend told me,” Beatrice explained, “I don’t know why he told me.”
“Who else knows?” Chris asked.
“All of the nerdy kids, plus me,” Beatrice answered, “Do you think I’m a nerd?”
Chris thought she was sometimes, but he didn’t want to hurt her feelings.
“No,” Chris lied.
“Thanks,” she said. She smiled at him. If he didn’t know better, he’d have thought she liked him. She always sat in front of him and now this.
“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. It’s just to help get your grades up,” she comforted.
“I hope that’s how it ends up,” Chris agreed.
Once Chris had gotten off of the bus, he walked up to Connor. Connor saw him and ran away. Chris hoped that Connor didn’t stay angry at him. He couldn’t stand having a friend mad. He knew Connor didn’t keep a grudge, but it seemed like it would take a lot longer to make up this time.
Chris walked to his house in silence. He heard somebody walking behind him. Next, a nasal voice shouted, “Chris wait up!”
He turned around. Melvin had gotten off at his stop.
“Hi Chris. I think we should start our tutoring sessions now, that’s why I got off at your stop,” Melvin suggested.
“Listen, I don’t care,” Chris prompted, “If you want, I’ll do your training thing now and you can tutor me later. I can’t work right after school.”
“Okay,” Melvin agreed. He took note of what Chris said in a small notebook.
“I want to get changed first,” Melvin informed,
“Okay,” Chris said.
Chris showed Melvin to the bathroom to get changed. He then waited for him outside the door.
“So, what should we do first coach?” Melvin asked.
Chris had never thought about what he would do to help Melvin. He thought he’d need some brain food to help.
“I’ll be right back,” Chris answered.
He went to the kitchen closet and grabbed a bag of chips. As he walked back to Melvin, an idea struck him. At sports games his coaches had the team stretch to loosen their muscles.
“Why don’t we start with some stretches,” Chris suggested.
“Okay coach,” Melvin replied.
Chris was getting sick of the “coach” bit but he’d have to live with it.
Chris showed Melvin some stretches to get started.
“How about you jog around the pool for three minutes,” Chris instructed once they completed their stretches.
“Whatever you say Coach,” Melvin cheerfully answered.
Chris had a stop watch with him so he used that to time him. When Melvin finished, he gasped for breath. Chris was surprised how slow Melvin was.
“Climb the big oak tree now,” Chris commanded. He thought this would be a good upper body strength exercise.
“Can I have a break? I need to get my heart rate back to normal,” Melvin complained.
“Do you want your father to be proud?” Chris asked.
“Yes,” Melvin answered.
“Then climb the tree. You need to challenge your ability to become stronger. But wait,” Chris said.
He grabbed a pool toy and climbed the tree. He perched it on a high branch. The oak tree wasn’t very big, but it could present a challenge. He thought it would take Melvin four minutes to climb the tree.
“Retrieve the toy in less than three minutes, you’re safe. If not my dog, Ty, comes out and chases you. In addition to that, if you fail, you’ll have to do it again,” Chris explained.
“Okay,” Melvin agreed in a whiney tone.
“On your mark, get set, go!” Chris shouted.
Melvin grabbed onto the tree and tried to climb. He struggled immensely.
Chris went to the bathroom. He grabbed a few sports magazines from the living room and came back out. He pulled up a pool chair and read a bit. Melvin wasn’t even halfway up with only thirty seconds left. He walked inside again. He found Ty and brought him out. With ten seconds to spare he released his dog. Ty started to bark; Melvin screamed and almost fell off of the tree.
“Be careful,” Chris shouted.
After three more minutes Melvin got to the top and started back down. Once he was on ground again he dropped the toy and bolted from Ty. This of course provoked him, Ty was one of the most rambunctious golden retrievers in the state of California.
Ty chased Melvin around the house once. Chris caught Ty and put him inside. Melvin however didn’t notice Ty wasn’t behind him so he kept running.
Once Melvin got back from his jog Chris stopped him. Melvin surprisingly wasn’t out of breath. Chris asked why and Melvin told him because he was scared. Chris made a mental note of this.
“I think we should swim now. Did you bring a bathing suit?” Chris asked.
“Yes, I’m prepared for anything,” Melvin responded.
“Why don’t you get changed in the bathroom again,” Chris told Melvin.
Chris waited for Melvin to come back. Once he had changed Chris explained the exercise he’d have him do. He wanted Melvin to swim laps around the pool. Melvin did this much better than some of the other exercises but he still wasn’t very good at it.
After some more exercises they wrapped up. Melvin changed back into his clothes. Chris was sitting at the kitchen table waiting to be taught.
“Okay Chris. I’ve prepared a diagnostic test to see what I should help you with,” Melvin informed. He handed a piece of paper to Chris. Chris started. There were a variety of questions from Science to English. Chris did well on the social studies and English questions, not involving grammar. He had trouble with science and especially math. Chris couldn’t answer a lot of the questions. When asked to name some elements of the periodic table of elements: he wrote period, question mark, and exclamation point. And when he needed to know what is made when certain elements of the table are mixed: he wrote ‘they make a sentence.' When he had to calculate three to the third power, he wrote ‘nine.' And when he had to define pi, he wrote: a delicious dessert. Most of the questions involving math or science he gave ridiculous answers or couldn’t answer at all.
He handed the test back. Melvin looked through it, he laughed at some parts and once he muttered under his breath “a delicious dessert.”
Chris heard this and said, “It is! Pie is a delicious dessert, unless you don’t like it.”
“I like it, but p-i-e is a dessert, p-i is a math symbol which means 3.14159, and it goes on forever,” Melvin explained, “This stuff isn’t for stupid people though. I’m not saying you’re stupid but…”
Chris rolled his eyes at being called stupid once again. Melvin finished skimming through the test. He thought, “This will be harder than I expected.”
“Okay, we should get started as soon as possible. Our main focus will be on science and math. We should spend some time in social studies and English though,” Melvin analyzed.
“How do you feel about math?” Melvin asked. He observed that math was his weakest point.
“It’s difficult. Some of the numbers are very intimidating. Some high addition and subtraction problems are bad, but I struggle with multiplication and division,” Chris answered. If he was going to be tutored, he’d want to become smarter faster so sports would be part of his life again.
“I’ll help you with that then,” Melvin declared, “Let’s start with some simple stuff. What is ten times four?”
“Forty,” Chris answered, “the tens times tables are easy. Anything from one to ten isn’t that bad.”
“I’ll write up some problems,” Melvin said, “solve as many as you can in two minutes.”
Melvin took a piece of paper from his backpack.
“Can you just help me with my homework?” Chris asked.
“Sure,” Melvin answered, stuffing the paper away.
Chris walked to the hall and retrieved his backpack. He took out his homework folder and brought it to the table. He took out a math worksheet. Melvin looked it over and began to instruct Chris.
“Okay, in this worksheet you have to multiply decimals. In problem one you have to multiply 16.4 by 4.4. The easiest way to go about this is to multiply 164 by 44 without decimals,” Melvin explained.
Chris did out the work. He wrote his answer, ‘I don’t know.’
“Okay, you first multiply 4 by 4, then 4 by 6, and finally 4 by 1. You have to carry over the tens place so add a zero on a new line. You repeat this for the next four which is like a forty so you need to add a zero to the end of the number,” Melvin explained.
Chris successfully came up with seven thousand two hundred sixteen.
“Now how many numbers are after the decimal point in the equation?” Melvin asked.
“Two!” Chris shouted.
“So you move the decimal point over two places to the left, giving you 72.16,” Melvin concluded.
“Awesome,” Chris responded.
Chris went on to the rest of the problems. Melvin looked them over. They were surprisingly all correct.
Melvin helped Chris with some additional problems he made. After this, Melvin helped Chris with the rest of their homework. They decided that would be good for a day and Melvin walked home. Chris realized that Melvin wasn’t as bad as he thought he’d be, but still was extremely weird.
‘I’ll get used to Melvin soon enough,’ Chris thought. If he was going to have as many study sessions as anticipated he’d probably learn the way Melvin did things.
He wasn’t use to having so much spare time because without Melvin’s help, homework took three times as long. He decided he’d talk on IM. As he was heading upstairs his mom burst into the house. She didn’t seem to notice him. He figured this out because she walked past him on the stairs and locked the door. She seemed either angry or upset.
Chris didn’t want to disturb her so he walked into his room and shut the door. He booted up the computer. While it was loading he looked at his class picture. He stared at the girl he liked, Ashley Twink. She was the prettiest girl in his class. He had had a crush on her for two months, ever since Natalie Goldell, who he used to like, moved to England. She was as thrilled to move away as a mouse is to be eaten. She didn’t want to leave her friends and she said she’d like it if she could at least move to London.
The computer finished loading and he signed onto IM. As soon as it was loaded a talk bubble appeared from Connor.
CNNR417: She knows.
GrandSlam9334: Who knows what?
CNNR417: Ashley, she knows you like her.
GrandSlam9334: How’d she figure it out?
CNNR417: Because I was mad. I told Brett and Jack, but other people on the bus heard. Jake heard and told Carl, who called Max, who IMed Aaron, who told Katie, who texted Jenna, who called Ashley.
GrandSlam9334: What’s your problem?
CNNR417: Sorry, it just slipped out.
GrandSlam9334: Whatever dude, you shouldn’t have done that.
CNNR417: I said I was sorry.
Chris was enraged and blocked Connor. He would unblock him later, but didn’t feel like talking to a back stabbing jerk. Chris signed offline. He plopped onto his bed and thought about tomorrow, when everybody would be asking about Ashley. He dreaded the future.
He got off of his bed. He walked past his mom’s room and heard crying. He knocked on the door and she let him in.
“What’s wrong?” Chris asked.
His mom gulped back her sobs and informed him of the news. “Tim got into his first choice school. I’m really happy for him but… he’ll be moving to the other side of the
country.”