Chapter Text
“If you don’t pass your final exams, you won’t be playing in the championship tournament, Sidney.” Coach Mac leaned both hands on his desk and stared down his star player.
Sidney glared at his coach, “I’m the best shot we have of winning everything! If we lose this championship because you benched me for some useless exam, not only will my life be ruined, but you’ll lose your job, we’ll lose the entire program!”
Coach Mac narrowed his eyes at Sidney. “Don’t tempt me. If you think I look forward to walkin’ in here and being spoken down to by a little entitled punk kid like you with zero life experience, you’ve got another thing comin’. Now, get yourself in order and find a good tutor. There’s a list of ‘em in the student union.” Sidney stood stock still staring in disbelief at his coach. Coach Mac leaned in closer, “GO!”
Sidney turned on his heel and stormed out of the office, slamming the door behind him. The only thing standing between Sidney and his dream of winning a national championship was one lousy exam for the worst possible class: English Literature. He’d hated every moment of every lecture. He’d skimmed the books, opting for the cliff notes, and figured he’d just try the old, “fake it ‘til you make it” trick. It wasn’t working. Every paper, every test, every project he gotten back had a low grade. In fact, the only success Sidney was having with English Lit. was…well, he was successfully failing English Lit. Sidney yanked his gear out of his locker and shoved in his backpack, slamming the door with an angry passion.
Sidney’s friend and teammate, Jay Crowe, stopped tying his shoes and looked up in irritation, “Have some mercy, man. It is rudely early. What’s your problem anyway?”
Sidney glared at Crowe and huffed angrily, “My problem is English Literature. That stupid class is going to ruin our championship chances. Coach Mac is demanding I get a tutor.”
Crowe lifted his eyebrows, “English Lit? You’re failing English Lit? Aren’t you from England??”
Sidney rolled his eyes in irritation, “It doesn’t mean I’m a bloody expert!”
Crowe laughed, “Sorry man, I just always had this impression that you had Shakespeare board books as a kid or maybe a Mr. Darcy action figure or something.”
Sidney glowered at Crowe, who raised his hands innocently, “Hey, I’m just messing around, Sid. If you need a good tutor, I know one. She helped a buddy of mine with the same class last semester. He said she was a real task master, but he aced his final thanks to her. I’ll send you her info.”
“Thanks, Crowe.” Sidney’s phone pinged with the contact information.
Crowe nodded, “Good luck. I’ll see you on the field.”
Sidney finished getting dressed for practice and fired off a text to the tutor.
SP: Hi, this is Sidney Parker. I got your name from a friend who said you’re a great tutor. I really need a tutor for English Lit. Are you available to help me?
Sidney stowed his phone in his locker and headed out to the field for practice.
An hour and a half later, the team dragged themselves back into the locker room. Coach Mac was angry, and as a result practice was excruciating. Will Babbington was the first to accuse Sidney, “Sid, why do I get the feeling Coach Mac’s mood is all your fault today?”
Sidney groaned and stretched his aching muscles, “Probably because it is.” The locker room erupted in a chorus of halfhearted insults directed at Sidney, followed by a shower of sweaty, smelly socks.
Crowe piped up, “Well, maybe next time you could wait until after practice to be a pain in the—”
“CROWE! IN MY OFFICE NOW!” Coach Mac thundered.
Crowe flinched and his teammates collectively said, “Ooooooooohhhhh!”
Ever the comedic showman, Jay Crowe recovered quickly, straightened his shoulders, and lifted his chin and pretended to flip his shaggy, curly hair, “I’ll show ya how it’s done, fellas.”
Sidney shook his head in amusement and pulled out his phone. He had two new text messages, one from his overbearing brother, Tom, and one from an unknown number. He opened the unknown number first.
Unknown: Hi, I’m Charlotte Heywood. Yes, I’m available to tutor you. I can meet you this afternoon. My last class ends at 3pm. Meet me on the steps of the library around 3:15?
Sidney added Charlotte’s number into his phone and quickly responded, relieved.
SP: Thank you so much. I’ll be there.
Sidney finished taking off his gear and grabbed a quick shower before heading off to breakfast and his first class of the day.
The day went quickly, and before he knew it, Sidney was heading toward the library to meet his new tutor. It was only 2:45pm, but the library was all the way across campus. And he figured if he got there early, he’d just chill for a bit before his study session. Sidney arrived at the library at 3pm on the dot. Finding a bench in the shade, he settled and looked around to see if Charlotte had arrived early as well. Then, he realized he had no idea what Charlotte looked like. He opted to play a game on his phone until it was closer to 3:15.
He heard a voice from a few yards away, “Excuse me, are you Sidney Parker?” Sidney’s head shot up. At the top of the steps stood a young woman speaking to another guy, who shook his head.
Sidney looked at the clock on his phone. It was 3:30. He mentally kicked himself and sprinted up the steps. “I’m Sidney Parker. Are you Charlotte?”
She turned toward him and nodded. Sidney drank in the vision that stood in front of him. Charlotte had long brown curly hair that caressed her shoulders. She had a small dimple in her chin, beautiful full lips, flawless olive complexion, and big brown doe eyes that looked at him...with annoyance.
Sidney extended his hand to her in greeting, “Hi, it’s nice to meet you. I’m sorry I’m late. I’ve been on that bench this whole time and totally lost track of time.”
Charlotte looked at his outreached hand and hesitantly grasped it in her own, returning his greeting. “Nice to meet you. I do try to keep on time though. I have quite a few students right now and still have my own work to do.”
Sidney ducked his head, “Of course. Again, my apologies. It won’t happen again.”
Charlotte looked at him as if measuring his character. She dropped his hand and adjusted her backpack. “Well, let’s get to work.”
Sidney followed Charlotte into the library. The university’s library was massive, old, and creepy. Sidney tried to stay away from it as much as possible. But by the looks of it, Charlotte was intimate with the catacombs of books and periodicals. She wove their way all the way up and to the back of the third floor. There was one darkened room. Charlotte reached in and flipped on the light and walked in, placing her backpack on the table.
Sidney stood in the doorway and looked behind him. This part of the library was completely deserted. He raised an eyebrow and asked Charlotte, “Do you bring all your students to this room for tutoring?”
She stopped and looked at him incredulously, “Yes, why?”
“Don’t you feel a bit unsafe bringing guys you don’t know to this part of the library? I mean, there’s no one even within earshot.” Sidney put his backpack on the table and sat down across from her.
Charlotte looked at him with narrowed eyes, “Should I feel unsafe with you, Sidney Parker?”
Sidney shook his head, “No, absolutely not. I just want to make sure you feel comfortable with this. With me, with…I mean, being alone here with…” What was wrong with him? He never had trouble talking to girls. Now he was an awkward, bumbling mess.
Charlotte smirked and opened her book, “Right. Let’s get to work, shall we?”
Sidney had a hard time focusing. Listening to Charlotte drone on about Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice was exceedingly boring. Finally, he’d had enough, “I’m sorry, I just don’t understand why I need to know all this. I play lacrosse. I just need you to help me pass the final exam so that I can play in the championship tournament next month.”
Charlotte stopped and closed the book. “And how do you suppose I should help you? Are you expecting me to just give you the answers to the final exam to memorize?”
Sidney perked up, “Well, I’ve never been a fan of cheating, but I mean, if you have them, that would be amazing. I can memorize things.”
Charlotte smiled, “Ah! You can memorize then?”
Sidney nodded, “Yes, I can memorize anything.”
Charlotte flipped open the book and turned to page 1, sliding it across the table to him, “Great. Then start with memorizing Chapter 1. We’ll visit themes and characters at our next session. I’d like you to particularly pay attention to the way Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy interact the first time, as well as setting and social themes of the day.”
Sidney clenched his jaw in frustration. “I don’t understand how this will help.”
Charlotte stood, put on her backpack, and leaned forward with both hands on the table, “If you know the material inside and out, you will ace your final exam. Your final exam is on Pride and Prejudice. If you read it and study it, you’ll do great. If you don’t, you won’t. I’m here to help you understand the text you’ve read, not do the work for you.” Charlotte straightened and walked out the door.
Sidney gathered his things quickly and ran after her, “Charlotte, wait.”
Charlotte stopped at the top of the stairs and turned.
“You’re right. I’m sorry. I just. I’m hopeless at this. And there’s a lot riding on one single exam for me.”
Charlotte sighed, “I know. You’re an athlete. You know better than I do that your level of success is entirely dependent upon you. I know you can do this. Just put in a bit of effort. I’ve got another tutoring session in 10 minutes. I’ll see you on Wednesday, ok?”
Sidney nodded and watched as Charlotte jogged down the stairs, rushing to her next appointment.
***
Later that evening in his dorm room, Sidney lay in his bed reading Pride and Prejudice. He reached for his phone and shot off a text message.
SP: Is it true that all women are looking for is rich husbands?
Sidney waited as three dots appeared, indicating Charlotte was responding.
CH: Keep reading, Mr. Parker. You’ll find what women really want buried within the confines of the book you’re “reading.”
SP: Hey now, I am actually reading it! No need for the sarcastic quotations, Miss Heywood.
CH: I’ll believe it when I see it!
Sidney smirked and took a quick selfie of himself holding the book and sent it.
CH: Is that….is that a TEDDY BEAR beside you? Do you sleep with a teddy bear, Mr. Parker?
Sidney looked at the photo and sure enough, his childhood Paddington stuffed bear had committed the ultimate betrayal by photo bombing.
SP: And what if I do?
Sidney smiled as a photo popped up on his screen. Charlotte was wearing thick rimmed glasses and had her hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun. She was snuggling a worn teddy bear.
CH: I’d say you’re in good company. Good night, Mr. Parker. Happy reading. 😊
SP: Good night, Miss Heywood 😊
Sidney bit his lip, took one last long look at Charlotte's photo, and put his phone back on the side table. He sighed contentedly and continued reading well into the night.