I flip open my notebook and tap my pen against the paper. "Alright, so what part of the test messed you up the most?"
She exhales heavily, dragging her fingers through the ends of her hair. "All of it?"
I smirk. "That's not helpful."
She groans, flipping her test over on her lap. "Fine. This one." She jabs a finger at a circled problem near the top. "I swear, I tried to figure it out, but it was like my brain just shut down. It's that whole solving systems of equations thing. I just don't get it."
I glance at the problem and nod. "Elimination method."
She gives me a blank stare. "Elimination method?"
I grin. "Okay, let me break it down."
I grab my pen and scribble out an example equation:
2x + 3y = 124x - y = 5
"Alright, so when you have two equations like this, the goal is to eliminate one variable so you can solve for the other."
She nods slowly. "And how exactly do I eliminate something? Because, trust me, if I could have eliminated this test, I would have."
I chuckle. "Yeah, well, that's not how it works." I point to thetwo equations. "See how we have a +3y in the first one and a -y in the second? We need to make those numbers match so we can cancel them out. So, we multiply the second equation by 3 to make the '-y' turn into '-3y.'"
I rewrite the second equation underneath:
2x + 3y = 1212x - 3y = 15
Madison leans closer, studying it. "Okay…and now?"
I glance up at her, making sure she's following. "Now, we add both equations together. The +3y and -3y cancel each other out, and we're left with?—"
I scribble it out, adding them up:
(2x + 12x) = (12 + 15) 14x = 27
Her brow furrows. "So…now I just solve for x?"
I nod. "Exactly. Divide both sides by 14."
She picks up her own pen and carefully writes it out. "X equals…27 over 14?" She looks up at me. "That's it?"
"That's it."
She blinks at the paper, then shakes her head. "Jesus. You make it seem so easy."
I smirk. "That's because it is easy."
Madison groans, flopping back against the carpet. "You're so annoying."
I laugh, reaching over to poke her knee with my pen. "Come on, let's do another one. You'll get it, I promise."
She sighs dramatically but sits up again, rolling her eyes. "Fine. But if I don't, I'm dropping out of school and becoming a trophy wife."
I bite back a grin, sending her a wink. "Good thing you've got me then."
Her cheeks flush slightly, and she quickly looks down at her paper.
And just like that, this study session just got way more interesting.
