Calvin
“You have got to be kidding me!” I said much louder than I had planned. I could feel my face growing red. I was unsure if it was embarrassment or anger.
“Calvin… Look, I don’t know what to tell you. Mason is important to the school right now, and he needs help. That is your job.” Dean Whitmer sat down defeatedly in her chair. She knew this was a waste of my talent and my time. “You’re the best, and Mason needs the best. Besides, the athletic department is cutting us a check that will allow me to hire two new tutors for the year. Once that money is in my budget, Calvin, I will get it rolled over for next year too. This is great for the campus and this department. Can you see that?”
“I am going to be Mason McKendrick’s private tutor for the rest of the semester? That’s… I don’t even know what to say. Of course, I am. The football team gets whatever they want, don’t they?” My frustration was boiling over, and I was madder than a cat on a hot tin… well, you know what I mean.
“Yeah, hon, they do. It’s called the university food chain. They bring in all the major donors and a ton of money for the school, so yeah, they get special treatment. It’s not Mason’s fault, or even the coaches, it’s just the way it is. It’s how the college functions and can afford things like dance minors and sculpture. The athletics department helps out every other department just by being there.” She crossed her arms and looked at me.
“Fucking Mason… He asked for me, didn’t he?” I said stubbornly. I was really going to give him a piece of my mind when I saw him.
“They asked for the best. You are the best, Calvin. This isn’t Mason’s doing.” She glanced down at the file and picked it up for me. “Here is his class schedule and practice schedule and the syllabi for his classes. Look at it this way, honey. You got a break. You only have one client, and the rest of the time, you can focus on your own studies. It is what you wanted, isn’t it? A lighter load…”
“Dammit… yes. Patricia, I… Fine. I will do it, not like I really had a choice, but I’ll drag him kicking and screaming into a B if it kills me. He’s not even going to know what hit him. When is he coming in?” I asked, not seeing it in the file.
“Oh, he’s not. He wanted to keep the tutoring sessions private. You will need to call or text him, and then you can schedule the meetings for the next week or so.”
“Private tutor in a private setting. He doesn’t want anyone to know, huh?” She nodded. “Fucking, Mason. I think I might hate him already.”
I walked out of the office and slammed the folder down onto my desk. What the fuck have I been dragged into? More importantly, why did he ask for me? Patricia acted like that wasn’t what happened, but I knew it did. There was no way she would have had me do this unless she had no choice. What in the world did Mason McKendrick want with me?
I sighed, feeling as if I was getting in something I didn’t understand. Was his ego that big? Probably. He couldn’t stand that I didn’t like what he stood for, who he was. Or maybe it wasn’t that at all. Maybe there was something in that small interaction that intrigued him, and he wanted to slum with someone who wasn’t as important.
Straight boys just confused me.
I opened the folder and looked at his classes. Of course, he was a physical education major. His grades were good there, of course. I laughed as I saw that he actually took a bowling class.
Jocks…
Social Science and a fairly easy math class were the only gen-ed classes he had. Being a tutor for Art Appreciation was going to have a learning curve for me too. I might be gay, but I was still a country boy. I didn’t know the difference between Picasso and any other Italian painter. I really wasn’t the best person to help him, but that didn’t apparently matter.
I saw his cell number on the paperwork and pulled out my phone.
This is Calvin. When and where?
I saw that he had read it, and the little bubbles appeared at the bottom, telling me that he was typing. Patience was not one of my virtues.
Now?He replied.
I laughed. Pretentious ass.
Where?
I shot back quickly.
Library? I’m at Kerr Health. Meet u n front?
I shook my head. Jesus… How was that a question? I might have to teach him grammar too.
C u n 5
I stuffed my phone in my pocket and stuffed his paperwork in my backpack. I walked into our small library and found the books for his classes and added them to an already overstuffed backpack. I had two hours until my class. That would be plenty of time with Mason, I was sure.
I meandered over to the Wadderfeld Library, passing the Schempp Fine Arts Building that I had always thought looked more like a hospital building than a place where creative people studied. I saw him leaning against one of the square brick pillars in front of the library that helped to hold up the walkway in front.
“Calvin,” he grinned at me as I approached him slowly. This fucking backpack was heavy. “Thanks, man. I… uh… like really appreciate this and everything. If I lose my scholarship, I would be… uh, totally fucked.”
“I don’t know how you did this, and honestly, I don’t really care. But I am curious as to why you insisted upon me.” I sat my backpack on the ground and crossed my arms.
