Lets Get This Over With

"Joseph Jonas! I know you can hear me. Come down!"

I couldn't ignore my mom’s calling again or I would probably get grounded for it. I stood up and carefully placed my guitar back in the corner of my room making sure it stayed balanced. I slowly walked towards the stairs still thinking of ways to stall. Turning to go down, I saw a pretty, blonde girl standing at the bottom next to my mom.

"Hi," she said smiling.

Okay, so she wasn't the total geek I had been expecting. Actually, she was far from it. There were no dorky glasses and like I noticed before, she was kind of cute. She had blonde hair; it had some red in it, though, not beach blonde. That was probably the geekiest thing about her since it was up in a bun. Her style wasn’t too bad, though. Her bright pink t-shirt said "Don't Look Back" in black lettering and was paired with black skinny jeans. She also had on a pair of green flats. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all.

"Hey," I replied walking the rest of the way down the stairs. "I'm Joe."

"I figured. Uh...I'm Lizzie," she responded, giving me another smile.

With the introductions out of the way, we both just stood there awkwardly. What were we supposed to do now? It’s not like I’ve ever done this before. I glanced at Lizzie who was just looking at me expectantly. Great, she expects me to say something. She’s the tutor; shouldn’t it be her job to start doing something?

"Um..." I started.

"Why don't you guys go up to your room and start studying, Joe?" my mom asked, urging us along. I guess she noticed that neither of us were doing anything and probably had no idea what we were supposed to be doing.

"Yeah, sure."

I turned around and started walking up the stairs towards my room. I heard Lizzie follow me.

* * *

I can't believe I have agreed to do this. It's already completely awkward. I’m glad Mrs. Jonas finally stepped in instead of both of us just standing there. At least with the introductions all over we can just focus on math. That I can actually do without having to think of something to say. It’s all just numbers.

Joe had led me upstairs and down a hallway. We came to a door with a sign that said "Danger" hanging on the outside. He opened the door and I followed him inside. His room was painted a dark blue with a few posters of different bands along the walls. There were also a few posters from Broadway shows, which seemed strange to me. I didn’t really picture him as a theater person.

"So...did you find the house okay?" Joe asked, turning around to face me.

I looked back towards Joe after my scan of his room. Was he really trying to start small talk right now? I thought we were already past this whole stage and we were going to get started on math.

"Yeah, I only live a few blocks away so it was easy," I answered,

"Really? Why have I never seen you before?"

"Oh, I just moved here a little over two years ago, and you are a year ahead of me," I responded, trying to be nice. It probably had more to do with the fact that all of his friends hated me. Well, at least Tammy does and I’m pretty sure she’s the one in charge go everything.

"I guess that makes sense." He sat down on the bed as I still stood there. What was I supposed to do now? Should I just sit or should I stay standing? Why am I always so awkward? I should wait for him to say something. It’s his room, he can make a decision.

"Would you like to sit down?" he asked me, motioning beside him.

"Sure, thanks," I sighed as I sat down next to him. I knew he would have to say something eventually. "Nice guitar," I said pointing to the corner of the room where it was leaning against the wall.

"Oh. Thanks. You play?"

"No," I responded. "I would love to learn, but I've always just played piano."

"Nice. I wish I was better at piano. I’ve always tried to learn but I just always get distracted by something." I looked over at Joe, who had begun staring off into space. I guess he was trying to prove his point.

"Hey!" I lightly shoved him, laughing, and he looked at me. "I'll teach you what I know on piano if you agree to teach me some guitar, deal?" I stuck out my hand for him to shake.

He took a second before answering, "Deal!" He laughed and shook my hand.

"Great, but first we might want to start on math. Your parents are paying me for this."