Hey Romeo, Don't You Think You're Just a Tad Overrated?
Math Team Tutors Needed, Stat!
Two hours later, after moping around the house, getting into another argument with David about Brynne's sudden suggesting about the math team, and occasionally helping Rachel with the chores, I finally got out, properly dressed in jeans and a cute, striped, zip-up sweater.
"Hey, Max!" a wide, stupid, grin broke across my face as I greeted my new boyfriend down by the courtyard.
Max returned my smile, wrapped his arm around me and leaned down for a brief kiss. "Hey, yourself," he chuckled.
A little distance away, Cam rolled his eyes and made a somewhat disgusted noise at the back of his throat. Max gave his best friend a look.
"I have to go," Cam muttered, keeping his head down. "See you guys later," he lifted one arm in one of those casual, manly good-bye waves. Max nodded.
"What's wrong with him?" I asked.
"I dunno," Max said a bit nonchalantly, almost too nonchalantly. "Just stressed over homework, I guess."
I nodded, unconvinced. There was something bothering Cam. I may not be the brightest crayon in the box, but I was smart enough to figure out that Cam wasn't just stressed over homework. I brushed it off for now.
"So, do you want to hear some fascinating news?" I said sarcastically.
"Oh really?" Max pulled me tighter as we began our aimless stroll around the nicer parts of the campus. "Enlighten me."
"I've been forcibly recruited for the math team!" I said in mock celebration.
Max laughed. "Aw, come on, it's not that bad!" he tried to soothe. "You'll get smarter!"
I glared at him. "Are you insulting my intelligence, Maxamillian?" I said playfully.
"Maybe," he said, and then burst out laughing. "Aurelie, don't worry about it! You'll have fun. And if you need any help, I guess Cam's always there."
"What?" I asked, surprised. "Cam's on the math team?"
"Has been since freshman year," Max replied. "Got some stupid honorary trophy for it too."
I narrowed my eyes. Was it just me, or could I detect traces of bitterness in his voice?
"Anyways, you have to go now, right? Math team meeting in Macgregor Hall?" Max brightened, glancing at his watch.
"I forgot about that," I mumbled as he detached himself from me.
"I'll see you later, Aurelie. Go get them," He smiled, leaned in for one more kiss, and left.
I sighed as I watched him slowly disappear off into the distance. Macgregor Hall, here I come, I thought sullenly.
______________________
"You know the math team doesn't recruit people with an IQ of negative two and below, right?" were Cam's first greeting words as soon as I stepped into classroom C-21 in Macgregor Hall.
I scowled at him and took a seat in the front row, crossing my arms. We were still early, and there were only two other people in the room, two boys sitting in the back corner, minding their own business. "I didn't do this willingly," I snapped at him.
Cam smirked his trademark obnoxious smirk, propping his chin in his hands and observing me closely with his dark eyes. I felt a little flustered. "Yup, definitely negative two," he spoke after a few seconds of contemplation.
The flustered feeling was immediately replaced with boiling anger. "Well, look at yourself! The first time you're not the captain or at the top of something," I sneered in his face.
Cam stretched lazily. "Actually, I turned down the position of math team captain last year. I thought it would be a bit too much to balance out, and I thought Bobby Willis deserved something."
I ground my teeth together. Forget it. I had officially given up trying to pick out Cam Gallagher's weaknesses and flaws. This guy was seriously just perfect.
"Hey, guys, it looks like everyone's here," a nasally voice interrupted my thoughts. "Let's get started then."
I turned around to face the captain of the math team. Bobby Willis. I knew he sounded familiar. It turned out our captain was the very same Farting Bobby that was in my Calculus class and lacrosse P.E. class. I sighed and placed my head on the desk. Oh, joy.
Mr. Harbing entered the room a bit later. He was the coach/supervisor of the team. He sat quietly at his desk, watching Bobby speak. There were nine people on the math team. Ten now, including the more than useless me. And I noticed I was the only girl, with an exception of Lillian Adams, the senior class prefect.
"Hi, I'm Aurelie," I managed brightly as she sat down next to me.
Lillian blinked once, and then nodded. "I'm Lillian." The gold badge on her chest flashed. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at the badge that seemed to have a life of its own.
"So, you're on the math team?" I asked, attempting to make a friendly conversation.
"Yeah."
"How is it?" I pressed.
"Good."
"I…see," I faltered.
Lillian nodded stiffly, and after a moment, she got up, taking her bag with her, and settled in another seat in the far corner of the room. I sighed and put my head down again. Cam, who was sitting behind me, laughed audibly. I didn't even have the strength to glare at him.
"And well, for our newest members, I have a diagnostic test for you to see what level you stand at," Bobby's nasally voice cut across my thoughts.
I bolted upright. Diagnostic test? I watched in horror as Bobby slid a thick packet onto my desk and did the same with a couple of sophomores and freshmen sitting on my right.
"You guys have thirty minutes to answer forty questions. You can begin now," Bobby continued. "Can the second year varsity team gather here?"
"Good luck," Cam whispered sarcastically at me as he got up and made his way to the back of the room.
I gritted my teeth and tapped my pencil against the polished surface of the desk.
Question #1: A fourth degree polynomial has zeros at 3-i and 5. Find the polynomial.
What the hell was this? I skipped about the first twelve questions before I came to one I moderately understood. I let out a frustrated groan as I flipped the page; the same, complicated problems went on for four pages, back and front.
Finally, the end to the thirty torturous minutes came. Mr. Harbing stood and collected the diagnostic tests.
"I'll grade these now and see where you stand," he announced, taking his infamous red pen out of his breast pocket.
The two freshmen next to me traded nervous looks and the sophomore a bit to my right smirked confidently. Arrogant prick.
"Let me guess, you failed," Cam's voice spoke, surprisingly close to my ear.
I jumped at the proximity. "St. Peter!" I muttered.
Cam sat down in the seat next to me. "Well, I've never really called myself a saint before, but if you want to, feel free," he grinned, his white teeth flashing brilliantly.
"I didn't mean it like that!" I said loudly, just as Mr. Harbing stood up again.
"Alright, I got the scores," he pronounced, passing the packets back.
I gulped as I saw my score. 3/40
"Wow," Cam whistled as he leaned over my shoulder, "three correct. That's a new record, even for usual failures."
I glared at him and slid my paper out of sight. "I'm not a math person, okay?" I said huffily.
Bobby sauntered over. "That's alright. That's why you're here to practice and improve. You seem to have the basic skills, but you lack the ability to ah, think outside the box."
Mr. Harbing suggested an idea from his desk. "Aurelie, why don't you get a student tutor to help you polish up your skills a bit? I'm sure you can do wonderfully."
"Oh, Mr. Harbing, I don't think that would really be necessary, I'll just work out of a textbook or som—"
"Cam, you have the same afternoon study hall as Miss. McAllister here, don't you? Why don't you take that time and help her with her math? We have our first big meet coming up in three weeks against Deerfield Academy," Mr. Harbing cut me off.
"Sure, why not. I'm willing to help out my teammates," Cam said agreeably with a casual shrug.
What?!
"That sounds cool, how about it, Aurelie? You'll be a great asset to the team, I know it," Bobby looked at me.
"Actually, I'm not sure that's a great idea, you see, I don't learn very well with—"
"Alright then! Meeting's over! Keep practicing those math skills everyone! See you next week!" Mr. Harbing clapped, dismissing the team.
"You've got to be kidding me," I muttered.
"Cheer up, Aurelie!" Cam mocked as he passed my desk. "We'll have oodles of fun studying logarithms together!" He flashed me one last smirk before exiting the room.
I swear he was only doing this to torture me. I groaned and slammed my forehead against the tabletop. There goes my free afternoon study hall again.
"Hey, Max!" a wide, stupid, grin broke across my face as I greeted my new boyfriend down by the courtyard.
Max returned my smile, wrapped his arm around me and leaned down for a brief kiss. "Hey, yourself," he chuckled.
A little distance away, Cam rolled his eyes and made a somewhat disgusted noise at the back of his throat. Max gave his best friend a look.
"I have to go," Cam muttered, keeping his head down. "See you guys later," he lifted one arm in one of those casual, manly good-bye waves. Max nodded.
"What's wrong with him?" I asked.
"I dunno," Max said a bit nonchalantly, almost too nonchalantly. "Just stressed over homework, I guess."
I nodded, unconvinced. There was something bothering Cam. I may not be the brightest crayon in the box, but I was smart enough to figure out that Cam wasn't just stressed over homework. I brushed it off for now.
"So, do you want to hear some fascinating news?" I said sarcastically.
"Oh really?" Max pulled me tighter as we began our aimless stroll around the nicer parts of the campus. "Enlighten me."
"I've been forcibly recruited for the math team!" I said in mock celebration.
Max laughed. "Aw, come on, it's not that bad!" he tried to soothe. "You'll get smarter!"
I glared at him. "Are you insulting my intelligence, Maxamillian?" I said playfully.
"Maybe," he said, and then burst out laughing. "Aurelie, don't worry about it! You'll have fun. And if you need any help, I guess Cam's always there."
"What?" I asked, surprised. "Cam's on the math team?"
"Has been since freshman year," Max replied. "Got some stupid honorary trophy for it too."
I narrowed my eyes. Was it just me, or could I detect traces of bitterness in his voice?
"Anyways, you have to go now, right? Math team meeting in Macgregor Hall?" Max brightened, glancing at his watch.
"I forgot about that," I mumbled as he detached himself from me.
"I'll see you later, Aurelie. Go get them," He smiled, leaned in for one more kiss, and left.
I sighed as I watched him slowly disappear off into the distance. Macgregor Hall, here I come, I thought sullenly.
______________________
"You know the math team doesn't recruit people with an IQ of negative two and below, right?" were Cam's first greeting words as soon as I stepped into classroom C-21 in Macgregor Hall.
I scowled at him and took a seat in the front row, crossing my arms. We were still early, and there were only two other people in the room, two boys sitting in the back corner, minding their own business. "I didn't do this willingly," I snapped at him.
Cam smirked his trademark obnoxious smirk, propping his chin in his hands and observing me closely with his dark eyes. I felt a little flustered. "Yup, definitely negative two," he spoke after a few seconds of contemplation.
The flustered feeling was immediately replaced with boiling anger. "Well, look at yourself! The first time you're not the captain or at the top of something," I sneered in his face.
Cam stretched lazily. "Actually, I turned down the position of math team captain last year. I thought it would be a bit too much to balance out, and I thought Bobby Willis deserved something."
I ground my teeth together. Forget it. I had officially given up trying to pick out Cam Gallagher's weaknesses and flaws. This guy was seriously just perfect.
"Hey, guys, it looks like everyone's here," a nasally voice interrupted my thoughts. "Let's get started then."
I turned around to face the captain of the math team. Bobby Willis. I knew he sounded familiar. It turned out our captain was the very same Farting Bobby that was in my Calculus class and lacrosse P.E. class. I sighed and placed my head on the desk. Oh, joy.
Mr. Harbing entered the room a bit later. He was the coach/supervisor of the team. He sat quietly at his desk, watching Bobby speak. There were nine people on the math team. Ten now, including the more than useless me. And I noticed I was the only girl, with an exception of Lillian Adams, the senior class prefect.
"Hi, I'm Aurelie," I managed brightly as she sat down next to me.
Lillian blinked once, and then nodded. "I'm Lillian." The gold badge on her chest flashed. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at the badge that seemed to have a life of its own.
"So, you're on the math team?" I asked, attempting to make a friendly conversation.
"Yeah."
"How is it?" I pressed.
"Good."
"I…see," I faltered.
Lillian nodded stiffly, and after a moment, she got up, taking her bag with her, and settled in another seat in the far corner of the room. I sighed and put my head down again. Cam, who was sitting behind me, laughed audibly. I didn't even have the strength to glare at him.
"And well, for our newest members, I have a diagnostic test for you to see what level you stand at," Bobby's nasally voice cut across my thoughts.
I bolted upright. Diagnostic test? I watched in horror as Bobby slid a thick packet onto my desk and did the same with a couple of sophomores and freshmen sitting on my right.
"You guys have thirty minutes to answer forty questions. You can begin now," Bobby continued. "Can the second year varsity team gather here?"
"Good luck," Cam whispered sarcastically at me as he got up and made his way to the back of the room.
I gritted my teeth and tapped my pencil against the polished surface of the desk.
Question #1: A fourth degree polynomial has zeros at 3-i and 5. Find the polynomial.
What the hell was this? I skipped about the first twelve questions before I came to one I moderately understood. I let out a frustrated groan as I flipped the page; the same, complicated problems went on for four pages, back and front.
Finally, the end to the thirty torturous minutes came. Mr. Harbing stood and collected the diagnostic tests.
"I'll grade these now and see where you stand," he announced, taking his infamous red pen out of his breast pocket.
The two freshmen next to me traded nervous looks and the sophomore a bit to my right smirked confidently. Arrogant prick.
"Let me guess, you failed," Cam's voice spoke, surprisingly close to my ear.
I jumped at the proximity. "St. Peter!" I muttered.
Cam sat down in the seat next to me. "Well, I've never really called myself a saint before, but if you want to, feel free," he grinned, his white teeth flashing brilliantly.
"I didn't mean it like that!" I said loudly, just as Mr. Harbing stood up again.
"Alright, I got the scores," he pronounced, passing the packets back.
I gulped as I saw my score. 3/40
"Wow," Cam whistled as he leaned over my shoulder, "three correct. That's a new record, even for usual failures."
I glared at him and slid my paper out of sight. "I'm not a math person, okay?" I said huffily.
Bobby sauntered over. "That's alright. That's why you're here to practice and improve. You seem to have the basic skills, but you lack the ability to ah, think outside the box."
Mr. Harbing suggested an idea from his desk. "Aurelie, why don't you get a student tutor to help you polish up your skills a bit? I'm sure you can do wonderfully."
"Oh, Mr. Harbing, I don't think that would really be necessary, I'll just work out of a textbook or som—"
"Cam, you have the same afternoon study hall as Miss. McAllister here, don't you? Why don't you take that time and help her with her math? We have our first big meet coming up in three weeks against Deerfield Academy," Mr. Harbing cut me off.
"Sure, why not. I'm willing to help out my teammates," Cam said agreeably with a casual shrug.
What?!
"That sounds cool, how about it, Aurelie? You'll be a great asset to the team, I know it," Bobby looked at me.
"Actually, I'm not sure that's a great idea, you see, I don't learn very well with—"
"Alright then! Meeting's over! Keep practicing those math skills everyone! See you next week!" Mr. Harbing clapped, dismissing the team.
"You've got to be kidding me," I muttered.
"Cheer up, Aurelie!" Cam mocked as he passed my desk. "We'll have oodles of fun studying logarithms together!" He flashed me one last smirk before exiting the room.
I swear he was only doing this to torture me. I groaned and slammed my forehead against the tabletop. There goes my free afternoon study hall again.