You're Just a Boy Who's Afraid of the Dark

And thus, Jenny and Gabe met every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday after school in that same library for a month. Gabe breezed through four more books and plays: Twelfth Night, The Good Earth, Wuthering Heights, and Animal Farm, and sailed through two more history units. Jenny consistently wondered why they even continued. Gabe was clearly good at this. Despite his ease, Gabe only rose one letter grade (a D to a C) in English and History.

And Gabe was wondering the same thing. Why should he go? Jenny was condescending, and too smart for her own good. She clearly looked down on him. So why did he keep going? Why did he always look forward to their meetings, in the back of his mind? Why was he growing apart from his old popular friends?

But Jenny’s tutoring had brought back one of the joys of his life before popularity: Reading. He hadn’t read a book without being told to do so in years. He snuck out to the bookstore on weekends, spending the money that he’d earned from summer jobs on books.

Jenny was changing, too. She’d come to like Gabe more than she ever thought she would. He was so clever, so witty, and had a huge personality. Though she steadfastly refused to admit it, and stayed rather harsh on him during their study sessions, Gabe was really growing on her.