Tutoring The Player Novels & Stories

I keep my shoulder squared, waiting for him to make his point. “If you want to stay on the football team, you’re going to need tutoring. Effective immediately.” He adds. I blinked. “I can figure something out. Maybe Tati….” “No.” His voice sliced through my excuse. “You’ll be assigned a tutor.” I exhaled through my nose, fighting the heat curling in my chest. I couldn’t afford to get kicked out of the football team. Not now. “Fine. Who?” He flipped a folder shut with a smile I didn’t like. “Miss Treton.”

Athena was embarrassed at all the things he pointed out, she glanced at him and all his attention was on the slice he was buttering, “you know, it almost sounds like I am taking lectures.” “You are taking lectures,” he said, placing the slice on her plate, he looked at her and their eyes met, “and I am the tutor.”

I was tired and I just wanted to go home. He studied me for a moment, like he was debating whether or not I actually meant it. Then, he nodded. “All right then. To make sure you keep to that promise, I’ve decided to assign a tutor to help you get back on track.” I blinked, sitting up straighter. “What?” He nodded his head repeatedly, as if he had expected my reaction. “Blair, this isn’t a punishment. This is my support to you. You’re too smart to let everything fall apart like this. I want to see you succeed.”

That voice… My head snapped towards the entrance of the garden. …Talahei…? He stood there in his dark robes, his presence calm in a way that made everything else feel unstable. His gaze swept over Hugo first, then me, as if weighing a conclusion he had already reached long before he arrived. “... You are the Gra–grand Tu–tutor?” Hugo was the first to speak. I was just as stunned and confused as he was. Wasn't he the guard, Talahei? How could he be the Grand Tutor? The grand preceptor was said to be old, right?

No nerd should have the right to live rent-free in my head. But Aria does. I adjust my grip on my stick as the puck slides my way. This is just warm-up drills. Just warm-up. Not like I'll actually be playing tonight. I'm still benched, waiting for Coach to eventually drag me out. Still, I need to keep my head in the game. Instead, my head is full of Aria. I lose the puck. "Yo, Monroe." Tanner barks from across the ice. "You asleep out here or what?"

I declared. “That’s good to hear,” Coach said, smiling. “We have a tutor for you. You start this evening.” “Tonight?” I questioned. “Yes, tonight,” Coach confirmed. “It seems the tutor lives in the same building as you, so that it will work out perfectly.” “Well, that’s convenient,” I stated. “What’s his name?” “His name… It just says Iavan on the form,” Coach advised. “Tutoring at 8 pm.” “Zander, you’re a fantastic player and an incredible human being,” Coach declared. “I want to see you succeed.”

It looked like the star athlete was corrupting the top student, or worse, that I was helping him cheat his way through the semester. "Is this you?" Coach Briggs asked, his voice a low growl. "Are you the reason my star quarterback is missing practice and failing his labs?" "No," I said. My voice was small, so I cleared my throat and tried again. "No, sir. I’ve been tutoring him. We were studying." "In a restricted equipment shed at midnight?" Miller leaned forward. "That’s a creative place for a library session."

Just seeing. "I need the tutoring," he said. Quieter now. "I'm on academic probation. If I don't get my grades up, I lose eligibility. I lose the team. I lose–" He stopped. Jaw tightened. Started over. "I don't want random tutors who don't know me assigned every few weeks. I want one person. Someone I can actually talk to without performing. You're the only person on this campus who's seen me without the act." "You mean because I've seen you naked?"

“Hey everyone! This is the girl who tutored Weston. She’s the reason he passed the test so he could play tonight. Give it up!” I’m stunned when they cheer for me. Loudly. So loudly that I fall back a step. “Mr. Weston made it clear he didn’t want her speaking with anyone outside of the family box,” says the head of my security team. “Ah, I’m one of his receivers,” says the player, waving him off. “That makes me family.” Ignoring the continued protests from my guard, the receiver smiles back down at me. There is something in his expression that makes my stomach feel hollow, but it’s probably just me. I’m still not used to speaking with strangers. “So are you going to continue tutoring Gage?”

"You’re saying we register her." "I’m saying you go to Coach Diaz tomorrow morning," Finn says, leaning forward, his voice dropping into that serious, deadpan tone he uses when he's setting up a play on the ice. "You tell him you found a private tutor. You tell him she's keeping you eligible, and because you need daily sessions, you’re providing room and board as her compensation. You get Coach to sign off on the paperwork, and you file it with the athletic department. It becomes a sanctioned, university-approved arrangement."