Ship: Kurt/Sebastian (side Brittany/Santana, Quinn/Rachel)

Rating: Nc-17/M.

Author: EdyFerrone/Forwood.

Summary: Sebastian Smythe is a total nerd and he's fine with it. The only problem is that the skank of the school, Kurt, is making his life impossible. Everything chances eventually when Sebastian is designed to be Kurt's tutor. (Skank!Kurt, Nerdy!Sebastian. Side Brittana and Faberry)

A/N: Please, read the notes carefully.

This is story is linked to the Brittana one, You're No Good For Me But I Want You (posted on Forwood's account). It is not necessary for you to read both, but it would help you getting through the verse better. We also wanted to give you some warning before you read: this story includes dub-con, bullying and eventual use of pot and drugs. If you don't feel comfortable with any on these themes, I suggest you don't read the story.

Please, let us know what you think about it!

Beta: Itsnevergettingbetterthanthis.

/

Prologue

"So ..." Emma Pillsbury takes a deep breath before she begins. "The reason why we're here today has nothing to do with punishment or all of these things that you teenagers think are counterproductive or anything like that. We're here because we believe it's important for you that you realize that your educational situation is slightly above mediocrity. A disastrous school career at the limits like yours might affect your life, your future, your family and-Kurt! Get your feet off the desk!" She screams out anxiously at the thought of how many germs are invading her daily territory.

Kurt smirks and stares at Miss Pillsbury, smugly, right in the eye, challenging her with his gaze. For a few seconds he considers ignoring her order, but, even though he is usually so out of control and arrogant, he knows that his didactic situation is dramatically serious. He's not stupid. That's why he calmly shifts his legs, allowing Ms. Pillsbury to sterilize the desk with her wipes.

"That's just what I was talking about!" Emma exclaims angrily, probably more horrified by the bacteria left by the student's shoes. "Not only is your situation tragic, but your teachers also complain about your behavior. We're only a few months from graduation, don't you have any dreams for college? For your future? Or would you rather be stuck in this school forever?"

The blonde girl sitting next to Kurt snorts and shoves a hand in her pocket to pull out a cigarette. She quickly leads it to her mouth, wrapping it with her lips, dyed in a sparkling red that would surely leave a mark. An arrogant smirk comes over her face and she looks so proud of herself for acting so out of line.

"Brittany! No smoking here!" Mr. Schuester scolds her, standing next to Emma, who has begun to cough because of the cloud of smoke that is spreading through the room.

"That sucks Mr. Schue!" Brittany exclaims, rolling her eyes to the ceiling.

"Put it out, now!" Mr. Schuester orders again and this time Brittany is forced to obey, but she doesn't betray her style.

Kurt gives a smug look while Brittany stubs out her cigarette on the desk directly in front of Will and Emma's shocked eyes.

"Oops." Brittany murmurs innocently, before laughing out loud with Kurt.

"Enough!" Will exclaims firmly, slamming his big hand on the desk to restore order and shut the room up.

Sebastian cocks his head slightly to the side, watching the scene with arched eyebrows while Santana jumps beside him. He's a little more firm; therefore he doesn't budge much from its position. He is shaking his leg, leaning over the other in a rather precarious balance and he's sighing quietly, the anxiety of being in that room possesses him quickly, forcing him to make funny suffering faces.

He can almost feel the physical tension that fills the room, probably heavier for the momentary silence. He would never be the kind of person who tolerates these behaviors. His father works as a state attorney, so he has learned to behave well and not to make a bad impression.

However, neither he nor Santana have figured out yet why they're in Ms. Pillsbury's office along with those two jailbirds.

Sebastian's eyes roll around the room through a pair of glasses, while he's cautiously avoiding wandering too much towards those two blue ones in particular.

Kurt Hummel is Sebastian Smythe's worst nightmare.

He has often wondered if he really doesn't have any better way to spend his time than bothering him in the hallways or order his group of friends to throw him into a dumpster. It makes him feel so damn weak that a boy with dyed hair, shorter than he is, could do him everything he wants without any problems, so much so that he forces Sebastian to partake in entire afternoons of consolation with Santana, probably boring her with his outbursts.

He taps his fingers on the wood of the chair, waiting to know what Schuester and Pillsbury have in mind.

"Mr. Schue," Brittany begins, wrapping an arm around Kurt's shoulders, "now that we know we won't pass the year, we can go?" She asks annoyed.

"I can't breathe in here. There is too much stink of failure." Kurt adds, pointing at Sebastian and Santana at his right with the index.

"Guys, please." Schuester says while Emma sinks into the chair, still deeply shaken by their behaviors. "What we're trying to do here is for your own good."

"How can our good to include these two?" Brittany swings, looking into her eyes without a second glance.

Sebastian blinks slowly, trying not to react in any way to these words because he's afraid that the reaction could somehow trigger something later that he fears, given the way in which Kurt carefully evaluates any word uttered in his presence.

"Not a word." Schuester replies firmly, tired about their impudence. "Do you want to graduate? Do you want to build a future or want to throw your life between alcohol and drugs?" Will continues seriously.

"What Will is trying to tell you is that, along with Principal Figgins, we've decided to assign you tutors to improve the subjects in which your situation is really critical; biology and chemistry, Spanish and French." Emma explains. "And this brings us back to you, guys," she adds, pointing to Sebastian and Santana.

"W-what do you mean P-Miss Pillsbury?" Santana asks stammering.

"No one told you can speak, nerd." Brittany growls towards her.

"Brittany!" Will shouts, ordering her to be quiet.

Sebastian leans his cheek on his palm and tries to make Santana notice the warm lovely look that he's addressing to her, as he always does in these cases. He always wants to protect her somehow, as much as possible, even if only with a word of comfort or a hug.

"We believe that you're the right people for this task. It won't be easy, but Brittany and Kurt need to learn from model students like you. That's why we have compiled for you a program and ..." Will turns to Kurt and Brittany. "... Santana and Sebastian will be your tutors."

"What!?" The four students cry at the same time.

"This is madness!" Kurt mutters, shaking his head.

"We can't breathe the same air they breathe for more than ten seconds, how would it be possible to spend our time together to study? Forget it, Mr. Schuester!" Brittany rebels, throwing a disgusted look at Sebastian and Santana, who look down at the pavement, frightened.

For the first time in their lives, they both seem to agree with Brittany and Kurt.

Neither Santana nor Sebastian approves Schuester's freaking crazy idea. Neither Santana nor Sebastian is excited to help two people who have done nothing but hurt them in the last few months, making their high school lives a living hell.

They both want to express their opinion, make it clear to the two teachers how uncomfortable this bizarre situation is, but the fear of saying a word in front of their worst nightmares is so great their words are lopping off in their throat.

Sebastian sighs, messing a little with his lips as words of protest inevitably die in his throat. He wouldn't really say anything that could compromise the situation; if he'd really be forced to spend some time with Kurt, at least he doesn't want him to punish him for something more than being an underdog.

"We're not giving you an option," Schuester repeats more seriously. "This is essential, not optional. Your situation is catastrophic; you might lose the school year. "

"But we don't want-"

"No complains, Kurt," Schuester interrupts him before he can finish the sentence.

"This is your calendar," Emma adds, placing four small pamphlets that have cute and chubby little men with books in hand on the cover and within the schedule for the entire week on the desk. It says at least one and a half hours of study for each subject.

"I'm sorry to destroy your precious castles of conviction, but we really don't wanna get involved with losers like that," Kurt protests again, supported by Brittany. "I mean, did you see yourself in the mirror?" He asks, turning to Sebastian. "Those sweaters scream 'older than my grandma'. You're an insult to good taste!" He exclaims laughing along with the blonde at his side.

Sebastian immediately becomes red with embarrassment and clenches his hands into fists, he wants to punch the arrogant look off of Kurt's face.

There's nothing wrong in his sweaters; they're warm and comfortable.

Santana shakes her head and puts her hand on Sebastian's shoulder as if to comfort him, but Kurts's words seem to have a deep humiliation reserved for him.

"And look at her ... Nerd, have you ever thought to lock yourself in your house and never come out again? No one would miss you here at school," She croaks acidly, exchanging a nod with Kurt.

Santana immediately feels uncontrolled tears sliding down her flushed cheeks and she shrugs, more vulnerable than ever.

She wants to get away from here as soon as possible.

"Enough!" Will snaps again. "You have no choice, you'll study with them and if your grades don't improve ... there's no way you're graduating. Do you want to refuse our help? Okay, I'm ready to call your parents and tell them you're about to be suspend for a month."

At these words, Kurt and Brittany freeze in their chairs, even unable to laugh.

"In addition, if you just try to still make fun of these two guys, I'll take care of it personally," he adds, turning then to Santana and Sebastian. "If have any problems, please contact me and Miss Pillsbury. Don't be afraid guys." They both nod shyly. "That's all for today."

/

Santana and Sebastian spent much of the next hour sitting on the floor of the girls' bathroom, their back resting against the wall, talking about it and describing the apocalyptic depressing situation in which they're forced to spend hours a week with their bullies to get them to study. It's already an impossible mission; imagine if you add to that the fact that Brittany and Kurt have full control over them, since they look like they're too good to be afraid of anything.

Eventually, the ringing sound of the bell signals the end of the break and the beginning of the last hour of lessons, the one they can't miss (just like all of the others). Sebastian and Santana hold the record for least amount of absences in the whole school, maybe that's why they were considered the quintessential of nerd by all of McKinley.

That nickname had never bothered them so much. Actually, they were kind of proud of being nerds. They were meant to be the children that their families had always wanted, pupils with the highest averages of the school.

Of course, this affected their social life, but they are trying to make it together at least. They don't have many friends - none actually - but they can surely rely on each other.

Sebastian has never felt so vulnerable.

He has always been insecure about the way he looks; people's judgments have affected him since he was a child. He has never felt attractive, no girl ever has ever even noticed him. He never really went out with any of them, except for Santana. But Santana's just his best friend, he has never seen her in any different way. Not that Santana's not attractive in his eyes, he simply loves her in a different way.

The fact that he's never had a girlfriend, has made him a target for the McKinley football team that immediately defined him a repressed gay or, more accurately 'fag loser'.

Sebastian has admit to himself that more than once he has wondered about it - the fact that he finds particularly interesting to stare at the jeans brands of the boys walking by could be a clue - but he's simply attributed it to his lack of style ... or rather to his physical appearance.

He feels bad, uninteresting and not at all glamorous. This is the reason why – he thinks - no girl approaches him, as easy as that.

He sighs sadly, going towards the French classroom, but on his way he comes face to face with his worst nightmare.

"What's so interesting about the floor?" Kurt nails firmly in front of him – arms tight to his chest and head slightly tilted on the side with an ironic curiosity painted on his face – and lifts an eyebrow at him. "Or is it simply that you can't look up because you're too scared to see that nobody even notices you?"

Sebastian shakes hands around the strap of his bag and wrinkles his lips, trying to find the courage that he lacks to tell him that he has had enough. Enough of his stupid comments, enough of his arrogance, enough of his bullying.

But every time he looks like he's ready to explode, the words die in his throat. He knows what would happen if only he had the strength to answer to reckless Kurt Hummel.

He has enough problems already with him and his group of bullies, which is why once again he decides to lower his gaze and cash these painful blows in silence.

He tries, however, to ignore him.

They say indifference is the best weapon to hurt someone, maybe it would help Sebastian now.

That's why he tries to walk by, leaving Kurt behind.

His plan fails when he feels a seemingly tightening grip around the fabric covering his chest and he finds himself with his back pressed to the wall. Kurt's hold is strong despite how thin his body seems.

"Why are you ignoring me?" He mutters, an inch away from his face, his lips curling into a curious pout. "You shouldn't pretend not to see me when I'm talking, you know? I say this for your own good ... "

Sebastian trembles, the fear of being hit is totally realistic, considering it wouldn't be the first time.

"L-Let me go ..." He almost begs Kurt, unable to look at him in the face. "What do you want from me?" He asks, shrugging his shoulders as if he hoped to be able to blend into the wall and escape Kurt's strong grip.

Hummel opens his hand, placing the palm against his chest.

"I want you to do something, anything you can to end this torture before it starts." He groans, rolling his eyes, but without pulling away from him. "I have no intention of going through having lessons with you."

"I didn't want it either." Sebastian tries to answer, unable to control the trembling of his body. "Do you think I'd want to help you?" He dares to say, pressed against the wall.

"Of course." Kurt replies immediately, without even worrying about the people who are passing through the hallway. "Why shouldn't you want it? Anyone would like spending their time with a cool guy like me. The problem is you ..."

"What do you want from me?" Sebastian asks, tired of fighting. Whatever he says or does won't be enough to overpower Kurt. "I haven't done anything! What do you want from me?!" He asks again, feeling his legs shake as well as his voice.

"I've already said." Kurt snaps, sighing and rolling his eyes while still holding tightly the fabric of Sebastian's sweater between his fingers. "I want to find a way to make this thing as quick and painless as possible. I'm not going to spend months with you to make you act like you're the smart guy between us."

"W-what do you want me to do?" Sebastian asks, biting his tongue for what he has said. Once again he is submitting to Kurt's will, letting his arrogance get the better of him. Once again he has let Kurt win.

"First of all," Kurt points out, looking up thoughtfully, "I won't put my pen on a paper one single time, that's for sure. You'll have to do it all and you will also be careful that no one notices. Nod." He threatens, looking at him straight in the eye.

Fuck you asshole.

That's what Sebastian wants to yell with all the hatred he feels for him. But Kurt's gaze can penetrate his soul, paralyze him against the wall even better than his hands do. He immediately lowers his gaze unable to keep up with his, and he nods, defeated once again.

"Good." Kurt eases a little his grip on Sebastian's chest, his hand resting there just to be sure, in case he needs to act again. "This is a great start, meerkat face. Don't you think it's a great start? Nod."

Sebastian bows his head, again, in a nod. He feels the need to expel that fire inside him, but the courage and the strength to fight have been trampled by that little devil that takes pleasure in seeing him suffer.

He can barely hear what Kurt is ordering in fact, he just wants to be let go.

"Perfect." Kurt hums, smiling evilly. "Now that you understand exactly how things work, you have my permission to bring your loser face elsewhere because your presence is starting to annoy me."

Sebastian obeys, and looking forward to the freedom that Kurt is 'kindly' granting, he breaks away from the wall with only the desire to take refuge in the classroom for at least an hour of French where he would feel safe.

But as soon as takes a step, he feels a cross between his leg and in the fraction of a second he finds himself lying on the ground, with his face to the floor, and spots a lot of laughter sounding in his ears.

"Sorry, Zuckerberg." Kurt mutters sarcastically, leaning on his knees next to him to whisper a few feet from him. "It was too much fun to keep it."

Sebastian's green eyes immediately get wet so that everything around him becomes blurred, but he still can see Kurt's black boots moving in the opposite direction.

He doesn't know if it's Kurt's words or the silence of this damn school about what happens that hurts the most. No one ever had the courage to denounce these acts of abuse, indeed, judging by their laughter, the other students seem to find it even funny.

Sebastian Smythe feels different. He feels like an outcast, like he's nothing.

Sebastian just wants to disappear like the Invisible Woman of the Fantastic Four; although, he is already invisible to everybody there.

That's why he stays lying on the floor, his cheek now frozen to the cold marble, waiting for help that is never going to come.

/

Kurt climbs down the stairs, step by step, at a rapid pace: after all it's one of the places where he spends his time with Brittany, Rachel, and so on, so it's quite ordinary for him, except for the events of the day.

His favorite victim is there, sitting with a notebook on his lap and gaze resting on it, not at all disturbed by the cries and chaos produced by the football players on the field nearby. He's so terribly nerdy that he doesn't even take a moment to rest.

"Seriously?" Kurt asks, seeing him wince, but never looking up. "Adorably disgusting."

All the calm that Sebastian has accumulated in those few hours disappear as he hears Kurt's shrill voice.

Those two days without school were suddenly like Paradise for him. Well, actually that's what he finds himself thinking about every single weekend in recent months.

It has been just two days since that incident in the hallway, but the wounds haven't healed yet, at least not the physical ones. The weight that Sebastian keeps within is heavier than a boulder; the psychological pressure that Kurt's mere presence forces him to suffer is destroying him.

He feels so weak and vulnerable that even his favorite superheroes can't cheer him up.

That's one of the times he feels like he just wants to turn into the Hulk and experience the satisfaction of crushing the enemy with the power of one single finger.

He wishes that for once in his life Kurt could feel like he feels, like nothing.

"Can we please focus on this?" He asks pointing at the book he holds in his hands.

Kurt sighs but drops down beside him, careful to keep a certain distance.

"Of course." He mutters with a fake smile on his face. "The more I focus on whatever you have to teach me, the sooner I'll be free from the torture of having to look at your face, right?"

Sebastian shakes his pencil in his fist so much that he is afraid of breaking it and annoying Kurt, who can read it as a gesture of disobedience. In fact everything he does, even breathing, could annoy Kurt.

"This is for you." He says, coldly - almost unexpected - as he hands a leaflet to the guy next to him. "And the schedules of our lessons, I thought maybe you wanted to know how to plan your week," he explains, pushing up his glasses that slipped down his nose.

"I can't plan my week." Kurt points out, annoyed. "I'm stuck and I must spend my time with you. It's the worst torture in the history of humanity," he pulls the papers to himself, but doesn't even look at them, too busy keeping his gaze fixed on him. "And you planned a schedule without even waiting for me to check on it. That's bad, very bad."

"I-I just wanted to help." Sebastian explains, before Kurt can use that ridiculous excuse to make fun of him. "We can plan it together if you want to ... I-I just wanna help you," he repeats like a robot, his long legs starting to shake nervously.

"You want to help me?" Kurt asks, lifting an eyebrow and biting his lower lip, pretending to think about it. "Why would you want to help me?" He asks, taking a small step toward him along the bench to whisper, "I bet you'd want me dead and I'm supposed to believe that you want to help me? Do you think I'm stupid?"

"What do you want from me?" Sebastian asks in a low voice. "Do you think I'm happy to help a person who makes my life miserable every day? Do you think I really want to spend time with you after being beaten by your henchmen or thrown into the dumpster by your filthy hands?!" Sebastian snaps, leaving Kurt speechless ... and maybe even himself.

He doesn't know where these words came from, even less that accusatory tone.

"C-can't we make t-this easier?" He asks immediately after, afraid of Kurt's eventual reaction.

Hummel hesitates for a few seconds, looking confused, and blinks as if he can't believe what he has just heard. Then he leans a little closer, wrapping his arms around Sebastian's shoulders and making him startle at the contact.

"Woah, your tongue is getting a little too long, sucker," he mutters, tugging a little ironically while his other hand is still holding the schedules. "This makes me think that maybe you haven't understood how this works. I can also cut it, your pretty little tongue. Literally."

Sebastian narrows his eyes waiting for a slap, a fist, any of which, however, never comes. At least for now.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean it," he tries to apologize, shrugging his shoulders as if Kurt's arm is burning on his covered skin. "S-sorry."

"See? It isn't that hard." Kurt pulls him a bit and then withdraws his arm from Sebastian's shoulders, holding it in his lap. "You won't do it again, right? You're going to be silent and good, and you won't dare to contradict me anymore, right? "

"Anything you w-want." Sebastian answers nodding but realizing immediately, however, he's just broken the first rule imposed by Kurt.

He swallows loudly, praying all the saints in Heaven that Kurt might be gentle with him at least once.

"Oh you have no idea what you're saying, do you?" Kurt looks at him immediately, unable to hold back a spontaneous laugh. "Because the only thing that is right with you is your sexuality - which obviously walks on the right track - and believe me, I could take a lot of advantage if you'd say I can do anything I want," He teases, waving the paper between his hands ironically.

Sebastian is inexperienced, naive, and perhaps too innocent. But he isn't stupid to the point of not understanding the allusive sense of these words, not to mention that grin on Kurt's lips.

Is Kurt basically saying he is gay? And is Kurt gay?

Probably this isn't new to the school, but Sebastian has never been interested in frivolous gossip.

When he realizes what Kurt really had just proposed, he feels his cheeks color red. And his skin can't hide that evidence.

"I'm not gay," he mutters, making Kurt burst into laughter.

"Seriously?" Hummel asks, genuinely amused. "I'm sure that you haven't tried anything in your life, but ... you're not gay?" He asks, looking at him as if he were the funniest thing in the world. "You're gay, you're very gay."

"M-my private life is not of your business, Kurt," he dares even call him by name, not realizing how he is challenging fate more in these five minutes of conversation than he has ever done in his whole life. "I don't like boys," he defends himself.

If Kurt hadn't been so engrossed in the discussion, he probably would have made Sebastian regret his tones. But he is having fun too.

"Want to bet?" He asks, lifting an eyebrow slyly. "I can prove you how wrong you are."

If Sebastian is convinced that he's blushed, after these words he's more than sure that even the Human Torch wouldn't be able to enact the warmth of his skin right now.

He immediately lowers his gaze and tortures his fingers, unable even to answer.

If he weren't just a nerd with an absent sex life, he would say that Kurt is flirting with him.

"Aw, no need to blush, really." Kurt teases, shoving Sebastian's hips with his own and leaning slightly toward his ear closer to his lips. "Just to prove that I'm right. Then one fast hook-up. Given your sex life, I imagine that it would take me about two minutes only," he whispers, grinning happily when he sees him playing nervously with his fingers.

Sebastian feels another shot, but this time his body doesn't react as one would believe. He can't hide that he felt shivers when Kurt's hot breath had brushed his neck and something very much like a suppressed groan escaped his lips. He feels a fire exploding in his body and a strange bulge in his pants.

Is it possible that he's getting ... hard?

"Oh my God," he murmurs lowly, hoping that Kurt doesn't hear him.

"See?" Hummel asks, breathing against his ear, once he's understood the effect it had. "It didn't take much and now you have the answer to your boring internal questions," he mutters, his gaze falling slightly between the legs of the other boy.

Sebastian follows his gaze and when he realizes what has happened between his legs, he immediately tries to cover herself with one hand.

How is it possible to get an erection so easily? It only took a few whispered words to make him this hard?

Sebastian was never really conscious about his body and feels his dick pushing against his boxers wanting to get freed and it's ... weird.

He has never had an erection caused by another person, so he didn't have any idea about the inches between his legs and the thought that Kurt, openly gay Kurt, was watching him, turns him on even more in an unexpected way.

"N-no don't-look at me!" He exclaims embarrassed, placing his bag on his own legs.

Kurt leans forward with his arm, wrapping it around his shoulders again, regardless of his words, his gaze fixed on the folder that covers Sebastian's length.

"It must hurt, I guess ..." He hums, against his ear, too amused to give up.

"Yeah ..." Sebastian readily admits, clutching his legs together and actually feeling how hard he has become. "I-If we don't have anything else to say, I should go ..." He says, his face now burning.

Kurt's proximity doesn't help him and he can feel his own cock grow inside his pants. He has no idea what to do in these cases, but one thing is clear; he needs to stay away from Kurt Hummel.

"Why do you want to go away?" Kurt asks with a grin on his face. "Right now there is something interesting in you. About you. Between your legs," he giggles hoarsely in his ear. "I don't think you'll take care of it alone ..."

"I'll s-see you tomorrow!" Sebastian exclaims, standing up so suddenly that he almost frightens Kurt who still has his arm touching his body. "T-Tomorrow after class," he says, continuing to cover up, and almost crush, his erection in hope that everything goes back to normal in a few seconds.

But his inexperience is very apparent.

"As you wish ..." Kurt mutters lifting his eyes to the sky and then points them back to him. He wants to stare at Sebastian's dick actually, but he keeps covering himself. "Stop crushing it though. That's not how it works, you should-"

"I'm fine!" Sebastian exclaims brightly, continuing to put pressure on his sex, but, as Kurt has told him, it doesn't work.

He knows very little about sex, almost nothing about his own body. And now that he has just offered to Kurt a new way to torture him, the best thing to do is run at the speed of light like his friend Superman.

"S-See you tomorrow."

Kurt sighs, resting his elbows on his knees and his face in his palms, suddenly sad: Sebastian is going away just when he was beginning to enjoy the game.

"I hope you're not still hard tomorrow ..." He watches, teasing him. "I wouldn't be surprised."

Sebastian shakes his head and takes a few steps back, almost tripping over his own feet.

"Get there on time, please," he says with a lump in his throat due to the discomfort he feels between his legs. He has no idea what to do or where to turn.

Maybe it's time to have that famous talk with his dad.

"Goodbye," he mutters just before turning his back to Kurt and walking as fast as possible.

Kurt slides his gaze over him, tracing his shoulders with his eyes for a few seconds and falling down while tapping his fingers on his chin and smiling amused. He has to admit, he has found it fun to tease him about his erection. The mere fact that Sebastian gets all flustered and stuttering entertains him enough to convince him that at least he would have something to do while pretending to study.

He grins to himself as he watches the football game on the field in front of him. For some reasons, suddenly, these lessons seem a bit more interesting.