Jerome Clarke is a problem child.

He has family issues, abandonment issues, emotional issues. He learned to hide what he was feeling and never let anyone think of you as weak or pathetic.

He grew up without love, you need love to grow, he had Trudy but it wasn't the same. He craved to get love from his mother, but she would barely look toward him, and when Poppy came along all the love he wanted so much went towards her and he hated that, it's why he hated the idea of her coming to the same school as him. Poppy was the favorite, that was clear as day.

It's why his mum sent him to boarding school at five, why have a useless trouble making kid when you have the perfect little angel sleeping slightly in her cot?

That's what Poppy was called 'Mummy's little angel.'

Jerome wanted desperately to be something for his mum, he wanted to be more than a brat.

Jerome never understood why his mum hated him so much. It was so difficult trying to understand why she had left him at Anubis house.

He would see his mum at summers or school holiday's, he would also see Poppy. He saw her grow, he saw her school tests with 100% in a place of honor on the fridge.

Jerome would try so hard to match those grades. Jerome is a smart guy. He just didn't want to be thought as a nerd or a geek, people think he's stupid because he has an attitude and behavioral problems, but he gets 98% and 100% except math when the alphabet decided to get involved he barely passes with 53% he can't grasp algebra and because of that his mum resents him.

Anything he can't do right his mum hates him for. She shouldn't have been recognised as his mum, as far as Jerome was concerned he didn't have a mum, he didn't have a dad, he didn't have a sister. He was alone, he was lonely but he would never show it, and he would never say it.

He presented himself as cold and heartless so no one would ever want to get close to him, so no one would find out that even though he was the oldest, the first-born, he was considered the runt of the litter the weak helpless one, the one that everyone would agree he was better off dead.

yup Jerome Clarke is a problem child.

Jerome sat staring at the board blankly.

report cards were on the way and he needed to get a good percent in math to do what he always wanted, impress his mother.

but to do that he had to understand algebra.

The information just floated through one ear and out the other, he just couldn't get it.

The bell rang signaling that they were free to go and the teachers couldn't make them suffer any longer.

Jerome quickly packed his stuff into his bag. He sat in the back row so he was normally last to get out.

He walk towards the door when someone called his name. He turned to see Mara, the only person that made math bearable.

"Hey Mara" Jerome said as he waited at the door "What's up?" He said as she walked up beside him.

"I was just wondering if you'd like to walk home together?"

"Yeah I'd love..." Jerome stopped talking when the teacher called his name.

"Mr Clarke can I speak to you?" The math teacher asked not really giving him a choice.

Jerome walked over to the desk and watched as Mara smiled shyly before walking back to Anubis house.

"Yes sir" Jerome said turning his attention to the teacher.

"What do you see here, Jerome?" The teacher asked as he held up a piece of paper.

"Um...a line graph, sir" Jerome said as he saw the line graph, it was steady until one point where it dropped suddenly then continued to climb.

"What is it a line graph of?" The teacher asked.

"I don't know sir" Jerome snapped, it was Friday and he was taking up his time discussing graphs.

"This is a line graph of your progress" Mr Matheson said"And I'm disappointed, Jerome, very disappointed" Mr Matheson shook his head "Ask me why"

"Why are you disappointed?" Jerome sighed.

"Because of this drop right here, it's hard to miss" Mr Matheson started at it "You're doing good right up to this section."

"I just can't do algebra, sir" Jerome explained.

"I can see that, that's why I'm going to help you" The teacher leaned back in his chair.

"How?"

"I can't help you one to one in class so I'm going to assign you a tutor" Mr Matheson smiled as he wrote the name on the paper, ripped it off the notebook, folded it and gave it to Jerome "You start now, I wrote all the information on where and when to go so on you go, you don't want to be late for your first tutoring lesson, do you?" Mr Matheson said as he pushed Jerome out the classroom and closed the door before he could argue.

Jerome un-folded the paper and read the name.

Mara Jeffrey, Anubis house, 4:00pm

Maybe the tutoring won't be as bad as he thought, as he walked to his new algebra teacher.

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