STAY
Chapter One
"Are you going to ask your dad today?" Chloe asked, taking a sip of her diet pepsi.
Beca let out a sigh, "Why? So he can tell me hell no?"
Chloe smiled, "We're seniors. You need a car, Beca. Explain to him that it's a dire emergency for our senior-ness! Besides, you're going to need a car for when you start college."
Beca glanced over as they passed the glass case right outside the Principal's office that held pictures of the student who got killed a year ago in a vehicle accident. She adjusted her bag strap as they walked through the school's front doors, "I'll work on it but don't hold your breath, Chlo."
They parted ways when they got outside and Beca met her dad at the end of the block. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and gave her a side-hug, "How was school?"
"Same as always."
"OK, its Beca and dad night, should we stop and get ice-cream?"
"Mmm, yes please."
After picking up a couple of chocolate dipped ice-cream cones they started their walk around the town as they always did Thursday evenings. "So dad…"
"Uh-oh." He responded.
Beca laughed, "Shut up."
"Okay Beca, let's hear it. What do you want?"
She licked her ice-cream and didn't look at him. "A car."
He laughed out loud at that, "You want me to buy you a car? Do you know how expensive cars are?"
"Dad, it's not like you're hard up for cash." Beca groaned, "It doesn't have to be anything fancy, just something I can get around in."
He was making that throat growl that he always made when he was going to say no and Beca stopped in her tracks and looked up at the tall white and black house that she absolutely loved and could never pass without staring at. "Lets just think about this before you say no. I am a straight A student, I'm taking all Honor classes and I'm starting college next year. I'm going to need a car if you expect me to come visit you."
She watched him sigh and scratch his beard out of her peripheral vision, "Beca, I work at the college you're going to. We are going to see each other all of the time. BUT- I'll make you a deal. If you get a job and start saving up to help me make the car payments, then I will get you a car."
Beca stared up at the house, considering his offer. She saw the blinds in one of the windows move and she turned away from it, "Okay, deal."
Beca knocked lightly on the office door before taking a step inside, "You wanted to see me?"
The school counselor, Ms. Kerns, looked up from her papers and smiled. "Beca! Yes, please come in and shut the door behind you."
Beca did as she was instructed before taking a seat on the other side of Ms. Kern's desk.
"So how are you settling in here?" Ms. Kerns asked, still smiling. "You doing okay?"
"Umm, yeah, I'm doing just fine."
"Great, fantastic!" she beamed. "The real reason I wanted to see you was to see if you would consider being a tutor."
Beca groaned in her head, "Actually, I don't-"
"It would look wonderful on your college applications and both myself and the Principal would write you letters of recommendation. Did you know that colleges look for extra-curricular activities like that?" she asked, "Also, just think of the help you would be providing for someone who really needs it. His parents are also willing to pay you but they want that to remain just between us, okay?"
Beca's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. This could not really be happening right now.
"You would be helping him from after lunch until school gets out at 3."
She blinked, seriously? "What about my afternoon classes?"
"Well," she straightened her shirt, "What with your academic history and the morning classes you will still be taking, you're going to have more than enough credits to graduate so that isn't going to be an issue. That's the reason we thought you would be such a good candidate for this."
"Okay."
"You'll do it?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
Ms. Kerns clapped her hands together, "Now, all students getting tutored are to remain anonymous."
Beca frowned, "They are?"
"Oh yes, definitely. Just to protect the students' privacy. You will actually be helping an off campus student."
"An off campus student?" Beca asked her, confused. "You mean, like the kid is homeschooled?"
Ms. Kerns tapped a finger against her cheek thoughtfully, "He's still a student here, but we do send him his assignments and he email's them back to his teachers. It's just a personal preference of his and we respect that as his school. He really is a lovely person."
Beca was sure that Ms. Kerns added the last part because Beca must have looked creeped out at this point, because she felt creeped out. Was this guy a lunatic or did he look like Quasimodo? If he was homeschooled then why didn't his parents help him with his work – weren't kids homeschooled because their parents were overprotective or something?
"There is no way." Beca spoke aloud to herself, checking the address for the third time. She stared up at the black and white house that she had been obsessed with ever since she had moved here two months ago. She glanced down at the paper in her hand on which Ms. Keens had scribbled the address and shook her head and made her way up to the porch, hesitating.
What was she suppose to do if this guy was a total creeper?
Okay Beca, get it together. You saw how much his parents are paying - if you want a car, this is the fastest way to make it happen.
She let out a breath and knocked loudly. The door opened and a man in dark slacks and a sweater answered the door, "You must be Miss Mitchell?"
"Uhh, just Beca is fine."
The man nodded and held the door open for her. "I'm Jesse's father, I'm glad you found the place."
"Yeah." Beca was too busy looking around. These people had to have hired an interior designer and must have a few maids because the inside of the house looked like it was straight out of a magazine.
"If you will follow me, I'll show you to my son's room."
Beca followed him up the stairs, imagining what might possibly be wrong with this Jesse kid. Maybe he had gills or he was a troll. Oh shit, maybe they paid Ms. Kerns to trick girls into tutoring and when the girls got there this psycho family skinned them alive and wore them. She jumped when the man knocked on one of the doors and slowly eased it open. "Well, here you are. If you're hungry or anything, Jesse will show you to the kitchen."
Before Beca could even thank him, he was already gone. Oh God... Beca blew out a breath and walked into the room.
The boy, Jesse, was stretched out on his bed with a laptop propped on his stomach, headphones on to block out the sound of her arrival. She tried to clear her throat loudly a couple of times but he was oblivious to her attempt to gain his attention. Well, he didn't have strange warts with long hair flowing out of them and he didn't really look like he wanted to skin her alive (of course, she didn't know what he would look like if he were a crazy).
Beca hadn't realized she was staring until she saw a pair of brown eyes looking back at her.