Over Coffee and Tutoring
Philosophy 201 was supposed to be easy. You read the books and listened to the lecture and regurgitated everything out on the quizzes, the midterm and the final. Piece of cake everyone said but to Jessica Moore, it was like trying to understand someone trying to explain how to troubleshoot a hard drive. The plain and simple fact was that it was hard and she couldn't understand why.
Every day was a struggle to learn the lesson for the next class so she didn't sound like a total idiot in discussion. Her boyfriend Sam tried helping her and he was very patient about it but with his need to focus on his studies in pre-law, she didn't want to bother him too much and she had a hard time swallowing pride into asking for help from one of the tutors in the learning center.
This week they were starting on Aristotle and the work chosen was the book of poetics. Jessica tried not to burst into tears at the prospect of it. Hume was near impossible and her two quizzes had much to say about that. Now it was Aristotle and that meant maybe brief dabbling into Plato and other Greek names that were near impossible to pronounce correctly. She really didn't want to drop the class since it was a good basis for some of her other classes but if she couldn't pass, she would have to repeat it and that sounded like the end of the world.
Jessica sighed as she stared at the office door to her professor. He had office hours now and she needed help. Biting the bullet, she knocked on the door and when her professor bade her to enter, she did. "Hi, Professor Williams. I hope this isn't a bad time," Jessica offered tentatively as she was bidden to sit.
Professor Brent Williams, Ph.D. of philosophy and Ancient Greek History looked at his student with a discerning eye. He had been wondering when Jessica Moore would come in to see him about the class. He replied, "Nope. Nothing pressing at the moment. What can I help you with Ms. Moore?"
Jessica sat and folded her hands on her lap and sighed, "Um… I am having trouble. In the class I mean. I study but I just can't seem to grasp the concepts and… I don't want to fail."
"What specifically do you have trouble grasping?"
"I… I don't know. I study and I think I know it but then I confuse them or in the case of Hume, I just hated it." Jessica looked at her professor defiantly but also with a bit of apology. Sometimes you had to stoke a professor's ego.
Professor Williams chuckled, "Most students don't like him much either. If you're having a hard time, have you considered a tutor?" He was genuinely curious about her study methods for his class. And idea was starting to form but he had to make sure.
"My boyfriend Sam tries to help me since he likes the subject but he's focused on his classes. Pre-law. Nothing really has worked and I've looked up different methods of study." Jessica looked at her hands before back up at the professor. "Is there anything else I can do?"
Professor Williams knew Jessica was a hard working student. His class was a basis for some of the other philosophy classes and for some of the degree programs. He heard glistening reports about what a hardworking student she was trying to keep up her grades to maintain the scholarship she earned. He had seen her struggle and she was determined to try. He had an idea and he hoped that it would keep boredom away for his friend. He smiled and said, "The answer is simple. We'll get you a tutor."
"But the center is by appointment only and…" Jessica frowned a little.
"Not the center. Besides the tutors there aren't familiar with what will be covered in class. The tutor I have in mind is somewhat different. I have to talk to her but I am sure she will be willing to help you."
Jessica could hardly believe her luck. She swallowed her pride and she was getting help. "Thank you Professor."
Professor Williams smiled, "No worries Ms. Moore. I'll see you tomorrow and I'll have an answer for you."
Jessica could hardly contain her excitement as she went back to her apartment. She and Sam had only been together for six months but it seemed like… it was always so. She hadn't expected to see Sam back from class so early but he noticed her excitement and said, "Looks like someone handed you the winning lottery ticket."
Jessica gave a kiss to Sam's cheek, "Even better. I may have a way to pass that philosophy class. What are you doing home so early?"
"Class cancelled and they have the heater blasting in the library," Sam replied as he poured over his books spread in his organized clutter fashion.
"A good day for both of us then."
~0~0~
Jessica looked around the study tables and found them empty. She frowned as she studied the scrap of paper again. This was the right place, the right section and she was going to be late in about a minute. There was no sign of anyone. She tried again looking around. It was the last place she would have thought to have looked and in fact wouldn't have even considered it.
The table was set in the back of the area but it had a clear view of the entire room. Jessica thought it a bit strange but then again some people had certain ticks that they functioned on. She knew Sam had a thing about organizing his research down to the handwritten notes. She had her way of organizing the kitchen. Who was she to judge?
The woman sitting there had a pile of books open at various places and she was scanning them with an experienced eye while writing down her notes. Jessica approached her and was greeted with, "You're late."
Jessica replied, "Um… I couldn't find you?" She felt silly for making it come out in a question.
The woman looked up and studied her. Jessica thought her to be a very pretty, no beautiful, woman. Her skin had a healthy tan to it. She had dark shoulder length hair and the most peculiar shade of eyes that pierced through the set of thin rimmed reading glasses she was wearing. She said, "Not really a good excuse but I'll buy that. Most people never think to look in this direction."
Jessica stood there not sure of whether or not to take a seat. It was decided when the woman asked her, "Are you here for tutoring or for watching?"
Jessica had never met anyone who was disinclined to be sociable. She wondered if this was reluctance showing on the part of her tutor as she slowly pulled out her books and notebook. "Um… Professor Williams said that you might be able to help…"
"Jessica Moore, top student, looking to get into law school… more specifically interested in criminal law." The woman finished writing whatever she had been looking at into her notebook not looking at Jessica.
"Um… yes. How did you…?"
The woman looked up and replied, "Research. I always research my clients when I take on a tutoring job." The woman smiled in reassurance as she pulled out a copy of the book they were working in. "My understanding is that you started Aristotle and he is the bulk of the class. Correct?"
"Yes," Jessica replied. She had never met a tutor like this before. Well never one who treated it like it was an interview before getting down to work.
"So Professor Williams has gone over what rhetoric is in terms of the text?"
"Yes."
The session went on for the full two hours. Jessica poured through the day's readings and the readings for the next session asking questions of her tutor. She was amazed at the depth of knowledge that her tutor had for the subject and how easy she made it sound. It made her feel better about the new ways of looking at particular passages and contemplating their meanings. By the time the session was done, Jessica felt like she could ace the quiz at next session.
As they were packing up, Jessica ventured, "Thank you… uh… I don't know your name." She smiled as she held out her hand as she held her book.
The woman glanced at her hand and slowly grasped it in hers. Jessica was stunned by the comfortable warmth she felt emanating from the palm. The woman replied, "Angela. I'll see you next session." Before she left, the woman turned to tell Jessica, "When the pupil is ready, the master will appeared. You were ready."
Jessica went home feeling on top of the world and was even more elated when she scored perfect on the quiz. She continued to see her tutor Angela over the next few weeks of the semester. The routine varied a little depending on the topic but Jessica was comfortable with her tutor's demands that if she was stuck, she should figure it out first and if she had to, look to outside resources. Some of the helpful hints often existed outside the realm of philosophy. Along the way Jessica sought ways to bring her tutor outside of her stoic shell.
Jessica always suspected that her tutor had a reason for her reserve but once she had seen her smile and she had a nice one. She wanted to make it appear again. One night out of the blue and spontaneously, she bought a second cup of coffee along with her customary cup on tutoring nights. It was black since she had no idea her tutor's preferences. When she presented it, her tutor looked a bit surprised. It was a start and Jessica managed to open her tutor up more onto a friendly footing shared over coffee.
When Jessica brought home the results of the final and the final grade, her tutor was proud in that stoic way but she was smiling. Jessica thought the reward was worth it after weeks of bringing coffee and engaging in mindless chit chat after their sessions. It was then she asked if Angela didn't mind being her tutor for the next semester.
What started as a casual conversation over a cup of coffee bloomed into a friendship that may seem awkward to some but was completely normal to Jessica. She even got her tutor and friend to start calling her Jess like everyone else. They did things together that went hand in hand with whatever Jessica was being tutored in. It lasted all the way through her senior year and this time she was going to try and get her friend to do the one thing that she had been reluctant to do since she started talking about it: get her to come to the Halloween Party and meet her boyfriend Sam Winchester.
She stood outside her friend's apartment with two cups of coffee and her book for class. She knocked on the door. As soon as the door opened she held out the coffee and asked, "How do you feel about Halloween?"