Disclaimer: I Don't Own Life With Derek.
CHAPTER TWO
Derek's POV
When I get home from school that afternoon, I walk through the door and slam it so hard, I can feel the house shaking on its foundation.
"Derek?" my dad comes in from the kitchen. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," I say as I start stomping up the stairs. When I reach my door I slam that one too and throw myself on the bed.
I'm thinking back to this morning. I can't believe I asked Casey for help. What is wrong with me? I had to have been out of my mind. You see that's what happens when I get up early. Casey's been rubbing the fact that I had to ask her for help all day.
I walked in the cafeteria at lunch and glance around the room. I catch sight of Casey and Emily sitting at a table over by the window. Casey seeing me, waves me over. "Derek, how nice to see you." She says with a devious smile. "If we are going to do this tutoring thing, I think we should start."
"What now?" I asked incredulously.
"Yeah," she said innocently. "Why, do you have anything else to do?"
"Actually, I have a date with a chick who'll be buying me lunch."
"Oh, well that's really rotten luck because I've been thinking, and I might have something to do this evening. Right now might very well be the only time I have free to help you study. . . .Well, if you're really busy I guess this whole tutoring thing isn't going to work. . . . Oooo and that means no more hockey. Oh well, I feel for you, I really do. Hey, with all that free time you're going to have you could always join the chess team or something equally exciting." She says with what I know is false enthusiasm.
"No, that's fine Casey," I say through clenched teeth. "I think I made a mistake, I'm having lunch with Lucy tomorrow, not today." I slap myself in the head as if chastising myself. "Right now would be perfect."
"Great," she says in a falsely happy voice.
"Hi Derek," says Emily, seemingly immune from the anger and sarcasm crackling in the air. "I saw you at hockey practice yesterday. You were great," she finishes adoringly.
"Thanks." I reply scowling, thinking of Lucy.
Thus went the rest of my day. I would be talking to a girl and Casey would mess it up-
"Derek, Hitler didn't stop to talk to girls while he was taking over Europe during WWII, did he?"
"Derek, keep staring at the girl and maybe, just maybe, you'll develop telekinesis and she'll send the answers to the test into your brain. Oh, you don't think that'll happen, well neither do I."
"Derek, tick tock, time is passing so quickly now that before you know it it'll be tomorrow and all you'll be able to remember from today is that girl's bra size which I'm sure will be very helpful on your test tomorrow."
And so on.
She's been driving me insane. If it wasn't hockey that I was facing losing, this deal would be so off. I hear the door open and close. Great Casey's home, awesome, I know. Just then my door busts open. Standing in the doorway is Casey with a scheming smile on her face.
"Ready to study, Derek?" She says evilly. I can practically hear the mwuhaahaha.
Casey's POV
I'm loving this. It is so fun torturing Derek. I stare into his furious face. I put on an innocent facial expression. "What? Am I bothering you?"
"No, of course not." He struggles to put on an expression that resembles a happy one. I am so laughing inside. Finally he succeeds. "Let's start."
"Ok, so in class we're studying WWII, right? What do you know about it?"
"Well, I know that . . . um, well it's . . . yeah . . . a lot of soldiers fought . . . and you know." He said shrugging his shoulder.
"Have you been paying attention at all in class? Wait why am I even asking? You're Derek; of course you haven't been paying attention in class."
"Casey, chill. This is a war that happened like hundreds of years ago. It's not that important." Derek says casually.
"What are you talking about?" I'm shocked speechless. Well, almost. "Of course it's important. Millions and millions of died fighting in this war. They suffered through untold horrors. Not important. What if someone in your family was in that war? Was killed in that war? Would you be able to be so nonchalant about it? Of course not! How could you even say something like that?" I'm going completely psycho on him. How could he even think something like that?
"Casey, calm down. I didn't mean it like that. Sheesh. What I meant was, it's not exactly relevant right now. You know, not a matter of life or death."
"I thought, for you, hockey was a matter of life or death."
"Well, I guess this WWII is a matter of life or death, my mistake then . . . Now, let's get to studying." I just have to shake my head. But whatever, if he's willing to work, I guess I am.
8 hours later
"Okay, when did Germany capture Poland?" I ask.
"Spring of 1940."
"And when did it invade Poland?"
"Summer of 1939."
"And what followed directly after this?"
"The war in Europe, aka WWII."
"Right." I say yawning. Derek and I are sitting on his bed. I'm laying against his headboard. And he's laid out on the bottom of the bed. We've been at this for hours. And I'm not exaggerating. I yawn again. And I notice Derek's eyes closing too. And then nothing.
