"Don't tell me the jerk is a fan of him too?" this is surprising. Why would a picture of Mr. Martin be on this desk? He was wearing a suit and hat all in black in the picture. He looks amazing in them.
"What are you doing? I told you to go to the veranda," his voice startles me and makes me turn my back at him.
"I'm sorry. I was just looking at the photos," I am so eager to ask him about Mr. Martin because my curiosity is hitting me again. He is carrying some books and notes with him.
"Let's go," he tells me and he proceeds to the veranda. I follow him to the area and when we arrive he settles on the chair right away. I sit on a chair in front of him so we are facing each other. He puts his things on the table and so do I. He stares coldly at me like his usual demeanor. I feel uneasy for the first time. I don't know. He is just the jerk I hate the most but it feels like he is a different person now.
"Are we going to just stare at each other until this afternoon?" he wakes me up from spacing out. I was preoccupied with asking him about Mr. Martin.
"Huh? Ah, um. Let's start," I stammer but thank goodness I'm finally back to my senses. I flip the pages of the book and stops when I get to the topic I am going to discuss with him.
"Prepare your notebook we are going to discuss the solution to the problems present in this lesson," I tell him and he idly opens his notebook and grabs the pen.
"Take a look at this, you can see this is an example. Read and analyze it. Once. e you have read the guidelines on how to solve the problem you can proceed to the given situation and start making a solution. The strategy for solving the problem is to memorize the formula since formulas are the guiding factors for solving these problems. And if you have questions in mind, ask me," I explain and he uncharacteristically stares at the textbook.
I don't know if he is reading them or just pretending to be. I wait until he is finished. While I am waiting for him, I look around and I noticed that their place looks amazing. As my eyes wander around, a lot of questions pop into my head like, does he live alone here? Does he have siblings or any family members living in this huge house with him? And what intrigues me more is, why Mr. Martin is on the photo frame?
I want those questions to come to life like asking him about them personally but I am hesitant as well or he might suspect me of something bad. Well, I don't want that kind of impression from him but my curiosity is damn eating me right now.
I notice that he moves his notebook and starts writing on it. So, he is finished reading. I watch as he makes a solution to the problem. He looks not struggling at all. This jerk is strange today.
a few minutes later, he pushes the notebook near me to check on it and I check on it right away, of course. He is not looking away when I glance at him.
His answer is right. I murmur in my head. I check on it again but it turns out to be correct.
"It looks like you have listened to me properly. Well, let's move on to the next," I say and give him another set of problems. He scoffs as a response to me. It's a different topic already. But he looks uninterested in it anymore.
"Do you need a break?" I ask him when I noticed his annoyed face. He smirks at me and says, "Just go on, I'm fine." I nod and give him the next situation. He reads the guide and starts writing down his solution.
He isn't the jerk I tutored the last time. He was annoying back then and he is a different person today. He doesn't grumble about how irritating this session is. It doesn't feel right I mean, he is quiet and not pestering me.
A moment later, he moves the notebook closer to me and I immediately check on it. I am surprised he got it right again.
"Hey, it looks like you already know about these topics. Can we move on to the next subject?" I ask him and he doesn't move. Suddenly, he aims to get up from his seat.
"I'll get you a snack," he says and steps away from the veranda and heads straight to the kitchen.
Now, he will get me a snack. What's going on?
A few minutes later, he gets back carrying a tray of sandwiches and glasses of juice. This jerk triggers my curiosity more.
"You can eat them. Don't worry, they have not poisoned sandwiches and are safe to eat," he sarcastically says and sips on his glass. I pout at his comment.
"Hey, are you sick or something?" I ask him. I feel odd about what's happening. It sounds weird, right?
"What do you mean?" he cluelessly asks.
"You are acting strange today. You don't grumble nor complains about this session," I frankly tell him and I can see how his brow raises in surprise.
"I just don't feel like talking much today. This session is boring, to be honest," he straightforwardly tells me. How inconsiderate this jerk is with my feelings.
"How rude," I say finally. He stares at me and smirks again ignoring my comment then gets his attention back on the textbook.
I sip on the glass and takes out another textbook from my bag. I have prepared for this, remember?
"We have five lessons to discuss today and we are down to four," I remind him. He puts down the book and looks at me.
"What are those?" he asks and I give him a disgusted pout.
"English, Mathematics, History, and Literature," I answer him and he seems like thinking about something.
"Drop the History and English," he commands and I furrow my brows.
"Why?" I am confused as to why he is dropping them.
"They are boring and I think I can manage to study about them later," he replies and leaves me in awe. Really? Can he?
Not that I am underestimating him or what but I was just surprised. He doesn't seem to be the person studying English and History though.
I take a bite from the sandwich and it makes me astonished for a second. It tastes delicious.
"Did you make them?" I can t help but ask. He tilts his head a little as if he is saying 'huh?'
"I said if you made this sandwich?" I repeat and he scoffs. He did not respond with words. How grumpy.
I flip the pages of the Mathematics textbook and look for the topic I am going to discuss with him. I take down one example on my notebook and then speaks to him, "Shall we proceed to Mathematics?" he scowls in front of me and answers, "Bring it on," he does not seem very friendly when he responds. What should I do to him?
I turn the notebook facing him and start to explain. I'm so glad that he is listening to me. Once I am finished, he starts answering the problem provided in the textbook. He did not complain about me talking fast when explaining or even threats me with the letter. Well, he lied when he said that to our adviser.
After a few minutes, he is finished and I check on his answers. There are a few corrections on them and I show him how to get the correct answer. He keeps his body steady while moving his fingers to make a tapping sound on the table.
"Well, they were just minor corrections. You did well," I say. Mind you it's genuine. He is not being a jerk today though.
"I did well, huh?" he chuckles and stands up from his seat, and moves away from his chair.
"Where are you going?" I am dubious about his sudden actions. He keeps his pace and heads inside the house.
"Going to prepare for lunch just stay there," he says and completely leaves me alone.
"Hey, we're not done yet," I yell but I don't think he hears me shout.
"That jerk," I murmur. I have no choice but to pack my things back inside my bag and sips on the juice again. My throat dries explaining I guess. After sipping on the juice I walk into the area and observe around. This place is amazing but the ambiance is very sad. There's no life in it. I wonder what happened and this place seems so lonely.
I get inside and roam around. I am looking for the toilet though. His house is huge that I couldn't navigate it quickly. I accidentally went to the kitchen and see the jerk taking out stuff from the refrigerator.
"Hey, " I call out to him, and he turns to me.
"What?" he utters while carrying some meat in his hand.
"Where's the toilet?" I say and he instructs me. I nod and immediately went to the place.
When I get off the room, I head straight to the kitchen. He is busy preparing for the menu.
"What are you cooking?" I say. I don't know why I am even here in the kitchen. Maybe because I love to cook?
"Anything, what do you like though? You might not like what I am going to prepare," is he asking me for my choice?
"Will you cook for me?" I am confused with my question. I think it's dumb.
"Or you like cooking for your own?" he drastically says and I pout.
"Will you stop being a jerk at least for this one day?" I say and frown at his back. He did not respond.
"By the way, I just knew that today is your mom's birthday," I think my voice weakens when I utter the last two words. He did not respond to me and keep doing his thing.
"And I heard from Mr. Fujiyama that she passed away years ago," I add and he faces me and speaks, "He did, huh?" I am surprised by his gesture.
"Well, he did not intentionally tell me. It just slipped from his mouth I guess," I defend and I'm afraid he will get it wrong. He returns to his work and I did not say anything anymore.
"Do you mind me helping you?" I say. I think I need to show some initiatives to help him because it's his house.
"Don't bother," he says and I did not insist anymore. It seems that he is annoyed by me.
After approximately an hour, he is finished cooking. We both settle in front of the dining with two to three menus served on the table.
"Thanks for the food," I say before digging in. He grabs his chopsticks as I grab mine too. We pick on the foods and take them to our mouths. He did not talk while eating. To be honest, he cooks well. We eat not uttering a sound until we are finished.
"I'll wash the dishes," I offer but he refuses.
"No, leave them there," and I pout. I don't think he is being a gentleman but he doesn't want me to touch anything in this house except the food, chopsticks, and glass.
"What else do we have to discuss?" he asks and I say that we still haven't finished the Mathematics yet and the Literature remains untouched.
"Let's finish the Mathematics already and drop the Literature. I hate that subject," he annoyingly says and I scoff. Literature is one of my favorites though all are my favorites to be exact.
"Literature is good though," I say trying to shift his impression on the subject.
"Whatever," he says and proceeds to the veranda. I follow him frowning while telling him he is a jerk in my mind countless times.
We settle and resume with Mathematics. I give him another set of situations to be solved and he painstakingly answers them.
After a while, he finishes them up and flips the notebook for me to check on them. I look at his answers properly and he got it correct. I unconsciously stare at him and he watches my movements. I clear my throat and move my eyes back on his notebook.
"Well, you got it right," I say and I smile a bit. He says, "Do you still have something to discuss with me?" I am astounded for a second when he said it.
"Well, you don't want Literature anyway," I mutter and he scoffs.
"So, we're done," he says packing his things.
"But are you sure about it?" I worry about his decision. I fear he will fail them again in the pre-final examination and we will be called out to the faculty room once again.
"Do you have objections?" he asks. He might have noticed my uneasiness right now.
"I worry you will fail them again," damn it! It slipped from my mouth.
"Tch," he utters in annoyance, and I bite my lower lip due to my dumb statement earlier.
"If you doubt I'll pass them then it's up to you if you'll keep discussing them with me but I am not going to pay attention because it's boring," he frankly tells me. It's going to be epic then. Me discussing to an uninterested jerk.
"Whatever. If you don't then don't, " I say packing my things too. It's favorable for me anyway. I would not waste my time to a jerk. He stands up from his seat and picks his things from the table and leaves me alone on the veranda.
When I'm done, I immediately leave the area and proceed to the way to the doorway. He is nowhere near me at the moment. When I turn to my left, I see Mr. Martin's photo once again and my curiosity ignites.
I notice that the jerk is walking downstairs. I am eager to ask him why they have a photo of Mr. Martin on one of the tables.
He reaches in my direction and stops in front of me. He seems like waiting for me to utter a word. Yeah, my goodbye.
"Hmm... Can I ask you something?" I say finally. He tilts his head like he is confused or something.
"Why do you have a photo of Mr. Martin? Are you a fan of him too?" I point at the photo on the table.
"Huh?" he chuckles. Did I say something wrong?
"What?" I poutingly say.
"I am not a fan of that stupid old man but the truth is," he annoyingly tells me. I think my blood boils the way he calls him a stupid old man. I admire that man so much and how dare he calls him stupid?
"But the truth is?" I repeat. He looks hesitant about it.
"He is my stupid father," he reveals and my jaw drops in shock. My lips tremble and I think I'm voiceless now. No word or sound coming from my mouth.
"Are you serious?" I stammer still could not believe it.
"Do I look like joking?" he scowls at me and I guess my eyes glitter as I watch him make steps away.
"But, hey!" I call out to him. He stops and slightly turns his head in my direction as if to say keep talking.
"Can you ask me for an autograph from him?" I sound foolish I guess? But it's my chance to get an autograph from my idol.
"What? Are you stupid? I can't do that," he refuses and he sounds so annoyed.
"But why?" I ask in disappointment.
"Did I tell you to just mind your own business?" he reminds me again but I don't care about it. Maybe he could give me something in return for my efforts in helping him out with our lessons and I want it to be the autograph of his father.
"But, he is your dad and you can simply ask him for his autograph for me at least a favor in return for helping you out," I simply trying to reach out and I wish it works.
"I can't do that. He barely comes home and I don't talk to him," he keeps resisting.
"But-" he cuts me off and I am glad when he gestures like he is so upset talking about it.
"No buts, you can leave now," he says and walks off completely. Argh! What a jerk.
I walk in the direction of the doorway and opens the door when I reached for the knob. I close the door behind me. He is the worst guy I have ever met! I scream in my head.
I wonder why he sounds annoyed or upset every time I bring up his dad. I believe Mr. Martin is a nice person but why would he react that way?
There's something wrong in here...
To be continued...