# 30 Business Card
382 words
"What's that?" asked the petite blond, bending to pick up the small card that had fluttered from her friend's planner.
Spying the card in Usagi's hand, the blue-haired girl quickly made a grab for it saying, "Oh, it's nothing."
Realizing that her friend didn't want her to see the card, Usagi jumped backwards playfully and flipped the card in her hand. The name Chiba Mamoru jumped out at her as though it were written in neon letters. "Ami!" she exclaimed, studying the card more closely. The words private tutor were almost more of a shock than the name. "Why do you have this, Ami?"
With a deep sigh, her friend took off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm taking an upper level class and it was a little harder than I was anticipating. When I got an A- on my first test, I realized that I was in over my head, so I hired a tutor."
Usagi stared at her friend with her mouth open, clearly awed that her friend had finally met an academic challenge. Shaking her head, Usagi's thoughts flew back to the card. "But Mamoru?" she questioned.
"Why not Mamoru? He's brilliant, he's our friend, and he needs to make rent money somehow."
Usagi just nodded and turned away, Mamoru's business card still in her hand. A strange feeling began to brew inside her at the thought of Mamoru tutoring Ami. Was it jealousy? Deciding quickly that it could not be jealousy, Usagi searched for another answer. Pity? Yes, that must be it. Poor Mamoru was all alone and had to work hard just to be able to afford to live.
Usagi began to scheme. She plotted how she would place Mamoru's card somewhere her mother could find it. Then she would bring home one of her tests. He mom was always asking to see them, but they conveniently disappeared before she came through the door. Surely her mother would jump at the chance to hire a tutor and Usagi would be able to spend more time with Mamoru, or rather, she corrected quickly, she could help Mamoru make enough money for his rent.
Holding in a smile, Usagi turned back to her friend and asked, "Ami, would you mind if I held onto this?"