I stare at him blankly, mostly because my expression is threatening to twist with incredulity. What is he talking about? Why would I be here if I didn’t enjoy English? I sure as hell wouldn’t be a math tutor. “Yes.”

“How strange,” he murmurs, flipping my pencil between his fingers. His mouth pulls up a little higher in the corner, but it’s still not a smile. “Do you enjoy anything else, Ahmed?”

On the tip of my tongue is: when people actually listen to me. I’d sooner die than actually say it.

Instead I set my shoulders and say, “Listen, Ace. I don’t want to waste your time or mine. If you don’t want to study, tell Miss Cannon. I’m sure she can figure something else out.”

And then it won’t be my fault.

“I didn’t say this was a waste of time,” Ace says. “I’m simply curious about my illustrious tutor.”

“I promise the book is much more interesting than me,” I say. “Come on, just read the first few chapters. They’re only ten pages each.”

Ace taps my pencil against his bottom lip in consideration. “Okay.” He holds his hand out for the book, and I pass it over easily.

He starts to read, and I take the opportunity to write some discussion questions. After thinking of two, I look up to see how much progress he’s made and find him staring at me again.

“What?” I look down at my outfit, another crop top paired with ripped jeans, and wonder if my mom was right to warn me off them. “Is something wrong?”

“This is boring, Ahmed,” he says, drawing my attention back to him.

“English isn’t boring,” I say, exasperated. “The Scarlet Letter is one of the better books in our curriculum.”

Ace shakes his head. “I think we need to liven it up.”

I pause. What does that mean? “What are you thinking?”

“There’s a sweet shop down the block,” Ace says. The look on his face is challenging, which is unfortunate. I generally like to go with the flow, and Ace seems like the person who determines the flow. “Let’s study there instead.”

“I don’t know,” I say and my voice wavers. “I have Pre-Med Society at 4:00.”

I’m not actually going to go, but that’s none of his business.

“Just this one time,” Ace says. His gaze is almost titillating. “It’ll help me focus, and I’ll pay for whatever you want.”

In my head I hear Cora yell, OH MY GOD, HE’S ASKING YOU OUT ON A DATE! even though I’m almost positive this is just his attempt to get out of studying.

Speaking of Cora...

“I need to use the bathroom,” I say. Without waiting for his response, I stand and head for the exit.