Patreon Story: The Tutor, Part One

Author’s Note: Okay, I’m not above a little self promotion. But also, it’s only fair to show potential patrons which stories have been started on my Patreon, in case anyone’s on the fence about subscribing or not.

Part One

First day on the job.

I was still a little hesitant about committing myself to this; the only reason I said ‘yes’ in the first place was because the money was just too good to pass up.

Back in high school, I would have answered the call to tutor without any hesitation. A chance to make a little bit of extra cash, by only giving up a small fraction of my free time? Sign me up. It would have been a far better alternative than the soul-sucking retail job I ended up dealing with for the sake of saving some money away for university.

Now that I was in undergrad, however, my time was at an all time premium. I don’t like to brag about it, but I’m basically the star pupil in my major. Numbers have always come naturally to me, and my sophomore self was already on track for all kinds of things at the beginning of the next school year. A few specialized programs, a TA position for one of the classes I excelled in when I was a first-year; I even had two separate professors mention that they would be happy to write letters of recommendation for grad school once I completed university.

So, when the Alodia family reached out, I had to politely decline. Apparently they had connections with my school, and were seeking a tutor for their daughter. Not because she was struggling, but because they were interested in grooming her for undergrad classes while she was still finishing her last year of high school. One of my professors must have given them my name.

While I was flattered by the reference that they wanted ‘the best’ for their daughter Annabelle, I couldn’t say yes. Keeping up with my studies was time consuming enough, not to mention the few extracurriculars and social commitments I managed to squeeze in on top of my academic pursuits. Adding in a tutoring session, complete with a commute, would stretch me too thin.

However, they were persistent. Annabelle’s mother insisted that they could work around my schedule, and that money was no object. I had to assume the family was wealthy; not only because of that comment, but also due to how they knew what they wanted and didn’t simply go a different direction when met with resistance the first time. When I tried a second time to politely say ‘no,’ going so far as to refer them to one of my classmates who might be a good fit, I was simply told to offer a time and that I would be paid $600 for a 90 minute session.

Naturally, I found my initial resolve quickly crumbling. Go figure, a middle class girl like myself can be bought more easily than expected. Staring at the number on the screen, it took my math major brain all of half a second to frame the figure as $400/hour. Back in my retail days, it would take me nearly a full week of working twelve hour shifts to make the number I was being offered for a simple hour and a half. Well, two or more hours counting the commute, but still.

It was enough of a temptation to warrant a phone call, where I was given more details. When I asked why they just didn’t hire a professional, as they clearly had enough resources to do so, I was told that I would be better for their daughter. I was a girl majoring in mathematics, which would be more inspiring to her than some older man experienced in the field. There were other women who could do the job too, of course, but my age was also a factor. Annabelle already had adults teaching her all day at school, so a younger tutor would be a shift in dynamic that would make our sessions feel less like an extension of her other classes.

They had clearly thought it through, though I was a little worried about the fact that I was barely two years older than the girl. That being said, it’s not like I was there to babysit her. Tutoring doesn’t necessarily require authority, plus she was legally an adult. With rich parents, I was sure she’d be a proper and mature young lady. There was still the matter of how taking the job was going to add to my already exhausting weekly workload, but I had already been hooked enough by their offer to be roped in. Rather than fully committing right away, I could simply come over for a single session. If Annabelle and I clicked, and if it felt like a job that I would be willing to continue on a weekly basis, then we could make it official. If not, then that would be it.

Finally convinced, I accepted their invitation. Worst case scenario, I tried something new and got $600 for my troubles. Best case, I’d have a steady stream of income that required very little time on my end compared to an actual job.

Since the Alodia parents were keen to work around my schedule, I got to choose our potential tutoring day and time. Weekdays would be stressful for me on top of classes, and rush hour would make the commute across the city awful. Ultimately, I settled on Saturday morning. I felt a little bad about making a high school girl start her weekend like that, but taking the job itself was already a huge sacrifice for me. She would just have to deal with it.

When Saturday came around, I was ready. Her parents had sent me a list of classes Annabelle should prepare for, and I filled my backpack with books and notes from the previous year. If I was going to be a TA for those classes, perhaps this was a blessing in disguise. It would give me time to brush up on everything.

Coffee in hand, I made my way to the student parking lot. Just a twenty minute drive, and I’d be meeting Annabelle for the first time.

Read more of “The Tutor” and other stories on my Patreon!