The Tutor: A Forgot Promise
Gabriel was a straight-A student. He was very gifted but never very driven to study hard. He was fortunate in school but not with girls. He was not unattractive. He just never tried to be in a romantic relationship. He always liked to look at girls but was too scared to talk to some of them. When he would pass them in the hall, it was almost like they did not notice him. The girls he liked always seemed to go after the guy who was an athlete or unusually attractive guy. He always would sit with his friends and look across the room, where he would look for the cheerleaders. He and his friends each had a girl that they liked. However, Gabriel had a crush on the cheerleader captain; her name was Lina.
Lina was also a straight-A student ready for Ivy League colleges, where she was accepted everywhere. She was indeed a beautiful girl. Gabriel noticed that her outfit was a little tight on her. She seemed to have finished developing over the summer break when she turned 18. It was not unusual for girls this age. She had a bigger chest and a bigger butt. She could barely fit in the tight cheerleader outfit. With her being a captain of the cheerleader team, all the guys were always trying to get with her, but she always shot them down. She always seemed to be single. She would work hard daily, both in school and cheerleading.
Gabriel and Lina knew each other from when they were young. They had a falling out years ago. They still passed each other in the hallway and smiled at each other. Sometimes, they would stop and talk. They have been doing that more and more in their senior year.
The final exam was drawing near. Gabriel knew he was a good student, but his grades were slipping in his statistics class. He needed to make sure he passed. He was not sure what he was going to do. While he was out running to clear his head, he thought about finding a tutor, but he did not know any good tutor. Suddenly, he heard a car coming up behind him. The car was moving too fast. Gabriel tried to move out of the way, but it was too late. He got swiped by the car and got thrown down a hill. He felt as if his arm was broken. He looked at his arm, twisted and bending. He tried to get up, but the pain was too much, and he ended up passing out.
He woke up about a day later, seeing the nurse standing beside the bed. She said, "So you're finally awake. You are lucky that your friend was able to get you here immediately. If we did not, we may not have been able to fix your arm that well."
Gabriel looked at his arm. It was bending the right way, and he felt no pain. "Good, but can you explain what exactly happened and who brought me here," said Gabriel.
The nurse said, "Short-term memory loss. That was to be expected after trauma. You were hit by a car. It was a hit-and-run. Luckily, one of your friends saw what happened and called 911. When the ambulance arrived, she got in with you and stayed with you until she had to go to school; she said she would be back after it ended. By the time you got here, you were disoriented, talking nonsense."
"Oh, I think I remember being hit by a car but not much else," he said. "who is she?"
The nurse replied, "Her name was...Lina, I think."
"Lina, the cheerleader," said Gabriel in shock.
"Well, she was just in a school uniform when you two arrived," said the nurse, "as for a cheerleader, I don't know."
The door opened as the doctor walked in and said, "He's in here." The doctor said to Gabriel's father and mother as they walked in along with his little brother and sister.
Gabriel said, "Hey, sorry about this. I didn't expect this to happen."
Gabriel's father said, "You were hit by a car. No one expects that to happen. The police think they can find the person who hit you since they got it on a video."
Gabriel's mother turned around, hugged the person behind her, and said, "Thank you so much, Lina." Lina had walked in behind them without Gabriel noticing.
Lina said, "No problem," as she looked at Gabriel, she said while his mother hugged her, "Hey Gabriel, you missed school today, so I thought I would bring you some notes I took and your books. I also told everyone what happened. Now everyone wants to see you."
Gabriel was in shock. Lina was there right in front of him. He said, "Lina, did you save me?"
"I was just in the right place at the right time," said Lina. "You were thrown down the hill and did not get up. When I saw what happened, I was able to get a video with the license plate. I expected it was you who got hurt since you walked home that way every day."
Gabriel said, "Thank you."
Lina placed the books and her notes in front of him and sat down. "I can show you what we went over today in class. If you feel up to it," said Lina with a smile. Her smile was just like he remembered. It was the first time she smiled genuinely with him in years.
Gabriel said, "Thank you." As the family sat and talked, Lina went over what happened in class that day. At the end of the day, Gabriel's mother stayed the night and fell asleep on the couch. The father took Gabriel's brother and sister home. Lina kept studying with Gabriel until late; the visiting hours were over an hour ago.
The nurse came in and saw Gabriel and Lina studying together. She said, "I'm sorry, you two, but visiting hours were over an hour ago."
Lina said, "I'm sorry, I'll leave." She looked at Gabriel and said, "I'll be back tomorrow."
"Tomorrow morning, he will be able to go home, but he will have to be on painkillers for the day," said the nurse.
Gabriel asked, "Can she stay for a bit longer? She is really helping me study."
The nurse looked at him and said, "10 minutes, not a minute longer."
Lina sat down next to him. She was happy that she could stay. Gabriel asked, "Thank you for teaching me. Truth was, I was struggling to keep my grades in this class up. Can I ask you a favor?"
