Grace is possibly the dumbest young woman I have ever met. I spent a frustrating semester last fall trying to teach her ANYTHING about Law and Government, but could not find a way. I watched her read every day, her succulent lips moving slowly as she sounded out the words, a furrow of concentration between her sculpted eyebrows. Day after day she tried, and day after day she failed the most basic open-book tests. An old saying flashed through my mind a lot as I worked with her or read her responses: "It's a good thing she's pretty!"
That seems like a good place to begin: she IS pretty. She is about 5'6" tall, with straight brown hair that falls below her shoulders. Her eyes are green, she has a button nose, and a Cupid's-bow mouth that is both virginal and inviting. Unfortunately, she's always a little too tan--that's clearly a priority with her--and she tries a little too hard with the makeup. Most importantly, her body is a lush teenage dream. She plays soccer, so her legs are toned and silky smooth. Her breasts are firm C-cups that strain beautifully against whatever top she wears. Her belly is flat and her ass is perfectly heart-shaped, drawing my eyes whenever she walks across the classroom; there's something in the way she walks that makes her perfect little backside twitch provocatively from side to side and it makes me want to groan with pleasure!
Anyway, she didn't pass. Since my class is required, she had to take it again this spring in order to graduate. Not long after the semester began, I got an email from Grace's mom asking if I could meet with her to help her since I wasn't her teacher anymore. Something about the tone of the email was irritating, and I was pretty done with the girl at that point, so I sent back a "yes, but" email saying I'd have to charge $150 an hour to make it worthwhile. I thought that would be a deal-breaker. To my dismay, I got an email 10 minutes later saying, "Thanks so much, could you please meet with Grace and figure out when to start?" I face-palmed myself for thinking that would scare her away--this was a wealthy town, after all!
Anyway, I ran into Grace the next day in the cafeteria. She was all smiles and asked me if I was going to help her pass Law & Government again. I didn't flinch at the "again" part--I just smiled and nodded and thought about the money.
"What days are good for you?" I asked her.
"Any day. Soccer is finished, so all I'm doing after school is college apps."
I winced internally at the idea of Grace failing out of college before Halloween.
"How about Wednesday?" I managed to say.
"Okay!" she chirped. "Is that tomorrow?"
Another internal wince. "No...today is Monday. Wednesday is the day after tomorrow."
"Okay!" again. "See you after school!"
To my disgust, I echoed "Okay!" as a response and walked away, wondering what I had gotten myself into. I couldn't teach her the first time--how was this going to be any easier? Then I thought about the hundreds of dollars I would make before her mom gave up on me and sighed.
Just before I went to bed that night, I checked my email one last time. Aside from the usual school junk, there was an external message that I clicked open reluctantly.
Hi Steve, (it read)
Thanks for agreeing to work with Grace. I know she was tough last semester,
But she really wants to do better. If it's okay, I'd like to chat for a few minutes
Before you two start work tomorrow. Could you come at 2:45? The address
Is below.
Thanks,
Lindsey
That seemed pretty normal--after all, I was a strange man coming to the house to work 1-on-1 with her darling daughter. I typed a quick and professional response and agreed to be there. In for a penny, in for a pound.
Because I was meeting a new (and potentially lucrative) customer, I dressed a little better than usual on Wednesday: crisp slim-fit grey pants, a dress shirt that actually fit well, new socks with pale gray squares, and black slip-on shoes. I even shaved extra carefully to make a good impression. God, what a suck-up!
The house, unsurprisingly, was enormous. Their driveway curved through at least 2 acres of immaculately groomed front yard. To the left of the house was a 3-car garage with guest parking spaces alongside. I pulled into one of those, grabbed my portfolio, and braced myself for the parent chat and then an hour with Grace. One hundred and fifty dollars an hour, I said to myself as I walked along the wide flagstones of the entrance.
There was a long pause after I rang the doorbell, then I heard the clack of heels on a hard surface. The door swung open and revealed a smiling woman in her 40's. Her straight brown hair was cut shorter than Grace's and had very professional highlights, but there was a definite resemblance. She, too, had an expensive-looking tan in the middle of winter.
"Hi, Steve!" she chirped in a very familiar way. That's where Grace learned it, I told myself.
"Hi, Lindsey--it's nice to meet you officially. Parents' Night is always such a blur!"
"I know--I feel like all we do is rush from room to room and then buy stuff!"
"Sounds about right."
"Come in, please. Can I get you a bottle of water or something?"
"Actually," I replied, "a bottle of water would be great. The heating always dries me out at school, and I left my water bottle on my desk today."
"Follow me," she said briskly as she turned to shut the door behind me. "We can talk in here."
"Here" turned out to be their fantasy kitchen. It filled the whole back part of the house and opened onto a wide patio overlooking the backyard. And the pond. Of course they had a pond. Inside was just as nice. There was a double-width refrigerator, a 6-burner Viking stove, and acres of brilliantly covered marble with accent lighting. The eat-in part featured a massive island with 4 stools and a wide-board kitchen table. To one side was a deep, comfortable couch and a reading chair. I gawked a little enviously as Lindsey opened the fridge and extracted two bottles of LifeWater. I also gawked a little enviously at her slender form. She was wearing dark leggings that hugged her well-toned hips and a soft cashmere sweater that floated along her trim sides. She turned around with a smile and gestured across the open space between us.
"Let's sit here," she said as she set the bottles on the low coffee table in front of the couch.
I laid my portfolio aside and sat at one end. Sharing a couch seemed a little awkward, so I stayed on the edge of my cushion and leaned forward to open the water bottle while she opened hers and sat at the other end. I took a sip and waited for her to start.
"So Grace really liked your class last semester," she said with a level gaze.
I was stunned, but recovered quickly. "She tried really hard," I responded. "I'm sure we all were hoping for a better outcome, but that's a really tough class, even for seniors." That was laying it on a bit, but no harm in being diplomatic, right?
"Thanks for saying that," she replied evenly. She paused, looking at me thoughtfully, then nodded to herself. "She really needs to pass this semester to make everything work out."
"Well," I said in reassuring tones, "I'm happy to work with her and see if we can't get her through this time. Even though I'm not in charge of her grades this semester, I know the course and I know the expectations, so I push her as hard as I need to to pass."
"That's great," she said quietly. "It doesn't go well if I'm the one pushing her," she admitted. "All I can do is make whatever arrangements I can to help her."
She looked oddly nervous and reached for her own water bottle at that point. She looked away as she took two small sips, and I admired the fine line of her jaw and the rich glow of her tan. My eyes returned to hers just in time as she turned back toward me.
"As long as Grace is willing to do the work," I continued, "I'll be here every week to help her."
"She's willing," she said more confidently. "She knows how desperately she needs to pass, and she finally admitted that she'll do whatever she has to."
Suppressing my smirk, I nodded wisely and said, "That's a good place to start."
"I feel the same way," Lindsey continued.
Uncrossing her ankles, she pivoted to the table beside her and picked up a check. She glanced at it and then held it out wordlessly across the space between us. I smiled a little and took it. I don't think my eyes popped, but I was taken aback. The check was made out to me for $1500. This was definitely not normal procedure!
"Lindsey..." I began.
She was watching my reaction and smiled a little bit. Then she slid down toward me on the couch until our knees nearly touched.
"I wanted to pay you up front for 10 sessions so you know that I'm serious, too."
"I know you are," said reassuringly, puzzled by her movement.
"No, you don't," she said. "I'll do whatever I have to to help her get out of high school and into college. If that means paying you to help her, I'm all in. If that means getting out of the way so you two can work, that's fine. She's my only daughter and I know she's not the best student in the world, but I'm here for her!"