The tutor had emailed me my grade. I had failed. He had attached a form at the bottom which he suggested I fill out so I could resit the exam. I downloaded the form and went to email him.
Hey Frank.
Here is the form to resit. I have attached it to this email. Can you let me know when you want me to come in to do this?
Sal
I clicked send and decided to sort out my inbox. We called all our tutors by their first names. I checked out one of the emails I had for a club I had joined and decided it wasn't interesting for me to go into the draw. Back to my inbox, Frank had responded.
Hello Sal.
Just to let you know that you can come in any time this week after 5pm. This will be when I won't be doing marking for other classes. I would like you to pass this subject so the sooner you're able to come in, the better. Let me know what day you can come in and I'll stay behind so you can do that resit.
Frank
I decided that the sooner I could come in, the better it would be. It was only about 2pm on a Monday but if I could get in this evening, then I would have more holiday time. I decided to try my luck.
Hi again Frank.
I know you're busy. Would I be able to come in later and resit then. Means I can enjoy my holiday then.
Cheers
Sal
I sent the email and got up. I needed to have some fresh air so went and opened the window a little wider. It was a hot day. I went back to my chair and found Frank had responded.
Hi Sal.
Sure. That sounds like a brilliant idea. See you at 5pm in my office.
Frank
I decided to go grab a shower and freshen up.
At about 4pm, I caught the bus into town, the used my transfer ticket to get to my course. I walked down the nearly empty street, down some stairs, into D Block, went up the elevator to the third floor where his office was located and knocked on his door.
"Come in." said Frank. I opened the door. Frank was seated behind his desk. He got up as I crossed the threshold. "Please shut the door." I shut the door and sat down in the seat Frank had indicated to me. Frank stood up and walked to his filing cabinet by the door. "You're lucky I agreed to stay on. Everyone else has left now."
"Sorry Frank. I did try."
"Just a reminder that it is closed book and while you can ask for some help, I cannot give you the answers."
"I understand Frank. Thanks." Frank wasn't too bad looking for someone who was in his 50s. He was about 13-15 years older than me. You could tell from looking at him that he would have been very handsome in his more youthful years. He still looked physically fit and would often boast about his time at the gym. He shut the cabinet and handed me the form. I placed it on the his desk closest to me. He handed me a blue pen so I could make a start.
"There is a time limit of 1 hour. Try not to stress about it. You'll do fine." I nodded and wrote my name on the front. I opened the first page. The first question seemed simple enough to do. All I had to do was put things in the order they had happened. This was easier said than done. Frank, seeing that I was already starting to struggle, came around to where I was. He placed one hand on the back of my chair and the other hand on the desk. He bent down low. I could smell his aftershave which smelt great on him. He helped to talk me through what we had learned. I think I understood it and put in my answers. Frank put his hand on my shoulder. "See. You did that one. I know you'll be able to do the rest. Would you like me to stay here for a bit?"
"That would be great Frank!" I responded. His hand was still on my shoulder. He gave it a gentle squeeze. For the next hour, he stayed beside me and talked me through the questions. I was able to get them. Franks hand had slowly inched its way from my shoulder to my lower back. I hadn't noticed while I had been concentrating on the test, but now that I had just finished, I was aware of how low his hand was. The smell of him filled my nostrils. He turned and smiled at me but he still didn't move his hand.
"Well, I guess you're about ready to leave?"