"Twenty." Offered Scott, an 18 year old at Dowling High. He stood in front of the Mattison House on 85th street with his friends Donny and Nicolai.
"That's not even enough to compensate the hit I'm going to get when she opens the freakin' door!" Donny interjected, running his hand through his thin mane of dirty blonde hair, ignoring the few strands that fell into his gray eyes. He was also 18 and was in several of Scott and Nicolai's classes at Dowling High.
"Dude, give me fifty and I'll do it." Nicolai volunteered, pushing past Donny to grab the money from Scott.
"Nice, remember, you gotta get
into
the house. You gotta get her to let you in." Scott reminded him as he started up the pathway to the dark mansion.
"Yeah, yeah, stuff it Scott." Nicolai dismissed his friend's words and pulled his long black hair out of his green eyes and back into a pony tail.
The Mattison House was occupied by Tatiana Mattison, a very independent, self-reliant 19 year old. Never associating with other kids at school, she was deemed a loner early in her school career. Her parents often went away months at a time traveling overseas and on business trips so she was usually left in the care of the butler, Herbert and the live-in maid, Jacqueline. They never interfered in her daily life, just left her alone and made sure she came down to breakfast and dinner everyday.
Upstairs in her tower bedroom, she watched the three boys from her class standing out on her walk.
What nonsense, how many times has this happened? A group of kids, thinking she is some kind of witch, standing outside her house daring the other to ring her doorbell.
Throwing on a plain blue dress, she pulled her blue/black, hip-length hair up into a clip and started down the stairs, expecting the doorbell to ring any second.
Sure enough, two seconds later the sound of Beethoven filled the parlor. Herbert, being the older man he was, called for them to wait as he scuffled down the hall.
"It's alright, I've got it." Tatiana gave a weak smile as she opened the door. "What do you want Nic?" she stared into the boy's green eyes with her piercing blues.
"Oh, hey Tatiana, uhm…." He stuttered, trying to find an excuse for him being there. Words eluded his mouth.
She set her weight on one hip, leaned against the door and waited patiently for a lame excuse. "Well?"
He smiled sweetly and leaned against the doorframe, close to her face. "You know that test we have coming up in A.P. Psych?"
"The one on disorders?"
"Yeah!"
"What about it? Oh, let me guess, you want tutoring?"
"Please Tatiana? I really need this. You've seen my grades!" he made a sad attempt at a puppy dog face and pouted.
"Yeah and I wonder why you're in there."
Sighing, Tatiana pondered her situation. To let him in and hopefully do some good to this lost cause, or turn him away and wish him the best. The helpful part of her couldn't stand to be so heartless and she stepped back, allowing him in. She tried to ignore how his strong, toned muscles pushed at the fabric of his shirt and how the fragrance of his smooth cologne lightly teased her nose.
"Just don't touch anything." She asked as politely as she could.
Heaving his backpack higher on his shoulder, he smiled and darted in. Studying the entryway, he smiled at the old-world architecture and design before following Tatiana further into the house.
"We'll study in the library, Jacqueline and Herbert won't disturb us there." She informed him in a soft, aloft voice.
"You sure they wont think badly of you, having a man in you house alone with you and all?" he snickered jokingly. Setting down his backpack on the table he made himself comfortable in one of the large wing back chairs.
"I hardly think there is anything to think badly about." Pulling a few books from the shelves, she set them on the table and cracked them open. "I'll be tutoring you, that's all."
A knock on the door brought their attention to Herbert. "Excuse me miss, but how long does the young master intend on staying?"
Tatiana gave a wary glance to Nicolai before addressing the butler. "Nicolai won't be staying too long. Just until dinner."
"Very good miss, I'll inform the cook then." He gave a weak bow before shuffling away.
"You have a cook and a butler?" Nicolai asked in slight awe.
"Yes, my parents like to live comfortably. Now, down to business. Let's start with Chapter 8, Childhood Starters."
For the next two hours, Tatiana quizzed Nicolai over every detail covered in the upcoming exam, every disorder, every symptom, every treatment, every cause, until he knew them all by heart.
At seven thirty, Herbert entered the library once again with an announcement. "Excuse my interruption once again miss, but I'm afraid the young master's parents just called."
"And?" Nicolai asked, slightly nervous and annoyed.
"They have asked us to keep him here for the next week, family business has called them out of town and they feel that 'bringing him along would be pointless'. Or so they say." He relayed the message in his usual haughty voice.
"Did you call mom and dad?" Tatiana asked, showing no signs of her annoyance.
"Yes, they have approved of the situation."
"Alright, thank you Herbert. Please set up the guest room upstairs."
"Very well miss." He gave another stiff bow and shuffled away.
Nicolai smiled weakly and fiddled with his books nervously. "This was rather unexpected."
"You set this up didn't you?" Tatiana threw the accusation with venom.
"No I swear Tatiana, I didn't have a clue what they were going to do!" he stood and tried to block her retreat from the library. "Please don't be mad! Come on!"
Spinning to face him, she scowled at him. "Stay out of my way and stay out of my room." Throwing open the door she stormed up the stairs.
"Aww man, and I thought we were really starting to connect too." He chuckled at the irony of the situation and began to put his books back into his bag.
The next day, Nicolai was approached by Scott and Donny.
"Hey, Nic, you want that fifty now or later?" Scott laughed, clapping his friend on the back.
Nicolai shook his head. "Forget about it Scott, I wasn't even interested in the money."
"You sure?" Donny asked, giving his friend a inquisitive look.
Nicolai smiled, flashing his white teeth. "I'm sure guys. Anyway I gotta go, I'll see you guys later." With that, he quickly closed his locker and dashed off to class.
Over the next couple of days, Tatiana did her best to avoid Nicolai while still keeping a watchful eye on his every move. At breakfast they barely spoke and at dinner they only made small talk. Once in a while she would help him with his homework but every other time she stayed in her room, soft techno-operatic music flowing from the crack under the door.
Late one night, unable to sleep, Nicolai crept down the hall to her room, hoping she was still awake.
Her self-isolation irritated him, he knew she would be a fascinating person if she just opened up and talked to someone. The fact that she always wore darker clothing and kept to herself didn't ever really help her image of being a loner.
Seeing a strip of light from under her door, he tiptoed closer and noticed her door wasn't completely shut. Peering in, he couldn't believe his eyes.
Tatiana sat on the edge of her bed, her back to him, apparently naked. Her long dark hair was pulled over one shoulder and she was brushing it out. Soft music drifted from her sound system in the corner of her room beside a tall dresser.
Wanting to talk to her, he straightened up and quietly knocked. "Tatiana?"
"Nicolai? What do you want?"
He knew she was moving about judging by her shadow darting around the room. When she opened her door to greet him, she only wore a dark purple robe and her hair was up once again.
"Hey," he rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. "I couldn't sleep I figured you'd be up and I could talk with ya." He had left his hair down that day and as a result, it had gotten its usual wave to it. Running his hand through his hair, he tried to flatten it down.
Chuckling nervously, Tatiana slid out into the hall, closing her door behind her. "Do you want to go down to the parlor?"
"Well, I was thinking something a bit more private."
"Oh, yeah, I don't like people in my room."
"Come on Tatiana, you can't keep to yourself for forever, you're going to have to have friends sometime."
She stared at him with an unsure eye. "And are you suggesting friendship?"
"All I want is someone to talk with. I think that falls under most peace treaties. Believe me, I don't plan on raiding your underwear drawer or reading your diary or whatever. I'm not into that sort of thing."