At 18, Ali Hamilton was the most popular girl in high school. With blond hair, blue eyes, and an amiable personality it was hard not to love her. She could charm her way through any situation and insult you without letting you know it. She was also the head cheerleader. And as a cheerleader she was required by the school to keep her grades above a C average. Currently, she was failing history.
It was a boring class and the last one of the day. So of course she was bored by it all. The teacher didn't help much. Mr. Lynch was in his mid-thirties. With dark hair and eyes, I guess you could find him handsome in a certain light. When he spoke though, his voice was very monotone. He never showed any emotion during class or outside of it that Ali had seen. Lynch was also very strict with grades, and as soon as Ali's grades started dropping he had sent a letter home to her father.
Today was their parent-teacher conference. Ali was not looking forward to it. She had a feeling that her father was going to side with Mr. Lynch which meant she would either have to quit cheerleading and give up her post as captain or they would add more homework to her already large pile of projects. Neither sounded like a good option to her. Needless to say she went through the day with a cloud over her head.
Finally the time came for her to meet her father and teacher. She met her dad at the front door of the school. Her dad, James, was dressed in his usual business attire: dark grey suit, crisp white shirt, black tie, and shiny black shoes. Not a hair was out of place on his head. His cool grey eyes met hers as he walked towards her. Either he'd had a very bad day at the office or he wasn't looking forward to the meeting with Mr. Lynch.
"Alright Ali, let's get this over with," he said grabbing her arm. She walked him to Mr. Lynch's classroom. He'd sat two chairs in front of his desk and was currently going over some papers. James knocked on the doorframe. Mr. Lynch looked up and walked over, shaking James's hand.
"You must be Mr. Hamilton, I'm Mr. Ethan Lynch. Please come sit down." The three of them walked to Mr. Lynch's desk and took their respective seats. James and Ethan stared at each other for a moment. Ali assumed they were sizing each other up as men tend to do. Mr. Lynch smiled and pulled out a folder.
"Well, as the letter mentioned Ali's grades are dropping. I know my class is the last on her daily schedule and I'm sure it can be very boring but she needs to pull her grades up if she wants to continue cheerleading." James nodded in understanding.
"What do you suggest we do about this Mr. Lynch?"
"Well she could always attend tutoring sessions after school."
"No," Ali interrupted. "If I do after school tutoring then I won't be able to do the rest of my schoolwork."
"There's always early morning tutoring," Ethan suggested.
"She can't do mornings. She has to work late at night and doesn't get home until late."
"Hmm, then it seems like we're in a predicament Mr. Hamilton."