Chapter 6: Drawing the Line

Senior year moved fast—early mornings, late-night review sessions, the constant hum of nerves. The first mock exam was coming, and the whole school was buzzing.

After dinner—cafeteria still smelling like tater tots—I ran into Natalie. She grabbed my arm, nails digging in, eyes wild. “Derek, help me! I haven’t learned anything. If I bomb, my mom will send me to prep school. How will I see Tyler? I’ll die without him!”

She clung to me, using every trick—pouting, big eyes, desperate voice. I pulled away. “Didn’t you say you didn’t need my tutoring? So I haven’t taken any notes.”

She brightened, “It’s fine, just stay up tonight and organize them for me. One all-nighter and you’re done. Give them to me tomorrow, okay?”

I shook my head. “I can’t help you. If I stay up all night, I’ll bomb my own exam.”

She blinked, not believing I’d refuse. “But you always did this for me! Why not now?”

“That was before, when you wanted to study. Now, I don’t want to waste my time.”

She glared, voice sharp: “So what if you’re a top student! With your lousy emotional intelligence, you think you’ll succeed? Dream on!”

But her words bounced off me. Nothing could hurt worse than what she’d said in the ambulance.

She stormed off, pausing by the vending machine, waiting for me to chase her—like always. This time, I didn’t.

I called after her, “Oh right, you haven’t told your parents tutoring is canceled, have you? If you don’t, I will.”

Her composure cracked. “Damn it, Derek, just you wait!” She stomped away, but I felt lighter. For the first time, I chose my own future over hers.