Poppy pov
When we ended our sessions together, I found myself wishing I had more time with her. I had seen what a hard working person she was. She just knew what to block out and what to focus on, which was something he needed to learn from her. I knew that if I had been paired with someone else, it would take us two hours to get what Poppy and I could do in one.
It would have been better if she still wasn't so stuck up. I tried to make jokes with her, but she said I was only being annoying. She was still bent on ignoring me at school, especially after we submitted our project today. I guessed it was the sign I needed to stop trying. Some things never worked out.
"Colin, are you there? Earth to Colin." My dad interrupted me from my reverie.
"Sorry dad. What were you saying?" It had been a while since both of us had dinner together. We used to have dinner all the time before their divorce. But now it seems like all he has time for is his work. We barely had anything to talk about these days. Conversation used to flow with ease between us. Now things are just mainly awkward.
He cooked macaroni and cheese which, while it was not particularly great, it was edible. It had been a long time since I had a proper homemade meal.
"I was just asking how school was. Made any new friends?" he asked.
"School is fine I guess. I met a guy called Dan. We are playing video games in his house tomorrow."
"Are there any clubs you would like to join in school?"
"Not really," I replied and we continued to eat in silence.
What about your classmates? How are they?" he asked after a while.
"Oh they are okay. Well everyone, except Poppy, you know our next door neighbor," I said and dad gave me a meaningful smirk. "Oh, I know what you are thinking. It is never going to happen. We can't stand each other."
"You know what they say. There is a fine line between love and hate. So you still haven't sorted things out with her?"
"Well, she no longer sends me death rays from her eyes when she sees me. That's an improvement at least," I said.
"Well, you are going to have to try harder. Have you thought about what you want to study in college?"
I groaned. Not this again. "Jesus, dad! College is like a year away."
"It is never too late to start planning. Although with those grades of yours, I don't know if I should be worried."
"Are we really doing this right now? We are having dinner together after what an eternity and we are going to talk about my grades? Come on dad."
He rose up his hands in surrender. "I was just saying your grades have not been so great lately. I think you need help, especially in English."
Although I was not proud of it, I tried to guilt trip him. "Well you know, since the divorce and the move here--"
"Oh come on Colin." It seemed like he had already sensed my scheme. "Your grades have been going down since before…everything with your mother and you know it. So don't try to put the blame on that.
Nothing got past him. Well, I tried.
"Which is why, I figured out a way to help you," he said.
I saw the look on his face and he was not quite meeting my eyes. "What do you mean by help?"
He dropped his spoon on the table and looked at me with determination. "I may have come to your school today and I may have met your English teacher telling her you need help with--"
I groaned. "Dad!"
He held up a hand letting me know that he wanted to finish speaking. "I knew you would say no but, you are only getting lessons in English for now. I think that is fair enough."
I hit my head on the table. "Did you maybe think that you could run it by me first?"
"I don't need your approval. I know what is best for you. So next week you are going to meet Miss Anthony for your schedule. I am not discussing this any further."
"Come on dad. I have a lot of activities after school."
He raised one eyebrow in askance. "Like video games and comic books? I am not going to take care of you forever you know. If your mom were here, she'd--"he sighed and everywhere goes silent. If mom was here, I had no doubt she would have made me do it without questions.
"Well, she is not." I felt guilty after saying that because I knew he was doing his best.
"Have you spoken with your mom recently?" he asked. "I got a text from her that she can't get through to you."
I scoffed. She was on my block list for now. "If she wanted to have a relationship with me, then she shouldn't have done what she did."
He sighed deeply. "She is she your mother Colin. And God knows how close the two of you were. Despite what happens between us, She still loves you a lot."
"She has a very great way of showing it," I said angrily.
Colin, I was thinking maybe we should see a thera-"
"Woah, woah, woah," I said. "Not the T-word. Let's not go that far. I don't need a therapist. I am fine. Let's just stop talking about this. Please."
We continued eating in silence, then after a moment my dad said, "Well, I was thinking about going to the dealership on Saturday."
"Why?"
"So that we can get you a car."
This moment would have been joyful for me if we weren't just talking about how awful my grades were. "A car? Really? Is that some sort of reward for something I missed?"
"I would like to think of it as an encouragement. Well you are seventeen now and it's about time you start having more responsibilities. You already have your driver's license. So I think it would be nice, don't you?"
Oh, there was definitely a catch. "What do you want in return for this?"
"You agree to take the tutoring sessions with Miss Anthony."
A car in exchange for attending some stupid tutoring sessions? Seemed like a sweet deal to me. My dad had definitely gone soft after the divorce.
So I acted like I relented. "Ok fine."
"And, you would text your mom at least," he added. "No calls, just a text. At least to let her know you are fine. Please."
Despite the fact that I hated her right now, that seemed reasonable enough. I sighed as I took out my phone to send a short text to her. "Done."