Chapter Six- My Ex’s Failing

“So, I’ll hand out your test scores from Wednesday, and then you’re free to go,” Mrs. Dobson said the next day in Chemistry. It was our last lesson on the Friday before we let out for the weekend.

Dougie nudged me in the side. “Dude, she’s gonna kill me,” he hissed. “I tanked that test.”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” I whispered back. Dougie and I sat next to each other in Chemistry. We’d chosen our seats when the timetables had changed two weeks before the summer, giving everyone time to adjust, and we were stuck with them after we’d broken up. It had been awkward at first, but now we were fine with it.

He shook his head, “Trust me. The Biology students are going to have my head as an experiment if I don’t think up an excuse…”

I rolled my eyes, “Stop being melodramatic…”

“Who’s being melodramatic? This is a matter of life or death for me, Tom!”

“Dougie,” Mrs. Dobson said curtly, stopping at our table as I patted him on the shoulder comfortingly. “D minus. Disappointing… See me after.” After handing him his paper, she gave me mine, “You as well, Tom.”

“But-” I began to protest, but she’d moved on.

“What did you get?” Dougie asked curiously.

I held up my paper for him to see, “A. Why does she want to see me?”

“Maybe she’s concerned that my stupidity will rub off on you,” he remarked. “Though, that mark’s actually better than I thought it would be.”

I shot him a look, “You’re not stupid, Doug.”

“I am when it comes to this subject…”

The bell rang before I could retort, signifying the end of class. We packed our books away, but stayed in our seats while the rest of the class filed out past us.

“Dougie,” Mrs. Dobson said matter-of-factly, moving back across the classroom to us. “I must admit, I’m confused.”

He nodded slowly, “So am I…” He jerked his head at me, “Why’s he here?”

“You’re aware you’re failing, right?” the teacher asked bluntly.

“It has come to my attention, yes.”

She eyed him critically, “Okay, I am aware that you two aren’t an item anymore…but, Dougie, your grades improved phenomenally while you were dating. Now, as I can see you still seem to get along with one another, I was wondering if you couldn’t arrange some sort of tutoring programme between the two of you.”

I blinked, “You want me to tutor Dougie?”

She shrugged casually, “You’re a straight A student, Tom.” She turned to Dougie, “And so were you for a short while. What happened?”

“I chose to live my life rather than read it in the form of reduction equations.”

She ignored the direct jab at Chemistry, “Well, this way, you can live your life, but still scrape a passing grade. Tom’s your best chance.”

He shot me a questioning look, “What d’you think?”

“I’m here if you think it’ll help.”

“Aw, Tom…” he gushed brightly. “If we were still dating, I would totally snog you right now.”

I grinned, “Don’t think Harry would be too impressed.”

“No…” He held out his arms hopefully, “Hug?”

I felt my lips curve in response, “Why not? A gay guy’s handshake.” I embraced him tightly, pleased when he wrapped his arms around me. It felt weird to be this close to him again, especially since he wasn’t half as tense as I was used to, but I was glad we could be.

“So, is it settled?” Mrs. Dobson verified.

We didn’t break the hug, but I rested my chin on Dougie’s shoulder. “Yes. I’ll tutor him to the best of my ability.”

“And I’ll listen with the best of mine,” Dougie added. “If I still fail, I’m officially thick.”

Silence.

“Are you going to let each other go?”

“He’s comfy,” Dougie said simply. “I’ll let go only when I have to.”