Extra Credit - S01 E04

8 months ago

Extra Credit - S01 E04

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 4

Calista

The round table of the study room was cluttered with notes—new and old. Some were relics from courses I had taken in the past. Others were new tidbits of information that I jotted down during that day's lecture. Tutoring wasn't something I was new to, but I was slowly realizing that the task of being a supplemental instruction leader wasn't going to be an easy one. I hadn't had my first session yet and it was already sucking up precious time from my own studies.

A sizeable window spanned the length of the study room wall. I watched as people trickled in and out through the library doors; some coming to study, others trying to find a quiet place to nap.

I checked my phone again. It was fifteen past four and there was no sign of anyone even peeking in my direction. I barely knew who I was looking for. The only visual information I had to go off of was the headshot Ella had shown me off of the university's website. It was right there, under the webpage specifically curated for Fenton's athletes.

"I'm assuming he's here on some sort of scholarship," Ella explained the night I'd told them about Hamilton's offer. "He's been Fenton's star boxer since he started here his freshmen year."

"How do you know about him?" I was still squinting down at her phone. Lincoln's dark eyes peered back at me—his face void of a smile. His hair consisted of messy, short waves that guided my gaze down to his sharp jawline.

"Some of the sorority girls I lived with during my Junior year were obsessed with him—like low-key stalker obsessed. They would go to every fight and try cornering him while he was out celebrating with his friends." Ella gazed off into the distance.

"You didn't care to join?"

"Don't get me wrong," Ella said, placing a manicured hand on her chest. "I saw the appeal, but I was dating that jerkwad at the time. It was unfortunate really."

Harper threw herself back onto my bed. "I'd say you dodged a bullet."

"Oh yeah?" Ella asked. "What have you heard about him?"

"Enough to know he's going to give you a hard time, Cal."

I seriously hoped she was wrong.

As I sat in the study room I considered texting him. His phone number was the only other piece of useful information I received from the administration office. But I had a funny feeling that I wasn't going to get a response.

The day after I officially accepted the position, I had sent him a quick message, introducing myself and asking about a time that would work for us to meet. When I didn't get an answer the following day, I impatiently said that I would be booking a study room for four o'clock on Thursday, right after his lecture.

Regardless of the messages being read, I never received a response.

At first, I thought I had the wrong number. But a quick email to the administration office confirmed the information was correct.

Whether he showed up or not, I decided I wasn't about to waste a perfectly good study period. Pulling a textbook out from my bag, I started on my own weekly reading. I was just getting to the nuts and bolts of metabolic disorders, when the study room door clicked open.

Standing there, in all of his thirty-minute-late glory was Lincoln Pierce. I blinked up at him, as if coming out of a daze. The mugshot he had taken for the boxing team did not do him justice. I knew he was an athlete—who specialized in MMA according to Ella—but I definitely wasn't expecting him to be so... broad.

Leaving the door ajar, he dropped his timeworn backpack and took a seat. The heavy anatomy textbook he carried met the table with a bang. It was only after I registered the sound that I realized I'd been staring.