Her target sat with his chin propped on his palm, looking bored. He hadn't opened his textbook. He was drawing small, intricate spirals in the margin of a blank notebook.
She began her "lesson," writing on the whiteboard in neat, shaky letters: 2H₂ + O₂ → 2H₂O . As she explained mole ratios, her eyes weren't on the equations. They were cataloging.
"Good afternoon, everyone," she said, her voice a decibel softer than expected. "I’m Miss Ichinose. I hear you're all having trouble with stoichiometry."
She turned the corner at the end of the hall and pressed her back against the lockers. She pulled out the USB drive. It was warm.
She stood up, cheeks flushed with fake embarrassment. "I'm so sorry! Clumsy me."
Papers fluttered everywhere. Ameri gasped, apologizing profusely. As she knelt down to gather them, her knee bumped the table leg. The laptop riser wobbled.
"I prefer the term 'tutor,'" she said. "It's less paperwork."