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“Because you’re cool.”
“If you do well in school, ace all your tests, and do all your homework on time, I’ll come to the premier.”
She beams. “Awesome. I finished. Time for a break?”
I slide her workbook over to me and scan her answers. “Hmm. You got them all right. Why are you so against school when you’re good at it?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. I guess I’d rather study my lines than study for tests. But I guess I can do both. I mean, I do want to have an education and be smart. Maybe one day I’ll play a super smart person in a movie or TV show.”
Whatever her motivation is, I just care about making sure she doesn’t fall behind in her studies. “Keep up the great work, Mia. Now for your break.”
“Wanna play Xbox?”
“Sure.”
She leaps off her chair and skips over to the living room, plopping down on the couch with a controller and turning on the console. She hands the second controller to me, gesturing for me to sit down. I lower myself next to her.
“A platformer?” I ask. “Fun.”
“You’re player two. You control that monkey and I control this one. We have to work together to get all the bananas in every level, and then we go to the bonus round.”
“Okay.”
We start playing.
“You’re so good at this,” she says when I gather most of the bananas. “You game?”
“Yep. Probably more than I should.”
She pauses the game, turning to me. “Xbox or PlayStation?”
With a grin, I bend close. “PC.”
She cheers, raising her hands over her head. “Yes! PC Master Race! That’s so cool. My parents don’t let me have a gaming PC because they don’t trust me. They think I’ll pretend to do my homework, but I’ll secretly be playing games. So with the Xbox, they can monitor my playing. So annoying.”
I chuckle. “I wish my parents would monitor my playing. Don’t tell anyone, but I was up way too late two nights ago trying to kill a boss that wouldn’tdie.”
Her eyes widen. “What game?”
“A game that’s way too mature for you.”
She scowls. “I hate being a little kid. I’m stuck playing kiddy games.”
I tilt my head toward the paused game on the screen. “Hey, this is pretty fun.”
“I guess. But I don’t really have anyone to play with. Willow’s busy with her app or school or her book club. Dad plays a little, but he’s busy, too. And Mom comes home so tired from work.”
“What about your friends?” I ask.
She shrugs. “They’re not into games like I am. Rylee’s always looking for a new adventure and Zoey’s busy with sports.”
“I know I’m your tutor, but I’ll be your playing buddy. If that’s cool with your parents. And we’ll only play when we’re on break from tutoring.”
“Okay.”
I smile at her. “But I don’t think you’ll need me for much longer. You’re catching on really quickly.”
She grins. Then her eyes move to the doorway and she waves. “Willow, look! He’s so good at this.”
