XOXO, Violet by Ginger Li
8Wesley
Me: I got you something.
Ophelia: What is it?
Me: It’s a secret. You’ll find out when I get home.
Ophelia: You’re such a horrible brother.
Me: I know.
Even though I loved being on the water polo and swim teams, I hated leaving my younger sister home alone until I got back. Nowadays, Dad worked a ton of late nights, most often arriving home at ten or eleven o’clock.
Sure, Ophelia was fourteen now and certainly old enough to take care of herself. Plus, she hung out with her best friend, Harper, at her house a couple of days a week, but I still felt guilty about not being there for my sister. And that’s why I tried to make up for my absences during winter. Our tutoring session tonight had run longer than I’d expected, but it was only eight, so I’d still get to hang out with Ophelia when I got home.
Maybe next time, Violet and I could study at my place. My sister was a massive fan of Shy Plant Girl, and given how Violet’s face lit up when she talked about plants, I suspected they’d have loads to talk about.
I grabbed my math quiz off the table and gave the answers one final scan, no longer feeling overwhelmed. Violet was a gifted tutor and incredibly patient; she’d never once made me feel bad when I needed her to explain questions several times. Plus, she made math…fun. I would never have thought it possible, but with Violet, the time flew by.
And as for that Rectangle of Silence thing? Who else but Violet could come up with this stuff?
It would be easy to get her a date with Chase. He ran in the same academic circles as Asher, which meant he must be wicked smart. But seriously, how intelligent could a guy be if he spent that much time with Violet without noticing how amusing she was?
Or how pretty.
I smiled, remembering how her cheeks grew especially rosy whenever I teased her. Of course, being the jerk that I was, I sometimes baited her to get a reaction. I couldn’t help myself. Teasing her was quickly becoming my favorite thing ever.
Yeah, it didn’t matter how many AP courses a guy took; when it came to Violet, Chase was an idiot in my book.
I walked over to the counter to grab a donut for Ophelia. My sister would be so mad if she found out I came here and didn’t get her anything.
Piper drummed her fingers on the counter and greeted me with a smile. “Did you enjoy your tutoring session? You two sure looked cozy back there.”
Her question sounded innocent enough, but I knew what Piper was implying, and there was nothing going on between Violet and me. Violet was a serious-relationship kind of person. But me?
Definitely not.
“We had to sit close to see the math problems.”
“Really? And did you have to hold hands to do the math problems too?”
How was I supposed to respond to that? When Violet wanted a high five, I’d only meant to tap her hand lightly. But once our palms touched, I’d found I didn’t want to let go.
“Mm-hmm,” Piper said, as if reading my thoughts.
I shifted, uncomfortable under her intense gaze. “There’s no mm-hmming going on here. Violet’s a great tutor and a good friend. That’s all.”
“No need to get all defensive.” Piper walked over to the display case. “What flavor will it be today?”
Thankful that she’d dropped the topic, I bought a Glazed and Confused donut and began texting Ophelia. Not paying attention to where I was going, I bumped into someone near the door.
“Jay!” I said, recognizing the other senior. Although we attended different high schools, our mothers were good friends. We’d grown up swimming together and had even taken a couple of family vacations together. I hadn’t seen him since my parents divorced, but the last I heard, he was set to be captain of Hollister High’s swim team.
Jay grinned. “Good to see you, man.”
“How are you doing? Ready for spring?”
He widened his stance and smirked. “Ready to beat East Beach.”
“Not if Asher has anything to do with it.” My best friend was like a machine. He trained hard and pushed everyone to do their best.
Jay peered around the café. “Is Ash here?”
“No. I was getting tutored in math. Turns out precalc isn’t my thing, but luckily, my tutor’s amazing. She’s helped me a lot.”
Jay’s mouth fell open. “Dude, you’re hanging out with a girl and discussing math? What happened to the ultimate player?”
“Well, you can’t be on the swim team if you’re failing a class.” I took his ribbing in stride. Jay was the kind of guy who said whatever came into his head. Some found it brash, but that was just him.
Jay made a face. “I get it. Actually, I’m not doing too hot in the math department either. Maybe you could share your tutor with me?”
“Sure. Anything to help out a friend.” I was about to give him Violet’s phone number but then stopped myself. Despite being prepared to help me, she might not feel comfortable working with a stranger. “Actually, let me ask her first.”
“That’s cool, man. Text me if she’s willing to meet. I’ll need some help before midterms…” Jay’s voice trailed off and he moved his gaze toward the counter. “I noticed you talking to the girl who works here. You interested in her?”
I turned and saw Piper serving another customer. “Who? Piper? No way. She’s a friend.”
Jay’s grin widened. “Great. I’ve come in a couple of times this month just to talk to her. She’s cute and totally my type. I’m planning to ask her out tonight.”
“Sorry, man. I hate to break the bad news, but Piper’s dating Asher.”
He patted me on the back. “Yeah, I know. She told me already. But I figured it can’t be too serious. We’re still in high school, right? It’s not like they’re married.”
I chuckled lightly, but my stomach fell. I was all for easy relationships, but this was Piper and Ash we were talking about. “Dude. Don’t be that guy. Ash is my best friend, and I don’t think it’s a good idea to ask his girlfriend out. They’re pretty serious.”
Jay shrugged off my warning. “Lighten up. I’m just asking Piper out on a date. If she turns me down, I’ll back off. There’s no point in getting hung up over one girl, right? You of all people should understand that.”
He wasn’t wrong, but his barbed comment still dug its way into my skin. No matter my feelings about relationships, asking another guy’s girlfriend out was wrong. I wanted to pull Jay back, but I simply watched as he made his way over to the counter. The guy was being a jerk, but he was harmless enough. Plus, I had no doubts Piper would turn him down. She loved Asher.
Jay leaned over the counter. Even from this distance, I could tell he was working hard to charm her. Piper laughed at whatever he was saying, but after a few minutes, he returned with a whole lot less swagger in his step.
“How’d it go?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.
Jay took off his baseball cap and ran a hand through his hair. “You were right. Sounds like she and Asher are pretty serious. No big deal. There’s a ton of other girls out there who’d jump at the chance to go out with me. I’ll see you around, man. We should catch up sometime. And let me know about your tutor. You’d be doing me a solid.”
I let out a breath and forced a grin to my face. “Definitely. I’ll text you as soon as I’ve talked to her.”
As I parkedmy car at school the following morning, Jay messaged, asking to meet up and reminding me to talk to Violet. Still irritated by his behavior last night, I was tempted to ignore him but then felt a stab of guilt.
He and I had been friends since, well, forever. Didn’t I owe it to him to ask Violet to be his tutor? Deciding to talk to her about it before school started, I headed toward her locker but got sidetracked when Natalie, a friend of my ex, cornered me.
She gazed up at me through heavy-lidded eyes, her intentions quite clear. “Hey there, handsome. Any plans for this weekend?”
I liked Natalie. She was always down for a good time. But I had more important things to deal with right now.
“Can’t, I’m busy.”
“Too busy to have fun?” She took one of my hands and placed it on her shoulder. “Come on, Wes. Let’s hang out. I hardly see you anymore.”
I removed my hand from her shoulder. “Look, I gotta go. I’ll see you later, Nat.” And without waiting for her response, I turned and jogged away.
Violet wasn’t at her locker. She was probably heading to choir, but since the music buildings were all the way across campus, I wouldn’t make it there and back before precalc. Disappointed, I headed to class and slipped into my seat as the bell rang.
Mrs. Lamb stood in front of the class and proceeded to drop a bomb. “Pop quiz time, everyone. Put your books and notes away, and let’s see what you’ve learned so far.”
She walked along the rows of desks, handing out the tests.
“Thanks,” I muttered when she placed the sheets of paper facedown in front of me. I scrubbed my hands over my face before flipping over my quiz and focusing on the first question.
Solve the two simultaneous equations and graph your solutions.
I slowly exhaled a breath. What were the chances of the first question being almost identical to those Violet and I practiced last night? Remembering what Violet taught me, I worked my way through the test, fighting the panic that rose in my chest each time I faced a new problem.
I didn’t know how to answer everything, but unlike the last quiz, the words and symbols made sense, and when Mrs. Lamb collected our papers, I felt surprisingly good about the questions I’d managed to answer. She gave us the rest of the period to catch up with our homework so she could grade our quizzes.
Right before the end of class, she returned our test papers.
I stared down at my grade in shock.
C+. Mrs. Lamb had even drawn a smiley face on top and written, “Excellent improvement.”
Could it be? Had I really passed?
I walked out of class with a grin plastered to my face. This felt almost as good as when we won our regional water polo championships. And I had only one person to thank.
Me: Guess who you’re talking to?
Violet: Is this a trick question? I have you saved in my contacts.
Me: Change my contact name to math god. You’re talking to someone who got a C+ on their precalc pop quiz.
Violet: That’s amazing! I knew you could do it.
Me: I might not need you anymore. I’m basically a math genius.
Me: Actually. Forget that. I still need to see you. Can we meet again this week?
Violet: Can’t. I’m busy with work. But you can video chat me if you have any questions.
Me: Thanks. You’re a lifesaver.
Violet: Anytime, math god.
Me: That has a nice ring to it.
Something tuggedat the back of my mind, and I remembered Jay. The idea of the two of them working together didn’t sit comfortably with me, but I pushed that feeling down. There was nothing to be concerned about. Jay was my friend, and Violet was a great tutor. If she’d helped me, she could help him too.
Me: I have a favor to ask. My friend needs help in precalc and I told him about how amazing you are. Would you be able to tutor him?
Violet: My schedule’s full for December but maybe in January.
Me: Thank you! Can I pass on your details?
Violet: Of course.
There.Violet had said she was busy until January, so I might as well wait to pass on her information.
Yeah. That made the most sense.