For a couple of seconds, the atmosphere was silent. I guess no one was enthusiastic at Nathan's proposal, not even me.
"Jena can come with us too upstairs…" Emily broke the ice but then she gave me an eye signal, the kind that told me to reject her proposal. The kind that let me know that no one welcomed me there, and the one that told me to let her have her way, as always.
"I will be difficult for us to stay here, we can't talk aloud here, and I prefer to review alone if you don't mind," I said all that in my most cowardly and annoying self depreciating self. But she wanted it. Somehow I knew that if I said otherwise, my school life would become difficult.
I am an idiot.
"That's true," someone else said, "we have to follow the library rules."
"Yes, they will kick us out if we talk louder."
"Shall we go then, Nathan?" Emily was already walking to the exit but Nathan didn't follow.
"No worries," he said to me, not watching the others, "I already asked for permission. You know, I have some privileges being a member of the school board."
Emily and the others stopped moving, their faces showed so much discomfort and annoyance, but they didn't say a word.
Nathan ordered to move some tables and seats but he continued to seat next to me, very closely to me, almost touching my shoulder, thought he was also touching my leg, brushing with his fingers my tight. That under the table.
"Nathan, you can seat here, so we can here your explanation and…" Emily said, but this time she seemed a bit forceful. Why would she need him to seat just right beside her to hear better the explanation?
"I am good here, you are all very smart so I will explain it once for you… the one that needs my full attention is this little idiot," he tapped my forehead and I felt my cheeks redden hard. He didn't need to point the obvious, now I was more embarrassed but, at the same time, happy. What was wrong with me?
"That…" Emily's voice shook.
"Then let's begin," he said and grabbed my notebook, he explained everything and showed us the formula derivation with his neat and beautiful handwriting.
"Pay attention," he said to me and showed me the formula, "this formula is the one you are using now."
They all watched me with jealousy in their eyes and I sank into my embarrassment.
"Then, let's do a couple exercises," he continued and explained two basics ones for me, the rest were already done with them before coming here, but he didn't care about that, and didn't listen to their questions when he slowly explained everything to me.
Then I did a couple of exercises alone and got them correct. I was fascinated, so intensively fascinated. My mind was starting to understand everything. It was like having a strike of brightness showing me the right path. I felt so clear.
"You did well, little fool," he whispered and I blushed again.
Then we continued with the next topic, he showed the formula derivation, then some concepts and then a couple of exercises. And again and again, I was learning.
By now, I didn't care about those big frustrated faces, and those annoyed and full of hate glares. They were not going to change.
I was going to nail this exam. I felt so excited.
Nathan may be a cretin but he was a great teacher. It was worth it my virginity… no… what? This was me being idiot again.
"Did you get the last one?" he said to my ear again and almost jumped startled. For a second I got distracted and forgot what I was doing.
He sighed and explained it to me one more time.
By then, three hours had passed.
"We need to stop or your brain will melt down," he said as I completed at list of five full pages of medium level exercises. All with notes, self explanations and demonstrations.
I got the feeling that I was a lot smarter than ever and I didn't want to stop. I was about to tell them to go and eat while I did more exercises but he grabbed my hand and trapped my pencil.
"Stop," he said and made me look at him, "let's go eat something or you will faint."
"But… I…"
The others watched me as if telling me to decline and make myself scarce quickly. Even Emily was frowning. Well, those stares were not abnormal in my life.
"I want to stay," I said finally, "I brought some food with me from home."
It was not a lie, my family was well off, but my mother and father didn't y care about me so… they always forgot to deposit money to my account for food and daily necessities at school. Even when I reminded them, they would ignore me. So I had to make my own food with whatever I found in the fridge in the morning to bring it to the school.
Also, I didn't have enough money for books and public transportation, so I had to use the library constantly, and wait for the school bus every day.
The only two persons in my life that gave me money and never forgot about me are my grandma and my maternal aunt. And I would never use that money if not for an emergency… that day in the club was an emergency… I guess.
"Then, shall we go?" someone said, "we can go to a restaurant near here, it is an excellent place, the food is good and…"
"You go there, I will wait here with this little fool," Nathan said, "I don't think she can make any more exercises alone with that bird size brain of hers. I don't want her to waste my hard work. We can reunite after two hours."