Transparent by Natalie Whipple

have.”
    Brady nods. “Got it. We’ll see you in class, then.”
    “Yeah.” I practically skip to the home ec room. My limbs feel lighter. I can’t push back the smile. I’m … happy. No, more than that. It feels like the leash around my neck is gone. It feels like I can breathe for one second without having to worry about Graham or Dad or the next horrible job.
    I can’t remember ever feeling like this before, but I think this is what freedom feels like. This is what it must be like to be normal.
    I could get used to it.
    “Well, well, look who decided to show herself.” Seth stands at the front in tutoring, arms folded. So much for good feelings.
    “Shut it, Seth.” Bea grabs my arm and plunks me down in a chair. “He has a weird way of showing worry, but I swear he was as scared as me and Brady.”
    “I don’t care if he was worried or not,” I say.
    “Good.” Seth’s voice comes from behind, and I whirl around to find him standing right over me. “I take it you still can’t figure out your math book?”
    I glare at him. He knows I was out there in the desert hiding, and still no compassion. Too bad I didn’t eat it. “I’m still putting up with you, aren’t I?”
    He holds back a smile. “Here’s a worksheet. If you have questions … yeah.”
    He throws it on my desk and rushes to the next victim. Before I start in on my after-school torture, I notice Bea staring at me. “What?”
    She leans in to whisper. “He
always
has a clever comeback. Did you perform some kind of voodoo?”
    “Not that I know of. I just let him know what a jerk he is.”
    She laughs. “He’s so not used to people calling him out. I know it doesn’t look like it, but I think he respects you for standing up to him.”
    I shake my head. “No. He really doesn’t. Trust me.”
    “Whatever. He so needs someone to put him in his—”
    “Back to work,” Seth barks.
    Bea grumbles at her worksheet. I stare at my own, trying to remember what steps go into solving these problems. It’s all a mess in my head, and soon I’m thinking more about what Bea said than numbers.
    I’d have thought people would put Seth in his place all the time. He’s not popular, at least from what I’ve gathered. He’s not
that
hot. He doesn’t even have a cool ability. He’s just a glorified calculator. Why would anyone let him get away with that attitude?
    The hour’s almost up. Just when I hope Seth’s too busy, he grabs my worksheet. He lets out a long, exasperated sigh. “It’s like you went backward.”
    My fingers tighten around my pencil. I refuse to look at his face as he sits down next to me.
    “Everything we went over the first day is completely gone, isn’t it?”
    I try to calm myself, knowing if I speak too quickly he’ll sense my hurt. “Maybe you didn’t teach me anything at all.”
    He leans forward, and I look away so I don’t have to see his face. “Is that true?”
    “You’re not as good a teacher as you think.”
    He glares at me. “Everyone but Fiona can leave early. See you tomorrow.”
    I groan. I swear I was happy today, until he decided to remind me what an idiot I am.
    “Don’t make her stay forever, Seth,” Bea says.
    He rolls his eyes. “I just need to talk to her for a second.”
    She touches my shoulder lightly. “I’ll wait, okay?”
    “You don’t have to. I have the car today.”
    “I will anyway. By your locker.” She leaves, and I’m left to face Seth alone.
    He stares at me like I’m supposed to talk first. I don’t. Finally, he starts. “I need you to be honest, because I can’t find what helps if you aren’t telling me what doesn’t work. Have I really not helped you?”
    “Not really.” I focus on my pencil, because his blue eyes are starting to freak me out. They’re too intense, judgmental.
    “Do you mind giving me more? If you really want me to help you pass, I have to know what’s wrong. You … have to trust me.”
    “I don’t.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because