"You try to wing it. Badly."
Damien laughed, and to his credit, didn't argue.
"And after that?"
"Math."
That made him smile again. "I figured you'd loop it back around."
"You're already decent. You just don't practice."
"Well," he said, leaning his head against the seat, "I suppose that's fair."
Then, after a pause—
"That's good. I don't want to burden you too much, either."
She blinked. "What?"
"I mean, tutoring someone like me," he said, tone still light, but there was something steadier underneath it. "Not exactly in your schedule, is it?"
She didn't respond right away.
Because—well—no, it hadn't been in her schedule. Not in her projections. Not in any version of her semester she'd planned. It wasn't optimal.
And yet, here they were.
"I can handle it," she said finally.
He gave her a look. Something unreadable, but not unserious.
Then leaned forward slightly, resting an elbow on his knee, eyes still on her.
"Don't worry," he said. "Soon enough…"
