Maya took a moment to check out the blond guy on her doorstep, wearing faded blue Levi’s and an untucked, mint-green polo shirt under a shabby, brown leather jacket. He looked more put together than the typical Caltech student. He smiled back, a surprised little grin, like he’d also expected someone else but was kind of delighted by the sudden turn of events.
“I’m Jack,” he said in a British accent, offering his right hand. With a measure of self-consciousness he added, “Jack Cato, your new tutor.”
They had decided to meet up at the beach house, but after a few minutes it became obvious to her that was a bad idea. The kitchen/living room was the only communal space other than the balcony and it didn’t feel right to monopolize either. It also didn’t feel right to invite Jack into the bedroom Maya shared with Grace and John-Michael. Instead, she suggested they head for a nearby café.
A warm breeze greeted Maya and Jack as they left the house. There was salt and the fine dust of sand in the air. She breathed it in contentedly. Days like this, she loved being in the house. If she could only succeed in getting her school situation straightened out, she’d be so happy.
Two days ago she’d been called to see her homeroom teacher, Mrs. Geary. Math and chemistry were the problem, it seemed. With the long summer vacation coming up, her teachers didn’t feel confident that Maya could afford the break. She was weak in both subjects and chem was the only science she was taking. Physics was just more math, and since Maya had a “thing” about cutting up animals, biology wasn’t an alternative.
Geary had asked, “Do you think that the difficulties you’re having in math and chemistry might stem from your dyslexia?”
Well, duh. Maya had just smiled sweetly. “Maybe.” Or maybe it was just that she didn’t have enough time to properly study, what with all the coding, but she guessed it was best not to mention that. There was extra funding available for dyslexia-related issues. But for spending-all-your-spare-time-developing-apps, not so much.
“I’m told that you’re a gifted computer programmer?”
The comment had put Maya on her guard. No one at school—apart from Lucy—knew just how much of Maya’s spare time went into coding.
Geary had continued, “I’m assuming you hope to get into a good college? With some improvement, that is a possibility.”
She remembered how she’d reacted then—stared hard at the pattern of yellow-and-blue plaid on her skirt and pretended to be deep in thought.
The teacher had pressed the point. “Google, Facebook, all the top Silicon Valley companies; they recruit from the best colleges. Wouldn’t hurt to get yourself on the road to all that. Your math and chemistry teachers think you just need a bit more study time. Maybe over summer vacation, with a private tutor?”
That had drawn a quick-fire, disbelieving response. “I have to come to school over summer vacation?”
“If your mother signs the permission slip he can tutor you in your home, which I understand is not with her. Is that right?” Geary had handed over a business card. “I’m going to recommend a young man we’ve used before. His name is Jack Cato. He’s majoring in chemistry at Caltech. Very clever, and he’s only seventeen. His agency will invoice the school.”
“But he’s not, like, a psycho or anything?”
“Jack’s references are excellent; his tutorial agency has run all the background checks. He’s a nice guy, by all accounts.”
Now, with Jack beside her as they strolled along the boardwalk, Maya took a few moments to observe him. He wasn’t particularly tall, only a few inches taller than her. He had a heap of dirty-blond, unruly, collar-length hair that reached down to his eyes. Slender and narrow-hipped, his clothes practically hung off his bones. Darker, prominent eyebrows lent intensity to his pale blue eyes. He didn’t look any older than fifteen.
Maya had never talked to a British guy before. His manner was quite disarming. Distractingly so. He had a way of grinning while saying rather serious things, and rubbing an ear or his chin at the same time, or otherwise giving the impression of being deeply uncomfortable, laughing.
“You went to Eton College. Isn’t that where, like, both the princes studied?”
“It is,” he replied with a friendly grin.
“So do you know Prince Harry?” Maya asked, a little flirtatiously. “You sound a lot like him.”
Jack guffawed. “Do I know him? No. Harry’s army. We—ah—we don’t exactly move in the same circles.”
“I thought Eton College was some super-fancy prep school. Aren’t you ‘posh’?”
“Me? God, no. I’m a scholarship boy. No aristocratic blood, no ‘new’ money. Very ordinary. Sorry about that.”
“Why should you be sorry?”
Jack glanced at her for a second, as if to check if she was being sincere. They’d arrived in front of the coffee shop. He opened the door and stepped aside to let her through, with a gentlemanly flourish that Maya found impossible to take seriously. A little later, Maya realized he had been serious. It wasn’t that she wasn’t used to the occasional bit of macho charm. But boys like that were often looking for something in return. It was unusual to meet a guy of Jack’s age who was so self-effacingly gallant.
Unusual and kind of intriguing.
“So, Miss Soto, you’re having problems with math and chemistry? Where would you like to begin?”
She eyed him quizzically. “‘Miss Soto,’ really?”
Jack looked immediately taken aback. “Do you not like that? Would you prefer Maya?”
“Miss Soto is, like, a teacher’s name.”
“Maya, let’s do whatever makes you happy. Okay, tell me what’s going on. What do you find particularly challenging?”
Maya opened the blue plastic folder that she’d brought along and removed some worksheets.
“Okay, so, acids and bases. Molarity and pH and stuff. It’s chemistry, but there’s some math, too. Basically, I’m clueless. To be honest, I don’t really like chem.” She shrugged happily. “Sorry to be so down on your entire existence.”
Jack peered at her for a moment, his lips twitching as though they weren’t sure whether to form a grin or a frown. “You’re not giving it a real chance,” he said eventually. “Chemistry is immense. And before we’re done, you’re going to think so, too.” He took a black-and-red notebook from his own messenger bag and began to write. “There’s a very easy way to make this stuff simple. What you need to do is keep the idea of moles in your head. You know what a ‘mole’ is, right?”
“It’s a chemistry thing to do with molecules? I get confused between moles, molecules, molarity.”
Jack smiled gently. “In that case, let’s start with that.” He waved the waiter down and ordered two café lattes and chocolate chip cookies.
A steady breeze swept across their table from the beach. Maya could suddenly smell Jack’s mingled scent of bergamot-and-lemongrass-tinged deodorant and a hint of something muskier. Together with the watery blue intensity of Jack’s scrutiny, Maya felt a definite impact. It took several moments before she was able to decode what she’d experienced.
Gradually, every word out of Jack’s mouth came to seem utterly fascinating. And yet, as engrossing as those words were, Maya found it almost impossible to process what he’d been saying. Chemistry with him was going to be amazing. But she was still going to struggle.