A Kiss at Midnight (Delilah and Caelum) novel Chapter 2

Chapter 2

There’s a special kind of humiliation that comes with realizing you’ve run out of options. And no, it wasn’t the dramatic, movie style humiliation where someone throws a drink in your face in front of the entire cafeteria.

It was the quiet kind, the kind where you’re standing in a hallway at eight in the morning staring at a classroom door and trying to convince yourself that walking away wouldn’t technically count as you giving up,

Unfortunately, I had already tried that. Three times.

The first time, I had made it half way down the hall before remembering my GPA was currently circling the drain like a dying goldfish. The second time, I got as far as the stairwell before picturing my parents very disappointed faced when he report card arrived.

The third time….well. Now I was here again, outside Mrs Malakai’s AP Chemistry classroom, clutching the strap of my bag like it might somehow rescue me from my own terrible decisions.

Inside, the muffled noise of student talking and glass clinking floated through the door

Chemistry lab, just freaking double hell fantastic.

I mean, what could possible beat walking into a room full of overachievers while admiring you’re academically incompetent. I sighed and pushed the door open before my brain could sabotage me again.

The smell hit me first, Alcohol wipes, metal, and something vaguely acidic. Rows of lab table filled the room, with each one covered in notebooks, beakers and student who looked far too confidence about their understanding of the periodic table.

No one noticed me, which honestly was the best possible outcome. At the front of the room stood Mrs Malakai, flipping through a thick binder. She wore her usual long cardigan and had her grey streaked hair twisted into a loose knot that looked like it had survived at least three decades of teaching.

She looked up the moment the door close, her face lits up, overly too excited if you would ask me, that I wondered if she was just naturally a smiley person or was it all just pretends.

Couldn’t give a damn. All I wanted was this conversation to be over and done with, so that I can get the hell out of here, before the depression in the room begins to slip into my skin.

“Delilah Quinn,” she said warmly, getting a tight smile from me.

One that said, ‘please don’t make this more humiliating than it already is.’

“I’m so glad you reconsider.”

Yeah right. Reconsidered. Like this had been my idea

I shift my weight and adjusted the strap of my bag.

“Wasn’t given much of a choice, now, was I.” I muttered. “So..”

Mrs Malakai clasped her hand together like she had been waiting for this moment her entire teaching career. “I for one think this is going to be very beneficial for you.”

Sure. Public academic shame always builds character.

I lowered my head slightly, glancing at the student behind her. They were too busy arguing about molecules to notice me. Good.

Okay,” I said quietly, ” so….what exactly do I have to do?”

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Chapter 2

5 youchure

Mrs Malakai reaches into a folder and pulled out a printed chart, rows of names filled the pages and my stomach sank

“Um..” I gulped. “This looks promising.”

“These are our student tutors,” she explained, tapping the paper with a pen. “You’ll be paired with one and together you’ll work through the subject you are failing.” She scanned the list thoughtfully. “Let’s see who’s available…”

My stomach twisted slightly. There were two possible outcome here. One, I’d get paired with someone normal, or two. I’d get paired with someone who treated tutoring like a competitive sport and judge every wrong answer I gave.

The pen stopped, and I inwardly sighed. Here goes nothing.

Mrs Malakai circled a name. “Daniel Ortega.” She pointed toward the far side of the room.

A ginger hair guy with messy curls and bright red glasses sat at one of the lab tables, laughing with a group of students while scribbling notes in a thick notebook. His sweater had cartoon planets on it.

He looked harmless, nerdy, sure. But harmless, regardless.

I think I can work with that.

“He is excellent in chemistry and biology.” Mrs Malakai said. “And he recently just rounded up tutoring another student.”

Ah…Right. Apparently my academic failure were a group project now.

I forced a smile. “Great.” I grabbed my bag and turned towards the door. “Thanks for the help…”

I’d taken exactly three steps when… “Delilah, wait a moment.”

Urgh….Can we get this over and done with already. What more did she want to say.

Forcing another smile on my face, I turned back. “Yes?”

Mrs Malakai looked thoughtful now, like she remembered something important. “That reminds me,” she said slowly. “Your guidance counsellor mentioned you’re struggling in quite a few subjects.”

My eyes twitched, Mr Alvarez. This man was supposed to keep things confidential, and now my GPA was now treated as a community newsletter.

“What’s your point?” I asked.

Mrs Malakai leaned back slightly. “Well, if we’re being practical, I think it would make more sense to find a tutor who excel in multiple subjects rather than assigning you several different ones.”

My patient thinned. “I’m sure Daniel can handle a couple of them.”

“Perhaps, but I think there’s more efficient solution.” She tapped the pen against the folder, “I may have someone better suited for you.”

“Who?” I folded my arms.

“Caelum Hart.”

The name hit me like someone slammed a locker door next to my head and I froze.

Mrs Malakai tilted her head. “You know him?”

Know him

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Chapter 2

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Everyone at Crestmont prep knew Caelum Hart, and it wasn’t the popular kid can of way. He existed in this weird category of student that didn’t belong to any social group at all. No parties, no sport team, no friends and just class, book and science.

And let’s not forget, perfect grades.

I blinked, “Is there…..another option?”

Mrs Malakai frowned. “Why?”

Because studying with Caelum Hart was basically announcing to the entire school just how my academic life had officially collapsed.

“Um…..i just think Daniel seemed fine.” I said carefully.

“Daniel is excellent in science,” she admits. “But he can’t help you with literature, statistics or French.”

Imagine that being a flaw.

“Caelum, however,” she continued, “had maintained straight A’s across every subject since freshman year.”

Of course he had.

“He also happens to be fluent in two languages, and tutors advanced mathematics.”

Well, isn’t that just great. A genius. Just what I needed.

“I’m sure Caelum is a perfect match, like you said,” I shifted awkwardly. “But he isn’t exactly approachable.” I muttered.

That wasn’t the word I would’ve used, I was leaning more on the word antisocial.

“He is the only one that I can think of at this point, Delilah. He is the only one perfect for you.”

I can’t be seen hanging out with the likes of Caelum Hart, doing so was going to be a social death sentence.

“What’s wrong with Daniel again?” I pressed.

Mrs Malakai sighed lightly. “Delilah, you’re currently struggling in five subjects and the others you are barely hanging on.” She states. “I honestly believe Mr Hart would be the most efficient choice.”

I rubbed my temple. “Fine.”

Mrs Malakai smiled again. “There is only one tiny little issue.”

Of course, I didn’t expect for every thing to go smoothly.

“He chooses who he tutors.”

I blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Given how excellent his academic works are, he doesn’t require the extra credit, so he prefers to select his student himself.”

That was the most pretentious bullshit I have heard all week.

“So how exactly are we going to go about this.”

Mrs Malakai smiled. “You will need to ask him, dear.”

I went blank for a second. “You mean like…talk to him!”

Chapter 2

“Yes.”

5 vouchers

The woman had clearly lost her mind, there was no way she thought I was going to talk to the school weirdo, and ask him if he could tutor me.

No way in hell.

Yet here I was hiding behind a bookshelf in the school library two days later, and beside me was Kaia. The both of us were crouched like we were planning a robbery, with Kaia peeking around the corner.

“Which one is him?” I pointed across the room to a tall figure that sat at a long wooden table by the window. Books were stacked round him in uneven piles. “That’s Caelum Hart.”

Kaia studied him for a moment. “Huh.”

“What?”

“He’s not what I expected.”

“What did you expect.”

“I don’t know,” she shrugs. “someone…scarier.”

I snorted. “Give it time.”

From where we stood, Caelum looked completely absorbed in a thick physics book. Dark hair fell into his eyes as he leaned forward slightly, one moving steadily across a notebook.

He wore a faded sweater that looked older than most of the students in this school, his jeans were worn and his sneakers looked like they’d survived several winters.

Honestly, if you dropped him into a bus station downtown, no one would question it.

Kaia leaned closer. “Does he own anything new.” She whispered.

“I hardly doubt that. He probably spends all his money on getting textbooks.”

“I don’t know the right word for it, but he just looks like a depressed philosophy major.”

“I think the word you are searching for is homeless, Kai.” I muttered. “He looks homeless.”

Kaia sighs as she kept watching him, “so when are you going to talk to him?”

I exhaled slowly. “When he realise that there is more to life than that book in his hands.”

She nods, before chuckling softly. “I still can’t believe you are actually voluntarily going to talk to someone.”

I groaned. “Please don’t make it worse than it already is. At this moment I’m up for licking the boys bencher in their locker room than talk to him.”

“Okay…eww to that.” Her lips scrunched up in disgust, “you are going to make me throw up my lunch.”

“Just saying.”

We carried on waiting. Five minutes, ten, fifteen, and finally Caelum stood up. He grabbed one of his books and walked toward the shelve.

“Now is your chance.” Kaia whispered.

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III