The Tutor (COMPLETE 6/7)
Posted: Thu May 25, 2023 4:10 pm
Hello, all!
My name is Fred. I’ve been hovering around this board for several months now, enjoying the stories. I haven’t shared my own work yet, though, and I have a story that I posted elsewhere long ago that I think is good enough to share. I don’t take that lightly in the company of writers like Executionus or BlushingPrincess or superevil or any of the other prolific and talented folks here.
I tend towards slow builds to the reward, so if you are looking for rapid gratification, you may want to skip this. I also have a few other things besides ENF here, but nothing that I imagine will cross anyone’s lines.
If you enjoy the start, please let me know and I will continue the repost.
Fred
The Tutor
Okay, so I was a geek when I was in high school.
But being a geek has its advantages, you know. First, you never have anyone checking up on you when you're the "good kid". You can be out until 3 in the morning, come in with a story about how you were at a restaurant, and you ended up helping out some kid from school who was drunk and needed to be talked into letting you drive him home, and then you got a flat, and finally had to go back to get your own car, etc. and you'll be believed right away.
Second, you get trusted in ways others don't. A parent who would never, ever leave a boy alone with their sixteen year old sweetheart thinks nothing of going out for the night when you're there. You're the good kid. You're no threat, right?
Third, you get opportunities that lead to the money you need to do all the things that one and two give you chances to do. And you know how to use that money wisely.
You could tutor, for example.
Tara was a beautiful girl. Of course, they all are in stories like this, and the truth is that Tara probably wouldn't be gorgeous to you. Her face wasn't perfect; her nose a little too sharp, and her other features a little bland. Her hair was a great blond color, but not so nice to touch--it felt more like straw than silk. I always liked girls who were "different", though; I guess I figured I never had a shot at the really gorgeous model types, but the girl no one really looks at too closely was a possiblity for me. Anyway, you probably want to know more about figure and things like that, but I didn't learn that about Tara at first, and since I'm telling the story, you'll have to wait. Just imagine the best looking girls in your class, and then imagine the girl who would be number 11 on the top ten list. That's Tara.
Tara was in Algebra 1 as a junior; math wasn't her thing. Not a slam on girls. Some are really good at math, some aren't, just like guys. Tara was on the "not so good" side. I was a senior, and in Calculus, and my name was on the tutoring list in the school's counselor's office more because I was good at explaining than because I was good at math. I had a reputation for helping kids who didn't get it from the teacher because what I said somehow made it a little clearer. I don't pretend to understand it. All I know is that's how it was, and I wasn't arguing, because it was getting me $15 an hour. Tara's mom called me, set up an afternoon appointment, and so there I was at Tara's house at 5:30 Tuesday night.
"You guys are all set, right?", her mom asked, shaking her keys impatiently. "We won't be too late, honey. The dinner should be over by 7, and the party won't last more than a couple hours more. Dinner's ready for you to heat up in the fridge. I'm sorry, but it's leftover pasta. I didn't have time to cook tonight after work."
"Pasta's fine, Mom," Tara answered, a small note of irritation in her voice. "I can handle being alone for a few hours, don't you think?"
"Of course you can--don't get all snippy. Fred, your money's on the counter here, so don't forget it when you leave."
"I won't, don't worry," I smiled. "Thirty dollars is a good incentive to remember."
Tara's mom skipped the goodbye hug and settled for a wave. "Ok, then. Bye!" She grabbed her purse and was out the door.
"Well," I said as the sound of her car pulling out of the driveway died away, "should we get started?"
"Just a sec, OK?" Tara answered. "I just got back from practice, and if I don't eat something, I'll have to kill someone." She walked over to the fridge, opened it up, and took out a container, which she popped in the microwave.
Tara played both softball and volleyball, and it was volleyball season. She had indeed come straight from practice, to look at her--she was still wearing her tank top over a sports bra, and had on a pair of fairly short exercise shorts that emphasized her long legs and her fine backside. I think athletic women are a heck of a lot more attractive than those who aren't, but that's me. The slight smell of sweat didn't bother me, either. I took a good look at Tara while she was turned away. I had been thinking about asking her to the fall formal since I started tutoring her two weeks ago, and she hadn't done anything to suggest she wouldn't agree to go. And the view was a good promise that she'd be a knockout in a formal dress.
When she turned back from the microwave, I turned away quickly, pretending to look at my notes. We were covering probability today, so I was on solid ground, but it wouldn't look good to get caught scoping her butt before I asked her out. She brought over a big bowl of what looked like pasta with marinara sauce and sat down. "Is it going to make you nuts if I eat this, Fred?" she asked. "I can make you a bowl too, if you're hungry."
"I'm fine, thanks," I replied, thinking of how quickly I would manage to splatter sauce over my shirt and pants if I tried to eat, and how stupid I'd look. "You go ahead, though."
Tara smiled her thanks, and started to eat. "So can you help me with this probability stuff? I don't get it at all. These problems with the fractions and the red and green marbles make NO sense."
"Actually, they make a lot of sense if you understand what they're telling you," I started, but Tara snorted, cutting me off.
"Well, of course they make sense if you understand them. If I did, I wouldn't need your tutoring, right? I don't get it, though. And even if it did make sense, why does it matter? How often are you going to have to tell someone what the odds of picking the queen of hearts out of a deck of cards twice in a row are? Like that comes up in life."
I smiled. "Ok, Tara, you're right, but there are some times when probability gets very important."
"Name one," she challenged.
"Well, take the lottery, for example. You might buy a ticket, hoping to win millions. A dollar gets you a chance at twenty million. Do you buy it?"
"Why not?" she shrugged. "You might get lucky. Someone has to. It isn't a big chance, but it's a chance, right?"
"It's a very, very, VERY small chance, Tara. And there's no guarantee that someone wins. You might as well just give away the dollar."
"Wait. Someone has to win. That's how these things work."
"Not necessarily. If no one draws the winning number, the money isn't awarded," I reminded her.
"OK, but then someone always wins the next time, or the next. The money always goes to someone," she replied, slurping a bit more spaghetti.
"But Tara, millions of people are playing the same game, and that makes it more likely one will win. If only one person plays, or if we're only looking at one person's odds, they don't have a prayer."
"I don't get it," she said, frowning. "the odds are different based on how many people play?"
I sighed. I needed a new direction. Then I had an idea. "Does your little brother play role-playing games?"
"Yeah. He and his friends are always playing on the weekends." (Tara's brother was 14, and was living with his father; her mother had custody on weekends.)
"Any chance he left some of his stuff here? Like his dice?"
Tara thought for a moment. "Lemme check." She ran off, coming back a minute later with a handful of dice. "How about these?"
"Perfect!" I said, picking through the stack and pulling out a ten-sided die. "Let's try this from another angle. How many sides are there on this die?"
"10."
"So the chance of any number appearing is?"
"1 in 10. That's easy, Fred, it's the complex stuff I get confused on.."
"I know, but let's start here. Now pretend that this is the lottery, ok?"
"What?" she said, confused again.
I decided to make things more concrete. I pulled out a dollar bill and put it on the table. "This is Fred's mini lottery. You get to roll the die, and if you get a 10, you win the dollar. What are your chances?"
"One in ten, right?" she said, interested.
"Right. But why would I offer the dollar up if the odds weren't in my favor?"
"Because that's what a lottery is," she said. I sighed. This wasn't a hard concept, I thought, but it was taking Tara a while to get it.
"Let's say I charge you a penny to roll the die. If you get a 10, you get the dollar," I said.
"For real? Cool. I like this game!" she smiled.
"Sure, why not. For real."
Tara went over to the counter, opened a drawer, and dug around for a penny. She found three, came over and gave them to me. "Can I get three rolls?"
"Go ahead," I said. Sure, she was improving her chances, but not by much, and I was trying to make a point.
She rolled a 10 on the first try. "I win!" she cheered, snatching up the dollar.
"Good for you," I said, a little miffed at losing my dollar at such poor odds. "But why did you play?"
"It only cost me a penny, and I won a dollar. Why wouldn't I play?" Tara answered.
"What if it cost you fifty cents to play?"
"That's too much. The odds aren't good enough."
"But the odds are the same, Tara...one in 10."
"But it costs more to play!"
"That doesn't change the odds; it just changes your willingness to accept them," I replied.
"Now I'm confused again," Tara said, shaking her head. Her blond hair tossed. It was beautiful.
"OK. What if..." And on the spur of the moment, I did it. I don't know how it popped into my head, but I did it. "What if I offer you a chance at twenty dollars? Would you risk a dollar to win it?"
"Sure!" she said, handing me the dollar and grabbing the die. She rolled a 6, and I pocketed the dollar. "Oh, well. Easy come, easy go, right?"
"Would you like to try again?" I pulled out a $20 and put it on the table in front of her. To a girl who was a student athlete, with no time to hold a job, that was big money, and she was clearly interested.
"I would, but I don't have a dollar."
"Ok, well, what if we change the game, then? Let's say that if you roll a 10, you get the $20. If you don't, however, you have to pay a penalty. You have to do something silly."
"What do you mean, something silly?" she asked, looking at me oddly. "Like what?"
"I don't know. Say..." I thought carefully. I had to make it interesting enough to risk $20, but I couldn't scare her off.... "Say, if you lose, you have to drop an ice cube down the back of your shirt until it melts."
She laughed, and I knew I was in. "An ice cube? No problem." She grabbed the die and rolled it. A 3. "Ok, ok. One ice cube, coming up." Tara went to her fridge, took one out, and dropped it down the back of the tank top. She let out a little yelp -- "Shit, that's cold!" -- and sat down.
"So was it worth it?" I asked.
"For a shot at that twenty? Heck, yes!"
I thought for a moment. How far could I push this?
"Want to try again?"
"Ooh, another ice cube? I'm so scared, Fred!" Tara laughed, making a face. "Sure!"
"No, we know you'll risk that," I said. "How about a different penalty? If you lose, I get to pour a glass of water over your head."
"No way!" she laughed. "Not on those odds."
"OK - I'll give you the 20 on a one or a 10."
That made her pause. "One or ten? That's a 2 in 10 chance, right?"
"Right. And it's just water, you know. You already got sweaty at practice."
"That's true," she said, "though you didn't have to mention how I'm stinky.
"I didn't say that!" I said hurriedly, but she was smiling, so I knew she was kidding. "So--are we on?"
She picked up the die, and weighed it for a moment. "Hmm. Well....it is $20." She shook the die and rolled a 4.
I smiled. "Uh, oh...someone's getting a shower!" Tara hung her head as I walked over to the sink and filled a glass with water. I came back, still wondering if she was going to pay up. "Ready?"
"Yeah, I guess..." she said, standing up and stepping on to the linoleum. "Go on."
I poured the water slowly, watching it run in little rivulets over her face. It wasn't much, not nearly enough to wet her tank top, for example, but it was still pretty.
When the water stopped flowing, Tara shook her head and grabbed for a kitchen towel. "Happy now?" she smiled at me, dabbing at her face.
"Ecstatic," I joked. "Hot wet women make me crazy. And look at what we've learned!"
"What have we learned?"
"That you'll let a guy pour water over you for a chance at $20."
"Hey!" Tara said, throwing the towel at me. "You make me sound cheap!"
I grabbed the towel out of the air and set it down. "Not cheap. You just knew what you were willing to risk, and for how much. Most people will do anything for the right amount of money. If I offered you a million dollars, would you run naked down the street and back?"
"For a million? No problem," she laughed. I wish I had a million dollars, I thought.
"How about for $20?" I offered, smiling.
"Keep dreaming."
"OK, but do you see that for the right amount, you'll risk more?"
"Maybe..."
Did I dare suggest it?
What the hell.
My name is Fred. I’ve been hovering around this board for several months now, enjoying the stories. I haven’t shared my own work yet, though, and I have a story that I posted elsewhere long ago that I think is good enough to share. I don’t take that lightly in the company of writers like Executionus or BlushingPrincess or superevil or any of the other prolific and talented folks here.
I tend towards slow builds to the reward, so if you are looking for rapid gratification, you may want to skip this. I also have a few other things besides ENF here, but nothing that I imagine will cross anyone’s lines.
If you enjoy the start, please let me know and I will continue the repost.
Fred
The Tutor
Okay, so I was a geek when I was in high school.
But being a geek has its advantages, you know. First, you never have anyone checking up on you when you're the "good kid". You can be out until 3 in the morning, come in with a story about how you were at a restaurant, and you ended up helping out some kid from school who was drunk and needed to be talked into letting you drive him home, and then you got a flat, and finally had to go back to get your own car, etc. and you'll be believed right away.
Second, you get trusted in ways others don't. A parent who would never, ever leave a boy alone with their sixteen year old sweetheart thinks nothing of going out for the night when you're there. You're the good kid. You're no threat, right?
Third, you get opportunities that lead to the money you need to do all the things that one and two give you chances to do. And you know how to use that money wisely.
You could tutor, for example.
Tara was a beautiful girl. Of course, they all are in stories like this, and the truth is that Tara probably wouldn't be gorgeous to you. Her face wasn't perfect; her nose a little too sharp, and her other features a little bland. Her hair was a great blond color, but not so nice to touch--it felt more like straw than silk. I always liked girls who were "different", though; I guess I figured I never had a shot at the really gorgeous model types, but the girl no one really looks at too closely was a possiblity for me. Anyway, you probably want to know more about figure and things like that, but I didn't learn that about Tara at first, and since I'm telling the story, you'll have to wait. Just imagine the best looking girls in your class, and then imagine the girl who would be number 11 on the top ten list. That's Tara.
Tara was in Algebra 1 as a junior; math wasn't her thing. Not a slam on girls. Some are really good at math, some aren't, just like guys. Tara was on the "not so good" side. I was a senior, and in Calculus, and my name was on the tutoring list in the school's counselor's office more because I was good at explaining than because I was good at math. I had a reputation for helping kids who didn't get it from the teacher because what I said somehow made it a little clearer. I don't pretend to understand it. All I know is that's how it was, and I wasn't arguing, because it was getting me $15 an hour. Tara's mom called me, set up an afternoon appointment, and so there I was at Tara's house at 5:30 Tuesday night.
"You guys are all set, right?", her mom asked, shaking her keys impatiently. "We won't be too late, honey. The dinner should be over by 7, and the party won't last more than a couple hours more. Dinner's ready for you to heat up in the fridge. I'm sorry, but it's leftover pasta. I didn't have time to cook tonight after work."
"Pasta's fine, Mom," Tara answered, a small note of irritation in her voice. "I can handle being alone for a few hours, don't you think?"
"Of course you can--don't get all snippy. Fred, your money's on the counter here, so don't forget it when you leave."
"I won't, don't worry," I smiled. "Thirty dollars is a good incentive to remember."
Tara's mom skipped the goodbye hug and settled for a wave. "Ok, then. Bye!" She grabbed her purse and was out the door.
"Well," I said as the sound of her car pulling out of the driveway died away, "should we get started?"
"Just a sec, OK?" Tara answered. "I just got back from practice, and if I don't eat something, I'll have to kill someone." She walked over to the fridge, opened it up, and took out a container, which she popped in the microwave.
Tara played both softball and volleyball, and it was volleyball season. She had indeed come straight from practice, to look at her--she was still wearing her tank top over a sports bra, and had on a pair of fairly short exercise shorts that emphasized her long legs and her fine backside. I think athletic women are a heck of a lot more attractive than those who aren't, but that's me. The slight smell of sweat didn't bother me, either. I took a good look at Tara while she was turned away. I had been thinking about asking her to the fall formal since I started tutoring her two weeks ago, and she hadn't done anything to suggest she wouldn't agree to go. And the view was a good promise that she'd be a knockout in a formal dress.
When she turned back from the microwave, I turned away quickly, pretending to look at my notes. We were covering probability today, so I was on solid ground, but it wouldn't look good to get caught scoping her butt before I asked her out. She brought over a big bowl of what looked like pasta with marinara sauce and sat down. "Is it going to make you nuts if I eat this, Fred?" she asked. "I can make you a bowl too, if you're hungry."
"I'm fine, thanks," I replied, thinking of how quickly I would manage to splatter sauce over my shirt and pants if I tried to eat, and how stupid I'd look. "You go ahead, though."
Tara smiled her thanks, and started to eat. "So can you help me with this probability stuff? I don't get it at all. These problems with the fractions and the red and green marbles make NO sense."
"Actually, they make a lot of sense if you understand what they're telling you," I started, but Tara snorted, cutting me off.
"Well, of course they make sense if you understand them. If I did, I wouldn't need your tutoring, right? I don't get it, though. And even if it did make sense, why does it matter? How often are you going to have to tell someone what the odds of picking the queen of hearts out of a deck of cards twice in a row are? Like that comes up in life."
I smiled. "Ok, Tara, you're right, but there are some times when probability gets very important."
"Name one," she challenged.
"Well, take the lottery, for example. You might buy a ticket, hoping to win millions. A dollar gets you a chance at twenty million. Do you buy it?"
"Why not?" she shrugged. "You might get lucky. Someone has to. It isn't a big chance, but it's a chance, right?"
"It's a very, very, VERY small chance, Tara. And there's no guarantee that someone wins. You might as well just give away the dollar."
"Wait. Someone has to win. That's how these things work."
"Not necessarily. If no one draws the winning number, the money isn't awarded," I reminded her.
"OK, but then someone always wins the next time, or the next. The money always goes to someone," she replied, slurping a bit more spaghetti.
"But Tara, millions of people are playing the same game, and that makes it more likely one will win. If only one person plays, or if we're only looking at one person's odds, they don't have a prayer."
"I don't get it," she said, frowning. "the odds are different based on how many people play?"
I sighed. I needed a new direction. Then I had an idea. "Does your little brother play role-playing games?"
"Yeah. He and his friends are always playing on the weekends." (Tara's brother was 14, and was living with his father; her mother had custody on weekends.)
"Any chance he left some of his stuff here? Like his dice?"
Tara thought for a moment. "Lemme check." She ran off, coming back a minute later with a handful of dice. "How about these?"
"Perfect!" I said, picking through the stack and pulling out a ten-sided die. "Let's try this from another angle. How many sides are there on this die?"
"10."
"So the chance of any number appearing is?"
"1 in 10. That's easy, Fred, it's the complex stuff I get confused on.."
"I know, but let's start here. Now pretend that this is the lottery, ok?"
"What?" she said, confused again.
I decided to make things more concrete. I pulled out a dollar bill and put it on the table. "This is Fred's mini lottery. You get to roll the die, and if you get a 10, you win the dollar. What are your chances?"
"One in ten, right?" she said, interested.
"Right. But why would I offer the dollar up if the odds weren't in my favor?"
"Because that's what a lottery is," she said. I sighed. This wasn't a hard concept, I thought, but it was taking Tara a while to get it.
"Let's say I charge you a penny to roll the die. If you get a 10, you get the dollar," I said.
"For real? Cool. I like this game!" she smiled.
"Sure, why not. For real."
Tara went over to the counter, opened a drawer, and dug around for a penny. She found three, came over and gave them to me. "Can I get three rolls?"
"Go ahead," I said. Sure, she was improving her chances, but not by much, and I was trying to make a point.
She rolled a 10 on the first try. "I win!" she cheered, snatching up the dollar.
"Good for you," I said, a little miffed at losing my dollar at such poor odds. "But why did you play?"
"It only cost me a penny, and I won a dollar. Why wouldn't I play?" Tara answered.
"What if it cost you fifty cents to play?"
"That's too much. The odds aren't good enough."
"But the odds are the same, Tara...one in 10."
"But it costs more to play!"
"That doesn't change the odds; it just changes your willingness to accept them," I replied.
"Now I'm confused again," Tara said, shaking her head. Her blond hair tossed. It was beautiful.
"OK. What if..." And on the spur of the moment, I did it. I don't know how it popped into my head, but I did it. "What if I offer you a chance at twenty dollars? Would you risk a dollar to win it?"
"Sure!" she said, handing me the dollar and grabbing the die. She rolled a 6, and I pocketed the dollar. "Oh, well. Easy come, easy go, right?"
"Would you like to try again?" I pulled out a $20 and put it on the table in front of her. To a girl who was a student athlete, with no time to hold a job, that was big money, and she was clearly interested.
"I would, but I don't have a dollar."
"Ok, well, what if we change the game, then? Let's say that if you roll a 10, you get the $20. If you don't, however, you have to pay a penalty. You have to do something silly."
"What do you mean, something silly?" she asked, looking at me oddly. "Like what?"
"I don't know. Say..." I thought carefully. I had to make it interesting enough to risk $20, but I couldn't scare her off.... "Say, if you lose, you have to drop an ice cube down the back of your shirt until it melts."
She laughed, and I knew I was in. "An ice cube? No problem." She grabbed the die and rolled it. A 3. "Ok, ok. One ice cube, coming up." Tara went to her fridge, took one out, and dropped it down the back of the tank top. She let out a little yelp -- "Shit, that's cold!" -- and sat down.
"So was it worth it?" I asked.
"For a shot at that twenty? Heck, yes!"
I thought for a moment. How far could I push this?
"Want to try again?"
"Ooh, another ice cube? I'm so scared, Fred!" Tara laughed, making a face. "Sure!"
"No, we know you'll risk that," I said. "How about a different penalty? If you lose, I get to pour a glass of water over your head."
"No way!" she laughed. "Not on those odds."
"OK - I'll give you the 20 on a one or a 10."
That made her pause. "One or ten? That's a 2 in 10 chance, right?"
"Right. And it's just water, you know. You already got sweaty at practice."
"That's true," she said, "though you didn't have to mention how I'm stinky.
"I didn't say that!" I said hurriedly, but she was smiling, so I knew she was kidding. "So--are we on?"
She picked up the die, and weighed it for a moment. "Hmm. Well....it is $20." She shook the die and rolled a 4.
I smiled. "Uh, oh...someone's getting a shower!" Tara hung her head as I walked over to the sink and filled a glass with water. I came back, still wondering if she was going to pay up. "Ready?"
"Yeah, I guess..." she said, standing up and stepping on to the linoleum. "Go on."
I poured the water slowly, watching it run in little rivulets over her face. It wasn't much, not nearly enough to wet her tank top, for example, but it was still pretty.
When the water stopped flowing, Tara shook her head and grabbed for a kitchen towel. "Happy now?" she smiled at me, dabbing at her face.
"Ecstatic," I joked. "Hot wet women make me crazy. And look at what we've learned!"
"What have we learned?"
"That you'll let a guy pour water over you for a chance at $20."
"Hey!" Tara said, throwing the towel at me. "You make me sound cheap!"
I grabbed the towel out of the air and set it down. "Not cheap. You just knew what you were willing to risk, and for how much. Most people will do anything for the right amount of money. If I offered you a million dollars, would you run naked down the street and back?"
"For a million? No problem," she laughed. I wish I had a million dollars, I thought.
"How about for $20?" I offered, smiling.
"Keep dreaming."
"OK, but do you see that for the right amount, you'll risk more?"
"Maybe..."
Did I dare suggest it?
What the hell.