Tutoring Surprise

Sophia had imagined this moment a hundred times.

Daniel sitting across from her, focused only on her.

His voice calm and patient.

Their hands brushing as he pointed to something on the page.

She'd even rehearsed how she'd act — cool, composed, effortlessly brilliant. Maybe even throw in a witty comment about math (which she didn't really understand, but details schmetails).

What she *hadN'T* imagined?

Her mom casually dropping the news at breakfast like it was no big deal.

"Oh, by the way," her mom said, flipping a pancake with the ease of someone who had no idea she was delivering Sophia's personal version of fate. "Daniel offered to tutor you in math again."

Sophia nearly choked on her orange juice.

"Wh-what?" she wheezed.

Nathan smirked. "Yeah, what?"

Daniel, seated beside him, shrugged. "You said she needed help getting into honors. I'm free this summer. Seems easy enough."

Sophia stared at him like he'd just announced he could fly.

Lena, who was visiting for the weekend and had zero chill, kicked Sophia under the table and mouthed: "He's going to be alone with you. All summer."

Sophia almost fainted.

---

Later that afternoon, Daniel showed up at her room with a stack of books and his usual, devastatingly casual confidence.

"You ready for some math magic?" he asked, dropping his bag on her desk chair.

She swallowed hard. "Uh-huh."

He raised an eyebrow. "You okay? You're doing that weird blushing thing again."

"I'm not blushing!" she lied, while clearly burning alive from the inside out.

Daniel sat down, pulling out a notebook. "Alright. Let's see what we're working with."

Sophia leaned over to show him her notes — and immediately knocked over a cup of pens.

They clattered to the floor.

She went after them like a desperate woman.

So did Daniel.

Their heads bonked together.

"Ow," they both groaned in unison.

"Sorry," he muttered, rubbing his forehead.

"No, I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I'm always sorry."

He gave her a confused look.

She winced. "That came out wrong."

He laughed, shaking his head. "You are so weird today."

She wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out.

Instead, she sat back up and tried — *tried* — to focus.

But everything about this situation screamed disaster.

Like how every time he leaned in to explain a problem, she forgot what numbers were.

Or how when he tapped her pencil and said, "You got this," she nearly launched herself through the ceiling.

At one point, he caught her doodling his name in the margin of her notebook.

She slammed the book shut before he could read more than two letters.

He blinked. "Was that… my name?"

"No!" she yelped. "It was… a math symbol!"

He gave her a long, skeptical look.

"Okay," he said slowly. "If you say so."

She wanted to die. But in the most romantic way possible.

---

By the end of the session, she hadn't learned a single equation.

But she had learned three very important things:

1. She could not handle being alone with Daniel Harper.

2. Her brain turned into mush whenever he smiled at her.

3. If this was going to happen all summer, she might need therapy.

As he packed up his stuff, he glanced at her and grinned.

"You're hopeless, Soph."

She bit her lip. "I know."

He chuckled and walked out.

And Sophia dropped face-first onto her bed, groaning into her pillow.

Because yes.

She was officially doomed.

Daniel was tutoring her.

Alone.

All summer.

There was no escape.