“Jesus, Shep. You’ve got it that ba

“Jesus, Shep. You’ve got it that bad, huh?” Travis
asked, throwing a packet of ketchup at his cousin. Shepley
didn’t answer, but I smiled appreciatively at Travis for the
diversion.
America rubbed his back. “He’s going to be okay. It’s
just going to take him awhile to believe Abby is resistant to
your charms.”
“I haven’t tried to charm her,” Travis sniffed, seeming
offended. “She’s my friend.”
I looked to Shepley. “I told you. You have nothing to
worry about.”
Shepley finally met my eyes, and upon seeing my
sincere expression, his eyes brightened a bit.
“Did you study?” Travis asked me.
I frowned. “No amount of studying is going to help me
with Biology. It’s just not something I can wrap my head
around.”
Travis stood up. “C’mon.”
“What?”
“Let’s go get your notes. I’m going to help you study.”
“Travis….”
“Get your ass up, Pidge. You’re gonna to ace that test.”
I tugged on one of America’s long, yellow braids as I
passed. “See you in class, Mare.”
She smiled. “I’ll save you a seat. I’ll need all the help I
can get.”
Travis followed me to my room, and I pulled out my
study guide while he popped open my book. He quizzed
me relentlessly, and then clarified a few things I didn’t
understand. In the way that he explained it, the concepts
went from being confusing to obvious.
“…and somatic cells use mitosis to reproduce. That’s
when you have the phases. They sound sort of like a
woman’s name: Prometa Anatela.”
I laughed. “Prometa Anatela?”
“Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase and Telophase.”
“Prometa Anatela,” I repeated, nodding.
He smacked the top of my head with the papers. “You
got this. You know this study guide backwards and
forwards.”
I sighed. “Well…we’ll see.”
“I’m going to walk you to class. I’ll quiz you on the way.”
I locked the door behind us. “You’re not going to be
mad if I flunk this test, are you?”
“You’re not going to flunk, Pidge. We need to start
earlier for the next one, though,” he said, keeping in-step
with me to the science building.
“How are you going to tutor me, do your homework,
study and train for your fights?”
Travis chuckled. “I don’t train for my fights. Adam calls
me, tells me where the fight is, and I go.”
I shook my head in disbelief as he held the paper in
front of him to ask the first question. We nearly finished a
second round of the study guide when we reached my
class.
“Kick ass,” he smiled, handing me the notes and
leaning against the door jamb.
“Hey, Trav.”
I turned to see a tall, somewhat lanky man smile at
Travis on his way into the classroom.
“Parker,” Travis nodded.
Parker’s eyes brightened a bit when he looked to me,
and he smiled. “Hi, Abby.”
“Hi,” I said, surprised that he knew my name. I had
seen him in class, but we’d never met.
Parker continued to his seat, joking with those sitting
beside him. “Who’s that?” I asked.
Travis shrugged, but the skin around his eyes seemed
tenser than before. “Parker Hayes. He’s one of my Sig
Tau brothers.”
“You’re in a frat?” I asked, doubtful.
“Sigma Tau, same as Shep. I thought you knew that,” he said, looking beyond me to Parker.
“Well…you don’t seem the…fraternity type,” I said,
eyeing the tattoos on his forearms.
Travis turned his attention to me and grinned. “My dad
is an alumn, and my brothers are all Sig Tau’s…it’s a
family thing.”
“And they expected you to pledge?” I asked, skeptical.
“Not really. They’re just good guys,” he said, flicking my
papers. “Better get to class.”
“Thanks for helping me,” I said, nudging him with my
elbow. America passed, and I followed her to our
seats.
“How did it go?” she asked.
I shrugged. “He’s a good tutor.”
“Just a tutor?”
“He’s a good friend, too.”