the tuition teacher II
I've always prided myself on having a good judgement of character, an ability to suss out someone accurately by careful observation. I've never been a risk-taker, i measure up the future and rationalize the present. But nothing had quite prepared me for what i had to find out about LSM aka Medicine Student And Part-Time Tutor.
The warning road signs were there: the intensity of his sharing of his relationships increased, he pleaded with me to call his ex-girlfriend and record her voice so that he can listen to it (shudders). He confided in me that his other tuition student wants to pay him $1,000 to help him re-take his Chemistry and Maths Alevel exams, and he was weighing the cash with the consequences. I began to dread the lessons, he became a foghorn blaring into the night, the soliloquy of a bullfrog too much in love with his croaks to shut up and let me have a moment of peace. I felt more and more stressed and irritated as the weeks went past. Like a smoker hanging onto his last cigarette, the hot orange embers had burnt the tips of my fingers before i could bear to throw it away. I knew i had a mistake by over-relying on him to help me with my preparation for my exam, but it was too late.
The few weeks before my actual paper and three days before my practical, he called:
"Mari, i can't come to give you tuition today."
He sounded very distressed and out of breath.
"Why not??? You are already late and you tell me now?"
"I'm sorry but i...can't come."
"WHY?"
"My first girlfriend...she...she...hired a private investigator and she said she'll sue me if she finds out that i went out without her permission. You know she is unable to let go of me after all this while... I..i can't come out, i got to stay at home."
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IF THERE IS A WINNING ENTRY FOR THE MOST ORIGINAL EXCUSE BY A TUTOR, THIS WOULD BE IT.
I was speechless and after a moment of silence, he continued:
The warning road signs were there: the intensity of his sharing of his relationships increased, he pleaded with me to call his ex-girlfriend and record her voice so that he can listen to it (shudders). He confided in me that his other tuition student wants to pay him $1,000 to help him re-take his Chemistry and Maths Alevel exams, and he was weighing the cash with the consequences. I began to dread the lessons, he became a foghorn blaring into the night, the soliloquy of a bullfrog too much in love with his croaks to shut up and let me have a moment of peace. I felt more and more stressed and irritated as the weeks went past. Like a smoker hanging onto his last cigarette, the hot orange embers had burnt the tips of my fingers before i could bear to throw it away. I knew i had a mistake by over-relying on him to help me with my preparation for my exam, but it was too late.
The few weeks before my actual paper and three days before my practical, he called:
"Mari, i can't come to give you tuition today."
He sounded very distressed and out of breath.
"Why not??? You are already late and you tell me now?"
"I'm sorry but i...can't come."
"WHY?"
"My first girlfriend...she...she...hired a private investigator and she said she'll sue me if she finds out that i went out without her permission. You know she is unable to let go of me after all this while... I..i can't come out, i got to stay at home."
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IF THERE IS A WINNING ENTRY FOR THE MOST ORIGINAL EXCUSE BY A TUTOR, THIS WOULD BE IT.
I was speechless and after a moment of silence, he continued:
"I don't care if you think i'm a horrible person, i just can't come anymore."
"BECAUSE SHE IS GOING TO SUE YOU IF YOU GO OUT."
"Yes."
I hung up on him, called Jon and cried like a little girl because i thought i was going to fail my Chemistry AGAIN.
~~~
The retaking of the Alevel papers for private candidates was at a secondary school 5 minutes away from my house. I sat there nice and early for my Chemistry paper, my heart racing away as the examiner came in with the dreaded exam papers, my feet tapping impatiently against my chair. Then the late-comer we were waiting for hurried in wearing thick glasses and dishevelled hair.
IT WAS LSM.
I guess he took up the $1,000 offer afterall. I stared hard at him as he walked in, if he saw me (which i was pretty sure he did) he didn't show it. The familiar cauldron of anger and scorn bubbled and churned inside of me. When it was time for 'pens down', i literally had one of those angel vs devil fights you see in cartoons in my head. It was overwhelming to know that i had the power to ruin his future in an instant, tearing up his precious years of education into shreds with a single word.
But i didn't do it.
I had told Sherine and Yukina this story last week and they both asked in unison, "WHY NOT?" Honestly? I don't know why. And til today, i'm not sure if i have done the right thing.
~~~
And fyi, i did pass my Chemistry afterall. :)
Labels: life observations
