"Well, um, ready?" Haley looked at me, a brownie already in hand. I turned to lead us up the stairs, and could hear her chewing and moaning in pleasure as she scarffed the treat down. I switched my light on, and stood to the side to allow her to enter. As she ate, she looked around, taking in my eclectic collection.

"This is most interesting." She said with a grin, looking at my Beanie Babies. For just a moment I felt embarrassed, knowing it wasn’t exactly what a 17-year-old girl should be keeping. But I just couldn’t bring myself to part with a ten year obsession.

"Yeah, well. You know." I shuffled my feet, staring down at the floor. "So, um, how are the brownies?" I could not believe this; Haley Corregan was in my house, and not just that, she was standing in the middle of my bedroom! It’s like inviting Julia Roberts to your house, but teenage style.

"They’re wonderful. Want one?" She offered the second one to me. I shook my head putting my hand up.

"No. I’ve had my fill for today. I think six is already topping the scale as it is, you know?" She grinned, stuffing the entire thing into her mouth. "Alrighty, then. Shall we?" I indicated the floor. She nodded, chewing as she knelt down, dropping the text book in front of me.

"Help." She managed to utter after an impressive swallowing act. Shaking my head, I opened the book, and began the review. I could tell Haley was scared to death to take the test. She hung on my every word, watching me intently as I explained the different parts of gravity, and went over the experiments once again.

"So, you think you’ve got it?" I asked, tapping the book with the pen in my hand. She looked at the book to her notes, then finally at me, and took a deep breath.

"Well, I just hope I’ll be able to retain all this overnight."

"If you need any further help, I usually try to get to school early."

"Oh, that’s okay. I have the test during first hour, so I think if I don’t know it by the time I wake up in the morning, I might as well give it up." I grinned, nodding.

"Okay. I really think you’ll do fine, Haley. Hell, you knew most of what I was covering tonight before I even went over it, anyway." She sat back, holding herself up on her hands.

"Well, maybe. I think I just needed that little bit of a safety lesson, you know." She smiled sheepishly.

"Eh, you’ll be okay. Really. My services are guaranteed."

"I sure hope so." She laughed. Haley glanced at her watch. "Oh, shit. I have to go. I was supposed to meet Kelly at ten, and it’s almost ten-thirty."

"Oops."

"Yeah. Thanks again, Andi, or Andrea." I glared as she grinned.

"Yeah, call me that again and see if I help you again." Haley stood, gathering her book and notebook, sticking her pen in her pocket.

"Let me know how it goes." Haley smiled, then walked toward the door. I walked her downstairs and opened the front door for her, letting in the cold night air. She walked out onto the porch, our sensory light clicking on to illuminate the front yard and the black Acura Integra parked at the curb. She clicked the automatic locks open, loaded everything in, and drove off into the night.

* * *

I slammed my locker shut, feeling freer without the weight of my backpack, my lunch bag in hand as I headed for the cafeteria. Well, the ring of lockers that surrounded it. Finding locker number 218, my locker of choice, I plopped down and opened my brown bag. I hadn’t been very hungry this morning, so I’d only brought a bagel and an apple. The bagel just didn’t speak to me, so I rubbed the apple on my sweatshirt, and took a nice, noisy bite. The fruit juice squirted in my mouth as I chewed. I looked out at the other kids in the cafeteria, making noise laughing and talking as they ate. I was always amused by some of the things I saw and heard. If you asked, I was a fountain of knowledge when it came to the students of Winston High.

"Hey." I looked up to see Haley standing over me.

"Hello." She knelt down.

"Not a big eater, are you?" She nodded at my apple, which I looked at, then shrugged.

"Not real hungry, you know? Besides, how do you know that I didn’t just finish off a seven course meal and this is my dessert?"

"Because I saw you sit down."

"Ah. Okay, so you got me. How was the test?"

"Well, I’m not real sure, yet. We don’t find out until Monday or Tuesday."

"Oh, yeah? Hank is making you guys wait that long?"

"Hank?"

"Rodman."

"Oh. You two are pretty close, then?" I shrugged. "So, um, you guys talk?" She cocked her head to the side a bit, her ponytail falling over her shoulder. I narrowed my eyes, knowing exactly where this was going.

"Maybe."

"Well, you know, if you guys are close, then maybe he’d tell you, you know, what I got."

"So you want to use me for my connections, eh?"

"And your brain."

"Oh, I see how it is." I grinned, shaking my head. "Meet me at his room after school."

"Oh, you are so cool!" She reached out and set her hand on my shoulder. "Thanks, Andi. I just know that having to wonder all weekend would kill me." She smiled, so did I. "Look, there’s got to be something that I can do for you. I mean, you’ve been so wonderful with this whole tutoring thing, and now trying to help out with Mr. Rodman."

"It’s not necessary, Haley, really. It’s not that big of a deal."

"It is to me." She looked at me for a moment, finally taking her hand away from my shoulder. I watched it out of the corner of my eye. "Do you drive?"

"Yes."

"Oh," She looked dejected for just a second. "But I don’t have a car." Instantly brightening again, she smiled.

"If I get an A on this test, I’ll take you to and from school on all the bad days. Rain or snow. How’s that?" I nodded, liking the idea.

"Okay. It’s still not necessary, but alright." A huge smile spread across her face.

"Great! I better get going, but I’ll see you after school, okay?"

"See you." I watched Haley stand and bounce her way back to her friends, who looked at me with obvious questions in their eyes, made more apparent as their heads leaned in to, I’m sure, ask Haley a zillion questions.

"Andi, why on earth should I give this girl her score now? I barely have her test graded." I leaned over Hank’s desk, looking into his eyes, enlarged behind thick glasses.

"Come on, Hank. Just for me. This girl is my protégé, and I want to see how I did." I smiled, and he stared at me for a moment.

"That is the biggest pile of horse shit I’ve ever heard, but it was such a good excuse I’ll do it."

"Oh, man! You’re awesome." I slapped the old science teacher on the back, a huge grin on my face. About then the classroom door opened, and Haley stepped through. She looked from me to Hank, then back at me, hope in her eyes. I nodded, she smiled.

"Okay, Haley. Know this won’t happen with every test, but I’ll go ahead and give you your grade." The teacher said, looking at her over the top of the spectacles.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Rodman. I really appreciate this." Haley heaved the backpack further up onto her shoulder, and walked to stand next to me. I could smell the slight scent of perfume on her sweater. It was too faint for me to be able to tell what it was.

"Miss Corregan," My attention was ripped back to Hank, who was looking at stapled papers in his hand, which I assumed was Haley’s test. "You received a 92." He looked up, pulling his glasses off.

"Yes!" Haley turned to me, sticking her hand up in the air. I slapped it. "Thanks, Andi. You are so awesome." I grinned.

"Thanks. Congratulations." I felt proud for some reason, pleased.

"You heading home now?" Haley asked after thanking the teacher. I nodded. "Come on, I’ll give you a lift."

The drive to my house was nothing compared to the walk, and it seemed that in no time Haley pulled her car into the driveway. She turned to me.

"Thanks again. I’m sure I’ll be in need of your guaranteed services again." I grinned.

"Just give me a call."

* * *

"Charyot!" yelled Sabum Nim Kyung. I stopped immediately, as did my sparing partner, Tracy. We walked to our places on the matt and knelt down to our knees, our eyes downcast out of respect for our teacher. Our Sabum Nim stood before us, arms crossed over his chest as he waited. "Sunbae Nim Andi." My eyes raised to his, and I jumped to my feet, joining him at the front.

"Charyot!" I yelled, the class looking at me. "Remember, championships are coming up in January. You guys must try harder." I looked at the face of each student, most of which I’d known for many years. "Dustin and Kyle, next week you two will be partnered, and I don’t want to see you fall again, Kyle." The twelve year old’s gaze dropped, and he nodded. I turned to my Sabum Nim, and bowed.

"That’s all for today." He clapped his hands, and everyone jumped up and scattered. Tracy walked over to me.

"Nice job today, chief. Your second week as the Sunbae Nim." I grinned, nodding.

"Kind of cool, isn’t it?"

"Well, not really. You could kick just about anyone’s butt in here."

"Yeah, well you’re just jealous. We still on for tonight?" she nodded.

"Yeah. I just need to get showered and changed, and we’re off."

Tracy and I had started in the Kyung dojang at the same time, but she’d left when she was eight when her family moved away. When they came back three years later, she had re-joined. By that time I had moved far ahead of her, starting with Tae Kwon Do at age six. I had earned my third degree black belt over the summer. I was now the senior student, or Sunbae Nim. Tracy was one of my best friends, well, one of my only friends.