An hour passed by, but neither of them had noticed. Norah didn't have a broken nose, but she did have two broken pencils that he snapped in half when he couldn't understand the allegory in 'Faust'. He was also testing the very limits of her patience. She was beginning to think that she had bitten off far more than she could chew.

"Rafe focus. Give me your phone," she said.

"Why?" He asked, looking almost like a chided child. "I will write out the paragraph. I just need to answer this one text quickly."

"The phone is distracting you. I'll give it back to you as soon as you finish that essay."

She held out her hand and was determined to get her hands on his phone. With a defeated sigh, he plonked the latest smartphone on her tiny palm. She pushed up her glasses in satisfaction and they ploughed on, but not without more distractions and arguments.

"Rafe stop drawing naked women."

"Rafe stop looking at the clock. I'll tell you when you can have a break."

"Rafe you've been to the bathroom ten minutes ago."

"Rafe stop asking me if I'd pierce my nipples for a million pounds."

Norah looked at the clock. They'd been at it for almost three hours, a task that would usually take her forty minutes tops.

Well, Rome wasn't built in one day.

She had created a plan for his studies. Analysing his strengths and weaknesses, she opted to concentrate on English the most. It had the most material to absorb and memorise. French was doable as it was so familiar to his native tongue, but she would still help him expand his vocabulary. Math he could handle on his own. He was better at crunching numbers than weaving words.

Letting out a long, tired sigh, Norah called for a break. "Break time."

* * *

For Rafe, the first lesson had gone better than he had hoped for. She was a patient teacher. Her smooth voice and stern diction made the mundane material tolerable. He expected her to be more patronising, but she was the opposite.

"You should work as a tutor all the time. You're good," he said.

Norah accepted the compliment with the nod of her head.

She took out a banana. To his surprise, she had another which she gave to him. His stomach growled in response and he muttered a thanks, taking the fruit. 

"For our next lessons bring health snacks likes fruits and nuts," she instructed. "No junk food."

"Fine. Can we talk about something else now that we're on a break? Or are you going to tell me to shut up again?"

"You have ten minutes. Talk to your heart's content."

"Are you from Japan?"

"No, I'm from Berkshire."

"Right... erm your surname is kind of Japanese?"

"My dad is English. My mum is Japanese."

Rafe couldn't help but stare as she neatly ate the fruit. He gobbled his up in two bites whilst she sat calmly, taking in small pieces. She was incredibly neat in everything she did. It made him feel like an ape.

"So... What's your favourite subject?" He asked. He felt lame from his attempts to start a conversation. Dio, this girl was so awkward!

"English Literature. Break time is over," she commanded and with that, shut down any of his attempts to get to know her better.

* * *

The lesson ended up stretching to almost five hours. Norah was exhausted. He was easily distracted, easily agitated and quick to anger, but he had potential. He wasn't as dim as she had initially thought. He caught on to the subjects fast, raised challenging points and she deduced the best way for him to memorise things was to write them out. 

He had a knack for languages and numbers. If the subject had bored him or confused him, his eyes dimmed and she could tell his mind was somewhere else. He also needed to be a little neater and respect rules and guidelines of the exams.

It annoyed her he got such high scores last year because he purchased all of his coursework whereas she, along with everybody else, put in the hard work. Was it true? Money can buy everything after all? Even education?

Well, it didn't really matter. She'd never be so rich, so she'd never know the answer to that question. The crisp fifty quid notes rustled in her pocket, easiest money she made. Her savings for London would really get a bump up.

The next day she reflected on her lesson. She browsed online for tutoring tips and tricks. Different methods of teaching styles and worksheets. She read forums and feedbacks from different people who were in teaching. Norah was on the right track.

Her nana noticed her prep work and grinned. "Well, look at you. Looks like you enjoy teaching eh?"

"I'm nothing if not a perfectionist," Norah said nonchalantly, pushing her glasses up.

Teaching, to her surprise, came naturally to her. However, she had been harsh and strict with him. At the end of the lesson, she all but roasted him. She believed in tough love. Approaching Rafe, she needed a carrot and stick method and she really enjoyed giving him the stick. But as a tutor, she should encourage too. It wouldn't be such a bad idea to be a little nicer to him. Taking out her phone, she found his number and texted him.

Norah: Nice job yesterday! We'll get there, eventually. Just wanted to reiterate- look over the footnotes for poems. They help. See you Wednesday at the school library after lunch. ^-^

Rafe: Thnx. What the fuck is that?

Norah: Reiterate means to repeat.

Rafe: Cazzo! I meant those weird symbols.

Norah: Ohh ^o^" you mean these? They are smilies. See? ^-^ small smile. ^_^ large smile.

Rafe: I wish there was facepalming smiley.

Norah: -_-

Rafe: lol. That's what you looked like when I stepped on your foot.

Norah: Don't even remind me.

Rafe: What other superstitions do you have, by the way? I'm intrigued.

Norah: Why would you think I have more?

Rafe: Because you're just too weird.

Norah: Pass my first quiz on Wednesday and I shall tell you.

Rafe: Okay. I hope it doesn't involve trampling any other body parts.

Norah: We'll see.

Rafe chuckled to himself as he re-read her texts. What a funny girl. She hadn't cracked a single smile for him during their lesson and yet was handing out anime looking smileys left and right on the phone. And she was witty.

"What are you grinning at? You look like a pervert who found some nude photos on his phone," Luke commented, trying to glimpse at the screen. Rafe shoved him away with a couple of Italian swear words.

"It's Norah. She's just reminding me we have a lesson on Wednesday," he said briefly.

"Was it okay?"

"Better than okay," Rafe said, remembering how annoyed she would get at him if he didn't understand something but tried her hardest to be patient. It was a horrible day. His head was hurting and she was being demanding and methodical. 

Oddly, he found himself looking forward to the next lesson.