"What do you mean I need to sign an NDA? Who is this person? A prince?" I ask, frustrated. "It's just tutoring."

Tonya's voice briefly breaks up over the phone. "It was a request from the client. And honestly, the amount they're offering to pay per hour is worth the paperwork."

I sigh. "Ok, well, are you going to email me the contract? I can sign it later tonight. I'm just at the Windsor's right now."

"No, you'll have to wait until next week to sign. She wants to go over the conditions in person. I'll email you the address but I have to omit the names."

Goodness, when did needing additional academic help become so scandalous?

"Ok, I guess." Like I have a say. It would be nice to know who I was meeting. "So, when is the appointment scheduled for?"

"They requested every Tuesday and Thursday at 6:30 pm."

"Ok."

"I'll send you a follow-up email in a few hours."

"Sounds good, bye, Tonya."

I hang up and walk back into the dining room to find the twins not working. Seriously? I leave them alone for five minutes!

"Oh, my God. He's so cute! I wonder if he has a girlfriend." Victoria muses as she scrolls through her phone.

"More like multiple girlfriends. Didn't you see what TMZ posted yesterday? He was seen with Jade Jenkins from White Lies at Pierce Nightclub and then with a different girl like two hours later!" Kira exclaims as she hands her twin sister an iPad.

"I love that show! How could he do that to Jade? Also, he's not even 21 yet! How does he get into all these clubs and bars?"

"Money! Duh!"

I hate tutoring high school girls.

I clear my throat as I sit back down and tap the stack of textbooks sprawled out on the dining room table. "Girls, can we please get back to work? I'm sure whatever debauchery-" I lean over to look at Victoria's phone. "Asher Prescott is getting into will be available for you to view after we're finished. Let's focus on atoms right now, ok?"

Victoria and Kira huff in annoyance but do as they're told. They're not allowed to go to Winter Formal unless they both get at least a C+ in all their classes. That's a lot of pressure. For me! Kira told me that their entire social life is in my hands. I'm basically their educational fairy godmother right now.

The twins really aren't so bad, it's their parents that drive me completely bonkers. The company I work for, Golden Education, is the go-to for uppity parents whose children are struggling academically. Our website says 'Results Guaranteed' and I swear parents think I have a wand that will somehow magically increase the IQ of their offspring. I'm a good tutor, but I'm not a miracle worker.

Kira and Victoria are some of my more...inept pupils. They're completely sweet and have the biggest hearts but sometimes I think that their brains cells were split equally at birth.

Is that mean? Perhaps. But unfortunately, it's accurate. But I'm determined to get them to Winter Formal even if that means unpaid overtime.

"Ok!" Victoria says after thirty minutes. "We're done with the worksheet. Take a look! How'd we do, Poppy?"

I begin to mark their answers with a pink pen. I find that red pens cause my students to get anxious.

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

Correct!

"You guys!" I gush. "You got the hardest question correct! Good job!"

Victoria bites her lip. "How about the others?" she asks nervously. "Did we get 'em right?"

I continue marking and then press my lips into a firm line. I hate this part. "Sorry girls. You were really really close though." I reach into my backpack and pull out a thick purple binder and hand it to the twins. "These are my personal notes from freshmen science. I think it'll be beneficial for you to read them tonight, and every night until finals. We'll go over covalent and ionic bonds next time, ok?"

The twins both sink into their chairs and pout. "We're never going to pass! Our lives are over! I'll never get to kiss Bobby Cameron if we can't go to the dance! He'll end up taking that slut, Emma!" Kira whines as she bangs a textbook against her forehead. I can almost see the brain cells spilling out from that gorgeous redhead of hers.

"So dramatic," I mutter and reach over to grab the book from her hands. "What did we talk about last week?"

"Positive thinking," they mumble in unison. Not as enthusiastic as I'd like but I'll take it.

"Exactly! Your mind is capable of amazing things. With hard work and a good attitude, you guys will be able to pass."

Oh boy, I really hope that's true.

"Alright, girls. I've got to take off." I begin to pack up my belongings. Priya is probably waiting for me back at our dorm. It's her 20th birthday tonight and she's itching to test out our new fake IDs. I don't know how she convinced me to buy one but I'm out $200 so it better work. I can already feel the lemon-drop hangover.

"Poppy," Victoria whispers as I'm about to exit their house.

"Yes?"

"Thank you." Her sweet voice melts my heart.

I smile as I wave goodbye to them. "Read the notes!"

The drive back to the NYU Wenton Hall Residence is agonizing. Don't people know how to drive in the city? One person signaled left and then turned right. God, I hate Tesla drivers.

Wenton Hall is situated in the most inconvenient location for drivers, there are stoplights on almost every block. But, Priya and I were super lucky to find a double occupancy upperclassmen residence for this semester. It's further from campus than either of us would have hoped but at least we get to live together again. Priya and I were roommates our first year, we met at freshman orientation. She's in the Pre-Med program and I'm in Psych so we had several classes that overlapped which resulted in a blooming friendship.

After parking my car, I push my way through the gaggles of tipsy girls until I reach our room. It's not even 9 pm yet, college girls are wild.

I unlock the door and cover my ears. Speaking of wild.

"Priya!" I yell over the blaring sounds of Queen Lizzo rapping. Priya's long thick black hair sways side to side as she bounces around the room.

"IT'S OK, HE ALREADY IN MY DM'S!" Priya shouts as she runs up to me. "Poppy! Ah! I'm so excited!"

I walk over to the audio system and turn down the volume. "Happy birthday, Pri!" I hug her then drop my bags on my bed and walk to the closet. "You're in a good mood, I see. Other than the fact it's your birthday, is there another reason why you're so excited?"

Something must have happened, she's usually more tame.

Priya sits down cross-legged in front of a full-length mirror and starts applying her make-up. "Guess where Rahul got us a table for tonight? You're going to die!"

I really doubt that I will, but I probe her enthusiastically anyway. "Ooo, where?" I singsong as I rummage through my wardrobe. Maybe I should decide what to wear after she tells me where we're going.

Priya turns her head as she blinks. One of her eyelids has a perfectly drawn-on wing, the other looks like an Ash Wednesday smudge. "At Esquire! Can you believe it?"

Ugh, Esquire. I definitely don't have anything to wear. I think the dress code for women there is sequins and skimp, neither of which I own. "How'd your cousin pull that off? Isn't that place super-exclusive?" Not to mention greasy and expensive.

"His boss apparently knows the owners and he pulled a few strings for us." Priya stands up and walks towards me, her head tilted. Both of her chocolate brown eyes are now coated in eyeliner perfection, second times the charm. Her delicate touch will make her a fantastic surgeon one day.

"I guess working for the Rangers has its perks," I comment as Priya looks at me and frowns. "What?"

She bites her lip. "Are you going to wear contacts tonight?"

"Do you want me to wear contacts tonight?"

Priya shrugs apologetically as she slides off my glasses. "It's just you kind of look like Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter? Seriously?" I gasp in shock as I grab the glasses out of her hand and hold them up. "These are not Harry Potter glasses! First off, they have a way bigger frame, and secondly, I'm pretty sure Snapchat has the exact same pair as a filter. So if they're so uncool, why do girls use that filter all the time? Hmm?"

"Ok, ok. Fair point." Priya laughs. "But remember what happened the last time you wore them out drinking?"

"Yes." My eyes shift to the floor. I knew she would bring this up. "They fell in the toilet," I whisper.

"And why did they fall into the toilet?" Priya probes.

"Because I was puking," I mutter begrudgingly.

Priya fed me four shots of tequila in the span of an hour, what did she expect? I didn't start drinking until I came to New York. My friends in Trenton weren't really the partying type. Our weekends consisted of bowling and going to the local diner. It was the same mundane activities year after year, and when I got to college, I was hit with the realization that I never learned how to hold my liquor. At all.

"That's right!" Priya claps her hands. "So, to avoid having to fish them out again while we're both relatively obliterated, perhaps...contacts?"

"Perhaps," I scowl at her as I walk to my dresser. "You'll have to remind me to take them out before we go to sleep, ok? I have a feeling I might forget."

Priya pulls out a piece of lined paper from a notebook and writes a message on it before placing it on my pillow. TAKE OUT YOUR CONTACTS - PAST POPPY.

"Nice," I laugh. "Let's hope future Poppy can read at the end of the night."

"You'll be fine!" Priya sits down on my bed as I begin to unpack my bag. "How was work, by the way? Any progress with the twins?"

"They're trying really hard but I don't think science is their forté." I sigh. "The parents aren't helping either; I heard their mom call them stupid right before our session started. I can't imagine how detrimental that is to their mental health."

Priya frowns. "Well, you've got a few more weeks before final exams. Don't give up just yet."

"Oh, I'm not giving up. These girls will pass. I am hell-bent on proving their mother wrong. I think it's so messed up how she has such little faith in her kids." I exhale slowly. "It really makes me grateful that my parents have always been super supportive."

I miss my family. I would've stayed in Pennsylvania for school, but when you're offered a partial scholarship, you take it. Unfortunately, moving to New York meant leaving everyone I love behind, mom, dad, nana, and my older sister Daisy. I hope Daisy is still going to all her therapy sessions. The last time I talked to my mom she said she wanted to quit.

Even though I miss my family dearly, I miss Gabriel even more. I wonder what he's doing. Maybe I'll call him later.

"Well, they're lucky they have someone who believes in them." Priya hugs me as she notices my mood slipping. Her eyes widen with an idea. "Let me do your make-up! We can use that Anastasia palette I got you for your birthday."

I mentally shut the door on Gabe and pull out a makeup bag from my nightstand, hesitantly passing it to Priya. "Ok, but nothing too dark!"

Priya rolls her eyes. "Sweetie, your eyes are so blue that anything will be dark."

"Just don't make me look like Jenny from Gossip Girl again. That was a rough day."

"You did kind of look like a raccoon," Priya laughs as she pulls out various application tools. "Don't worry. Today we're going for a Marilyn vibe.

I roll my eyes. "Happy birthday, Mr. President."

Priya chuckles. "That's Madame President to you!"

After the glamourization is complete, Priya lets me borrow a shirt to wear. I can't believe her white lace crop top even fits me, seeing as she's several cup sizes larger but with these high-waisted black jeans, it somehow works.

We both stand in front of the mirror. "We look so hot!" Priya exclaims as she spins around in her red sequin tube dress and black pointy heels.

I shake my head. "We look like hookers."

Priya defied me by doing a smokey eye and curling my hair into large ringlets. I look ridiculous, like a life-size Bratz doll.

Priya rolls her eyes. "Educated, high-end hookers."

"Oh, well as long as we're high-end, then that's ok." I sigh as I grab my purse and keys.

"Wait!" Priya runs over to her desk and pulls out a bottle of Fireball from her drawer. "One shot for the road."

After pouring us both a shot, we hold our mugs in the air. "Happy birthday, Priya!"

"Cheers!" We down the thick cinnamon liquor.

"Alright, now let's go catfish some boys!"