At 3 pm, Jason walked out of his math class and walked toward the library eager to see Kendra. Things were starting to look up for him. He had got his focus back in the classroom and on the field, and he found the confidence to pursue and get the girl he's been watching for a while. He opened the door to the library and took a seat at a table. He saw a few students starting to work on group projects, a few students sitting by themselves reading, and a group of girls giggling and taking pictures together causing the school librarian to give them an annoyed glance. Jason had rarely used the library throughout his years at Mount Rainier, preferring to study at home.

He watched the door, eagerly and patiently waiting for Kendra to walk through.

He decided to play a game on his phone to calm himself. He was still a tad-bit nervous when he was around her. He thought about what Reese said earlier today, and he knew his cousins Colton and Evan would tell him to grow a pair and ask her out. He was making steps but decided to go at a pace he was comfortable with, still not knowing if she was feelin' him the same way.

He looked up from his phone and saw Kendra walk through the door. She was looking around to see if she could spot him. He stood up and waved her over. Her heart raced as she made eye contact with him. She smiled and walked in his direction.

She gave herself a pep talk in her head, reminding herself that she was not going to run and avoid him anymore. She got to the table and pulled out the chair, and sat down.

"Hi" she smiled.

"Hey" He smiled back, sitting forward and folding his hands.

"Thank you so much for helping me out. You have been such a lifesaver for me since school started. I don't know how I could ever repay you." She said genuinely.

I have something in mind. Jason thought to himself.

"Its no big deal. I like to help people as much as I can." He said.

She smiled. "Thats good."

He smiled back as a brief silence fell between them.

"So what do you need help on" Jason asked.

Kendra opened her physics textbook to the chapter on Electricity and Magnetism and showed him the type of questions she was having a hard time with:

Calculate the magnitude of the electric field at a point that is located 15cm directly north of a point charge, Q=−15.0∗10-⁶C

k=9∗10⁹(m²N/C²)

"So basically you use the formula E equals K times Q divided by R squared to find the magnitude of an electric field due to a single point charge. K is Coloumb's constant which is this whole formula here." He pointed at it on the page. She nodded.

"So first let's write that out." Jason said.

Kendra began writing it down.

"Q is the charge. So where the Q is, write out negative 15 times ten to the negative sixth power. So that goes on top. " He continued to explain.

Kendra wrote, paying close attention to what he was explaining.

"Q which is the charge, will get divided by R squared. R is the distance between the points, 15 centimeters, but first you have to convert it to meters by dividing it by 100." He explained.

"Ok so it's 0.15 meters". She said.

"Right, now put that in the equation, where R is 0.15 meters squared. "

"Wow this is gonna be complicated to solve" she sighed.

"Don't worry, you got this" He encouraged her.

She solved it using her handy dandy scientific calculator and got the right answer.

"Good job" He smiled.

He continued to help her out with more questions. She realized that being focused on the questions eased her anxiety around him even though she was still worried about looking dumb.

It was 4:30 and she decided she would give Jason a break.

"Thank you. We can stop now if you want, so we can get home by 5. I don't wanna keep you out too late. Plus the activity bus will be here soon" she said.

"Ok. I can take you home." He offered.

"You will probably get home around 6 riding that. I remember those days." He chuckled.

" Yea, that's true. Since you offered, I'll catch a ride with you" She smiled.

"Ok"

They headed out of the library as other students stole a few glances at them, and the school librarian peered at them over her glasses. Jason held the door open for her as she walked out.

As they walked down the outdoor hall, Kendra felt nervous, feeling like all eyes were on them. She tried to avoid making eye contact with any of the students hanging out in the halls. She wondered if Jason felt like he was being watched too. He looked pretty calm from what she could see, like he didn't have a care in the world. She once again wished she could be that type of person..cool, calm, and collected. She needed to stop worrying about what people thought.

The walk to the senior parking lot, though actually short, seemed like it took forever. As they walked, she stole glances at him admiring his tall stature, strong back, and his muscular, toned arms. She felt a sensation in a place she had never felt anything before. She quickly looked away from him. She walked next to him, trying not to make it obvious she was nervous about walking the halls with a white boy. Not just any white boy, but Jason, who could not be missed in a crowd.

Finally, they turned the corner for the senior parking lot and headed to his car, the infamous classic black Chevy that saved the day that night at the movies. He opened his door and reached over to manually unlock her door. She got inside. Memories of that night came back to her mind, when she sat in the passenger side and conversed with him as Alicia Keys confessed every word she wished she could tell him.

She turned on her GPS to guide them to her house. Her house was about 30 minutes from the school. She survived an hour and a half with him. She should be ok for the next 30 minutes, being completely alone with him, right? She would have to be.

"Wanna listen to music?" He asked.

"Huh? Oh it doesn't matter."

" What you in the mood for? J.Cole, Kendrick Lamar...Tupac. " He smiled.

"J Cole" she responded.

He went to the Pandora app and started the J.Cole station. J.Cole's Power Trip played from his built-in stereo system.

"Thats cool you got a stereo system built in". She complimented.

"Yea, I installed it myself. I love classic cars but there's a lot of convenient features missing. So I just had to customize it to my liking."

"Is there anything you can't do?" She chuckled, impressed by his talent and handiness.

He silently laughed and then licked his lips before looking at her briefly.

"Yea, there's alot I can't do." He admitted.

"Like what" she asked.

Stop thinking about you. He thought to himself.

"Dance. I mean, most white people can't anyway" He joked, shrugging his shoulders.

Kendra laughed. "That is not nice. There are white people who can dance pretty good."

"Well, I'm not one of them." He chuckled.

"Well, you have to let other people be the judge of that. I wanna see." she smiled.

" You will never see that. I will never see that." He laughed.

"I'm sure you're not that bad."

"Hmm..Speaking of dancing, are you excited to perform Friday? ".

"Uhh...yes and no. I'm really nervous to be honest but I have to fake it till I make it. Nervousness won't help me in the long run". She said, really to herself more than anyone.

Hmm. Practice what you preach. She thought to herself.

"I'm sure you will do good. You're a great dancer."

"Thank you...but how do you know?" She genuinely wondered, wearing a quizzical expression on her face. He had never seen her dance before, at least she thought.

Dang! I said too much. He thought.

He saw her dance during the summer when the dancers, the band, and football team began practicing, and also at the summer pep rally. She had no idea that he knew she existed long before their friends ever introduced them.

"Uh..well, you wouldn't have made the team if you weren't" He said coming up with a quick comeback.

She faced the road as she said "thank you" giving Jason a chance to let out a silent breath.

"Are you ready for the game? I heard you guys are playing the Roosevelt Vikings" She asked.

"Yea, we're gettin' ready. They're undefeated. Coach Reynolds remind us about that every day" he shook his head.

"Oh gosh" she rolled her eyes. " What position do you play".

"Wide receiver"

"What are you supposed to do"

"When the quarterback throws the ball I'm supposed to catch it and run as far as I can to try to make a touch down. When the other team has the ball I have to block the defensive players on that team" he explained.

"Oh ok that makes sense. I can't wait to see you guys play. I'll be cheering from the sidelines." She smiled.

"Thanks, we need all the support we can get".

They continued to talk about various things like what careers they wanted to pursue in the future and what colleges they were thinking about applying to. They both took notice of how easy the conversation flowed between them. He was nothing like Eric. He was not condescending and never gave her the vibe that he was making fun of anything she said. He was humble and down-to-earth, easy to talk to.

They finally made it to her house.

"We're here" she smiled. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome."

She startled to fumble through her purse, pulling out keys. Then she started searching again for something as Jason watched her.

"Please don't offer me gas money" He chuckled.

She slumped her shoulders. "But you've gone out of your way to help me with Physics and take me home. You don't have to do any of that...you know what?" She shook her index finger. " I'm gonna find some kind of way to repay you". She said determined.

He smirked. "Why can't you just accept it all and not think you have to repay me?" He asked.

She paused. That was a good question, she thought. Why was she almost uncomfortable with him being nice and doing things for her. To be honest, she was like that with almost everyone except her mom and stepdad. It was hard for her to just freely receive without thinking she had to immediately repay someone for their kindness.

After a brief pause, she smiled. "I don't know, I'm just used to people wanting you to do something for them if they do something for you"

"Yea, I get it. Just know, I'm not expecting money or anything in return from you."

She nodded.

That was partly true. He did want something. He wanted her. He felt a tinge of guilt because he offered to tutor her not just because he wanted to help her, but also as a means to spend more time with her and to build some type of relationship up before he did ask her out. Why couldn't he just go for it and ask her out? What if down the line she realizes the tutoring and being nice to her was all part of his plan to make her his girlfriend? But was that so bad? Wouldn't knowing that he put so much effort into pursuing her make her feel wanted and special? He didn't know how she would feel when she found out. Here he was overthinking... again.

"Do you want my number?" He asked.

The question took her by surprise as she felt butterflies in her stomach.

"You know in case you have any questions that pop up or need help with homework or somethin'?" He explained.

He was slick.

"Yeah, sure" she smiled. She took out her phone. He gave her his number, and she saved it.

"Thank you. Good night" she smiled.

"No problem. Good night"

He was hoping she would offer her number but she didnt.

After saying good night to eachother, she got out of the car and walked to her door. He waited for her to get inside safely. She opened the door, stepping inside and turning to close it, but not before her eyes locked with his. They looked at each other, trying to read what the other was thinking... and saying in their facial expression. Jason wondered if she knew what he was thinking. Kendra wondered if he knew what she was thinking. If only they knew what each other were truly thinking, it would blow their minds.

Despite not getting her number, Jason drove home, feeling accomplished that he was making progress in his pursuit of her.