His Scarred Love

Chapter 9 - [English Class]

I walked into my English class and was surprised by how quiet it was. Mr. Alton, who was leaning against his desk, looked up at me. “You are late, Nathan.”

“Sorry… I had to deal with something.”

Mr. Alton nodded and smiled. “Alright, take out your copy of Othello. We’re going to spend the first half of the period reading.”

I nodded and walked to my seat.

After the first half of class we discussed the meanings of certain quotes in the book. The only reason why I found this even close to interesting was because it was funny to hear what other people thought about certain quotes. Usually, it was something dirty and Mr. Alton would always be cool with everyone’s opinions. Mr. Alton’s classes were always fun. He made everything fun, including Shakespeare.

When class was over, Mr. Alton called me over to his desk. “Nathan, can I speak to you?”

I walked towards him. “Yeah… what’s up?”

He looked at a piece of paper and then at me. “I talked to your mum this morning.” He said.

I groaned. “What did I do this time?”

Mr. Alton laughed. “Nate, teachers don’t always talk to their students parents about bad things.”

I looked at him, confused. “So you were talking about something… good?”

Mr. Alton handed me a piece of paper. “It’s your essay.”

I took the paper from him and saw on the top, written in red ink, ‘92%’. My mouth fell open. “Ninety-two percent!” I yelled as I looked back up at Mr. Alton. A ninety-two from Alton? That’s crazy! That’s even unimaginable for me.

He nodded. “I was very impressed, Nathan.”

I stared at him and then thought of Nikita. This was all thanks to her.

“I noticed that you’ve been spending a lot of time with Nikita… is she tutoring you?” He asked.

I nodded. “Yeah… All my marks have been going up after she started tutoring me.”

Mr. Alton nodded too. “As much as I know she played a part in this… I want you to know that I really wouldn’t call this a… well, an improvement.”

“What?!” I yelled. “I got a fifty-three on my last essay!”

He shook his head. “That’s because you didn’t try. I knew all along that you were capable of writing something like this, but I also knew that you never tried.”

I thought for a moment. “But a ninety-two?”

“I think Nikita helped you boost it up to a ninety-two… but I always thought you were a level four student, Nate. When I look at your in class commentaries, I can see it. And even in that essay you got a fifty-three on. I remember reading that introduction of yours. It was very well written… of course, it needed work here and there, but it was great nonetheless. And then I think you got lazy…”

I chuckled. “Yeah… I did.”

Mr. Alton got up from his desk and walked over to me, putting his hand on my shoulder. “I’m really, really happy to be seeing your marks rise, Nate. And this change in attitude… and style as well.”

I smiled.

“And especially since you’re changing it all now. Next year, your marks are extremely important. You’ll need them to get into a good University or College.” He smiled at me. “I see you going far Nate. I want to see you keep up the excellent work.”

I nodded. “Thanks, Mr. Alton.”

“Alright, I’ll see you later… and I hope you’re excited to go home. You’re parents might have something nice to say to you today.” He winked.

I grinned and started to walk to the door. I stopped there and then turned around. “Thanks again, sir.”

Mr. Alton nodded. “Anytime.”

I never really thought I could like a teacher this much… but Mr. Alton had just proved me wrong.

I ran through the halls until I spotted Nikita walking out of the girls’ bathroom. “Nikita!” I called.

She turned around and smiled at me. “Hey Nate!”

“Look at this!” I half yelled as I threw the essay into her hands.

She looked at it carefully and a grin broke out on her face. “Well done!”

“And Mr. Alton called my parents to tell them that I’m doing well!”

She laughed. “Someone’s really happy!”

“I am!” I grinned. “Holy crap, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a ninety-two percent before!” I looked at her. “And it’s all thanks to you!”

She smiled. “Nathan, all I did was edit this, like grammar mistakes and stuff. You wrote the essay! It’s not thanks to me, it’s thanks to you!”

I shook my head. “Well, whether I wrote it or not, you’re the one that made me want to try.”

Nikita smiled. “But you’re the one who decided to try!”

I frowned at her. “Stop making me look good.”

She shook her head. “You are good.”

“No I’m not.”

“Yes you are.”

I raised an eyebrow at her and let out a small laugh. “Nikita, I don’t think you know me well enough to say whether I’m good or not.”

She shrugged. “I know you well enough to know that you’ve changed. In a good way. You’re different from the day I first met you.”

I hesitated. “Not really…”

“Why not?” She asked and then smiled. “I’m proud of you… you know, Jen’s been telling me not to trust you and she told me that you’re just messing around. I know, she’s one of my best friends and I should really listen to her… but you proved her wrong.”

My heart tightened. Too bad Jen’s right…

“You two! Bells rang a while ago! Get to class!” The hall monitor yelled.

I frowned at the hall monitor. “Alright, I’ll see you later then.”

She smiled and nodded.

When I got home, Mr. Alton was right. My mom was going on and on about the fact that she was so proud of me and my dad was smiling the whole afternoon, saying that maybe his hard work will end up paying off. My sister looked happier than usual, probably just because for once, everyone in the house was happy with each other.

It was a good evening… but for some reason, I wasn’t very happy.

I sat on my bed and sighed.

Nikita was the only girl who has every really cared about me. I knew she was serious when she said she was proud of me, I could see it on her face.

But then I remembered what else I could see on her face… that scar…

I felt a lump in my throat as I thought of how much she was helping me. How much she wanted me to do well… and all I did for her was ruin her life. I blinded her in one eye and destroyed her chances of living a normal life.

What could I do to repay her? To show her that I was sorry, without making her find out that I was the one who kicked the stupid ball.

I got up and stared at my cell phone. After a short moment of thinking, I picked it up and dialled Nikita’s number.

She answered after the first ring. “Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Nate.”

She giggled and my heart jumped. “Yeah, I know. What’s up? Do you need help with something?”

I hesitated. “Remember that ‘one condition’?”