Brooke looked at her watched and let out a silent curse when she entered the library. She was late and she hated being late. Her days just seemed to get worse and worse. She'd rather be anywhere but in the library. Only she didn't have a choice. So taking a deep breath, she decided to make the best of the situation.
The library was virtually empty, save for a few upperclassmen that Brooke knew passing via Marley Jacobs. She scanned the room looking for an unfamiliar face. At least she hoped it was unfamiliar because she was pretty sure that she didn't know an...Isabelle Jameson.
Her eyes found a girl with short reddish brown hair and glasses. Her head was bent and she was scribbling on a pad. Brooke assumed that this was Isabelle. She walked up to the table and cleared her throat. When the girl looked up, Brooke flashed her best "Brooke McQueen smile."
Izzy looks up at the throat clearing, also jumping slightly in her seat. She does her best not to be visibly dazzled by the smile, but also looks thoroughly confused. This was not the girl from the hallway. And what was with the full name thing?
"You're Brooke McQueen?" Her tone isn't rude, just... highly surprised. And confused.
She recovers after a moment, blushing at actually having said that out loud. She quickly shakes the offered hand. "I... uh... sorry. I mean. It's nice to meet you. And please, it's Izzy." She is clearly embarassed, as well as still nervous.
Brooke was taken aback by the girl's reaction. She wasn't used to people reacting to her name that way. Most of Kennedy's populace knew her just from word of mouth. This girl was definitely new.
"It's nice to meet you too...Izzy." Brooke's smile was once again firmly in place. This girl seemed nice enough she guessed. She set her books down on the table and then took a seat next to the girl. "Which subject would you like to start with first? Principal Hall said you needed help in math and history." Brooke met the girl's eyes for a moment before turning back to her books.
Izzy still seems a bit thrown by Brooke being... well, Brooke. Not to mention Brooke being nice. This did not fit things at all.
She reluctantly sets aside her sketchbook, resigning herself to the humiliation that was being tutored. Still, a small, shy smile appears in response to Brooke's. Her reluctance and embarassment comes through in her tone, though. "Geography and biology too, I'm afraid." She only meets Brooke's eyes briefly, before they drop back to her lap, then her books. "And any subject, I guess. Uh... biology?"
Brooke looked at the girl and finally saw that the girl was uncomfortable. Brooke could only imagine that it wasn't easy to have someone else know that you were academic probabtion, especially a complete stranger. She could barely stand it when her father asked her questions about school and he was her father.
"We can start with biology if you want." Brooke offered the girl what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "Do you have Miss Glass too?"
Small talk always put her at ease. She hoped it did the same for Izzy.
A flicker of a smile in response to Brooke's, though her eyes still won't stay on the other girl for more than a moment or two. Instead, she reaches for her biology text.
Brooke chuckled at the other girl's description. "Different is an interesting choice of words."
She reached over and grabbed her biology book, knocking Izzy's sketchpad on the floor. "Oh, I'm sorry..." she said as she reached down and picked up the pad. She went to hand the sketches back to the other girl, but a few drawings caught her eye. "Did...you...draw these?"
Her lips quirk upward. "Well, she is otherwise... indescribable."
As she sees the sketchbook fall, she makes an awkward attempt at a dive from her chair to rescue it. She rights herself when she sees Brooke is bending down to get it, not really wanting to fall out of her chair. Brooke would see a variety of sketches: some whimsical, some right out of fairy tales, some darker, more akin to a Brother's Grimm tale - all of them are good, though.
She reaches to accept the book, a bit thrown when the motion is stopped. A shy nod. "Yes..."
"They're really good..."Brooke said, slightly in awe. Not too many people her age had talent like that. She flipped through a few of the drawings, the fairy tale ones catching her eye and then handed them back.
She glanced at watch again. They really needed to get to work. "Right, so in biology, we're studying frog dissection."
A light blush colours her cheeks at the compliment, for a brief moment smiling fully, if still self-consciously. "Thanks..." Despite her obvious pleasure at the praise, she seems relieved to have the book back when it is handed to her. She cradles it for a brief moment before closing it and putting it more toward the centre of the table, where there is no danger of it being knocked off again.
She seems to deflate slightly as the attention is turned back to biology. "Right." Her gaze returns to her textbook. "Though that's mostly, uh... hands on, really."
She bites back the temptation to be snarky, not really wanting to take out her misery at this whole situation on the girl who was being kind enough to be... well,kind. "How about... uh... history?"
Brooke lifted her history book and pulled out her blue history note book. She opened the notebook, flipping through notes (which are really organized and almost perfectly written out in great detail) Then she opened her textbook and turned to the unit they'd started on Monday.
"Okay, so we started with Columbus' struggle to get funding for his voyage. He appealed to several royal courts and only Spain seemed interested..." Brooke skimmed her notes trying to find other points of interest.
"So he was determined to find a new route to India and ended up going the wrong way and that brings us to how he ended up at America. Well more acurately Central America." She paused and her expression grew pensive. "You know, that always bothered me. People keep saying he discovered America, when really he discovered Central America, and never set foot on modern day North America."
She saw the girl look at her in confusion. She smiled sheepishly and ducked her head.
Izzy also gets out her history notebook and opens it. Her notes are neat, surprsingly, with appropriate amounts of detail and also organized. Of course, they're also filled with doodles and sketches.
Still, she listens intently, pencil moving to fill in any notes she might have missed, or misunderstood.
Her head quirks to the side slightly at the mention of it being Central America, eyebrows rising every so slightly, not having known that. Her interest actually grows, though, rather than wanes at the slight tangent.
"Well, perhaps they meant the Americas? I mean, Central America is still part of them, obviously, even if it isn't North America itself."
A warmer smile, this time her turn to be reassuring "Why are you apologizing? This is interesting. Besides, I've always liked history."
The library was virtually empty, save for a few upperclassmen that Brooke knew passing via Marley Jacobs. She scanned the room looking for an unfamiliar face. At least she hoped it was unfamiliar because she was pretty sure that she didn't know an...Isabelle Jameson.
Her eyes found a girl with short reddish brown hair and glasses. Her head was bent and she was scribbling on a pad. Brooke assumed that this was Isabelle. She walked up to the table and cleared her throat. When the girl looked up, Brooke flashed her best "Brooke McQueen smile."
"Hi, are you Isabelle Jameson?"
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"Uh... yes?"
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Brooke held her hand out to the girl. "Hi, Isabelle...I'm Brooke McQueen...your, um, tutor."
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She recovers after a moment, blushing at actually having said that out loud. She quickly shakes the offered hand. "I... uh... sorry. I mean. It's nice to meet you. And please, it's Izzy." She is clearly embarassed, as well as still nervous.
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"It's nice to meet you too...Izzy." Brooke's smile was once again firmly in place. This girl seemed nice enough she guessed. She set her books down on the table and then took a seat next to the girl. "Which subject would you like to start with first? Principal Hall said you needed help in math and history." Brooke met the girl's eyes for a moment before turning back to her books.
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She reluctantly sets aside her sketchbook, resigning herself to the humiliation that was being tutored. Still, a small, shy smile appears in response to Brooke's. Her reluctance and embarassment comes through in her tone, though. "Geography and biology too, I'm afraid." She only meets Brooke's eyes briefly, before they drop back to her lap, then her books. "And any subject, I guess. Uh... biology?"
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"We can start with biology if you want." Brooke offered the girl what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "Do you have Miss Glass too?"
Small talk always put her at ease. She hoped it did the same for Izzy.
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"I do. She's... uh... different."
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She reached over and grabbed her biology book, knocking Izzy's sketchpad on the floor. "Oh, I'm sorry..." she said as she reached down and picked up the pad. She went to hand the sketches back to the other girl, but a few drawings caught her eye. "Did...you...draw these?"
Reply
As she sees the sketchbook fall, she makes an awkward attempt at a dive from her chair to rescue it. She rights herself when she sees Brooke is bending down to get it, not really wanting to fall out of her chair. Brooke would see a variety of sketches: some whimsical, some right out of fairy tales, some darker, more akin to a Brother's Grimm tale - all of them are good, though.
She reaches to accept the book, a bit thrown when the motion is stopped. A shy nod. "Yes..."
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She glanced at watch again. They really needed to get to work. "Right, so in biology, we're studying frog dissection."
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She seems to deflate slightly as the attention is turned back to biology. "Right." Her gaze returns to her textbook. "Though that's mostly, uh... hands on, really."
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"Okay, so we started with Columbus' struggle to get funding for his voyage. He appealed to several royal courts and only Spain seemed interested..." Brooke skimmed her notes trying to find other points of interest.
"So he was determined to find a new route to India and ended up going the wrong way and that brings us to how he ended up at America. Well more acurately Central America." She paused and her expression grew pensive. "You know, that always bothered me. People keep saying he discovered America, when really he discovered Central America, and never set foot on modern day North America."
She saw the girl look at her in confusion. She smiled sheepishly and ducked her head.
"Sorry, history is one of my favorite subjects."
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Still, she listens intently, pencil moving to fill in any notes she might have missed, or misunderstood.
Her head quirks to the side slightly at the mention of it being Central America, eyebrows rising every so slightly, not having known that. Her interest actually grows, though, rather than wanes at the slight tangent.
"Well, perhaps they meant the Americas? I mean, Central America is still part of them, obviously, even if it isn't North America itself."
A warmer smile, this time her turn to be reassuring "Why are you apologizing? This is interesting. Besides, I've always liked history."
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