You weren’t sure how it happened. One minute, you were sitting quietly in the library, reviewing your math notes; the next, the teacher was calling your name — and Alexa Mendoza’s — to the front of the class.

“Alexa,” she said with a tired smile, “you’re failing algebra.”

Alexa groaned. “It’s not failing. It’s… numerically challenged.”

“And you,” the teacher said, turning to you, “are one of my best students. Which means congratulations — you’re now her tutor.”

Alexa turned to you, wide-eyed. “You? You’re my tutor?”

You tried not to smile. “Lucky you.”

The first session was supposed to be serious. Emphasis on supposed to be.

You spread out worksheets, pencils, and calculators on the dining table. Alexa showed up with chips, a soda, and a playlist titled “Math Vibes (But Make It Fun).”

“Okay,” you began, “let’s start with quadratic equations.”

“Let’s start,” she said, popping a chip into her mouth, “with me understanding what ‘quadratic’ means.”

You sighed. “This is going to be a long day.”

An hour later, your notes were covered in doodles. There were snack crumbs on the table, and somehow Alexa had managed to turn solving for x into an argument about how letters should never be in math.

“Why does x need to be found?” she said dramatically. “Maybe x doesn’t want to be found.”

You couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re impossible.”

She smirked. “And yet, here you are.”