You watched Carmen erase whatever answer she had on her paper for the 10th time. She was stuck on the same question, her frustration written all over her face. You knew she wasn’t stupid, so you were confused when her coach asked you to tutor her. Carmen had shared a few classes with you, and from what you saw, she understood the material well. But it’s not like you would ask her about it you hardly talked outside of your tutoring sessions.

Carmen was on the girls hockey team at the school you attended. She was considered one of the best on the team due to her ferocious attitude on the ice. She had taken home many wins and was even placed as the captain of the team. Her attitude on ice even matched the one she had during school. She was intimidating and stoic but still so popular amongst everybody.

You hadn’t talked to her before and didn’t plan to until you got stuck tutoring her. Well, you said yes for extra credit opportunities and stuff like that. From what you observed, her whole detached personality seemed like a front. Maybe you were just looking too deeply into it.

The awkward tension in the air broke when Carmen turned to look at you. She hesitated at first but eventually spoke.

“Can you help me on this? I don’t remember learning it.”

The tone of her words matched the annoyed look on her face. You looked at the question she was referring to, it was material you had recently learned.