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(Also I love the references to Duolingo!) . Iris nodded at his explanation. That basically matched what the headmaster had said, though she hadn't known about his mother... She forced herself to stay on topic. Normally that wasn't hard for her, so it unnerved her a little that she was losing focus. She looked up to see Caden gazing at her. She felt a color rise to her cheeks, and looked back down at the table to hide it. . "So, are you more comfortable with speaking, reading, or writing English?" Iris asked, hoping to distract herself from the way he had been looking at her. When she glanced up again, she saw that his gaze was averted, and breathed a sigh of relief. . She figured he wouldn't favor writing, since English was probably one of the hardest languages to learn, especially the writing aspect. She remembered how quickly it had taken her to get into spanish, and how much simpler it was. 'Stop being distant, you're a tutor and should be paying attention!' . Iris shook her head a little to clear the thoughts and focused on the task at hand again. If he preferred reading, that would be best, since they could just read books aloud. But she hoped she could work with whatever he needed. |
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(lol decided to add smth real quick about it xD) "Uh... reading would be most easy." Caden guessed, all three of them difficult to him either way. He noticed her looking back at him for a moment, her gaze bouncing away almost immediately. Had he done something wrong? Or worse, did he not put on deodorant? He hoped he had...otherwise that'd be real bad. ~ * ~ The young man focused back in on the session, crossing his tanned and tatted arms and leaning back slightly in the sturdy, light blue plastic chair he was currently seated in. Caden made sure he had cash money in the middle pocket of his wallet stashed in the back pocket of his jeans, where he kept most things. A red lanyard slithered out of his pocket, his key ring attatched to the silver clip. He heard the faint sound of the keys dropping to the floor, Caden leaning to grab the bunch and shove them back into his pocket where they usually rested. He grit his teeth lightly, one thing he always did while idling to simply stay still and quiet instead of moving around and jittering. |
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(I don't use it but like everyone I know does, so it's quite hilarious XD Great idea) . Iris nodded, glad she knew where to start at least. "Okay, I think we should start by reading a few kid's books." She motioned her hand at a pile of 'I Can Read!' books. "I know they're childish, but we have to start somewhere. Go ahead and pick one." . Iris felt foolish herself, making him read kid's books, but it was the best place to begin. They brought back childhood memories of hers, reading them for hours every day in their old backyard, or in her cozy bed. She forced herself back to the present again and saw Caden drop his keys and retrieve them, smiling a little. . "Oh, if you ever don't know what I'm saying let me know, I will try to explain it in Russian." she added, just trying to make him feel comfortable. She adjusted her seat so they could both see the book he chose. |
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Caden listened carefully, piecing together her words and nodding when she told him to grab one. He knew what 'child' meant but not 'childish', so maybe acting like one? He was unsure as he reached and grabbed one of the books, reading the title of it in his mind. "I think this will do," He murmured, grinning as she said she could try to make him more comfortable with speaking Russian if she had too. "Really?"
Caden asked curiously, honestly impressed that she knew well, any of the language. ~ * ~ The books brought back memories as he flipped to the first page, remembering how back home half the time he couldn't check any either because they'd get torn to shreds or his father would try to burn them to keep his family warm in the winter. He didn't miss the winters, the never ending, blinding blizzards and bone chilling cold. It had shaken him until he just went numb, becoming still all over before eventually warming up again. ~ * ~ The man realized he had zoned out, focusing back in. |
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Iris nodded at his choice, a Dr. Seuss book, and looked over his shoulder as he began to read. She prompted him when he hesitated at a word and helped with the ones that were hard to pronounce. . By the end of the session, Caden seemed more confident, and Iris more comfortable. They had read the first book and two others from different authors, and she had only needed to resort to speaking in Russian a few times. She surprised herself with how many words she remembered. . Iris smiled at him as Caden set the final book back on the table. "You did great today! For homework, I'd like you to take this and finish the first lesson." She handed him a packet of papers that said, in Russian, 'A beginner's guide to English: Chapter 3'. . Iris stood, brushing off her jeans. "The next session is tomorrow, same time and place." She placed a hand on Caden's shoulder, then immediately removed it, cheeks growing hot. "S-sorry. Don't know why I did that," the mumbled, lowering her head and stepping away from him. She began gathering her things, acutely aware of his presence in the room, and her still flushed face. . 'Gosh, Iris, what's wrong with you today? First you keep getting distracted, and now you're touching him? Get yourself together!' She chastised, fumbling with her pencil case. It fell to the floor, pencils rolling out. She sighed in frustration and began picking them up and putting them back in the bag. |
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Caden nodded, gratefully accepting the packet and setting them in his bag before he felt her hand land on his shoulder. He looked back at her, hearing her apology and realizing she'd done it seemingly automatically. "It's fine," The man murmured, standing right as she dropped her pencils. He kneeled back down, handing her the last of them and his hand barely grazing hers. He hadn't noticed, just handed them off, said a goodbye, and left. Caden saw some of his friends the moment he'd walked out the door, the whole group laughing and joking in Russian as they made their way back to crusty dorm assigned to them. ~ * ~ He flopped down on his bed when he got there, scrolling through the media before eventually putting it up and looking at the packet she'd given him. Wowzers....okay. It was a decent difficulty for his first lesson, a few words he'd never heard and a few he remembered from the day's lesson. After a while he finished, grabbing his things and heading to go shower. ~ * ~ Caden had learned the day he moved in that the shower head was made for a short person. Caden was in fact, not short. So after a minute of beefing with the shower head he eventually came out, drying off and slipping into a sweatshirt and shorts. He decided to go for a drive, grabbing his keys--wait, where were his keys?! He looked everywhere, finding them not. Eventually he looked in his jeans, grabbing them and slipping out into the cool fall breeze. The man walked out to his cherry red c8 Corvette, one he'd had for years since he had refused to buy another since it was perfect even though he had the money to do so. Caden drove around for a few hours, mainly exploring the town. |
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Iris saw him helping out of the corner of her eye and would have thanked him, but was feeling way too awkward after what had just happened. When he handed over the pencils he'd collected, she felt his fingers brush hers, which made her cheeks flare again. Caden didn't seem to notice, and she was glad. . She breathed a sigh of relief after he left, face draining back to it's regular shade. She finished packing her things in her heavy backpack and tidied up the room until she was satisfied with it's appearance. She shut off the light and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her. The school's halls were much quieter at this time, and only the people with extra classes at the end of the day were still there, roaming the halls. . Iris headed out a pair of huge doors and into the little courtyard that seperated the classrooms from the dorms, and entered the female dorm building. She had wanted to just go home every night after school, it was only about a ten minute drive, but the headmaster had insisted that she have a room. So she had obliged. She was sharing a room with a girl who was the literal opposite of Iris. She came to school because her parents made her, didn't care about good grades or working hard, and spent all her free time hanging out with her friends. Iris steered clear of her as much as possible. . She made her way up the stairs, past bunches of girls gossiping and laughing, and opened her room door with her little keycard. She flipped on the lights and set her backpack next to her desk, sitting down in the revolving chair. She got to work on her math homework, half of which she had finished at lunch, but needed to complete it before it was due tomorrow in first period. . Iris found her mind wandering, random English and Russian words popping up in her head at random times. Eventually she couldn't stand the distraction and went down to the courtyard to get some fresh air to clear her mind. She sat on one of the many benches, looking up at the rapidly-darkening sky. |
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Caden came back a while later, parking the c8 in the designated spot and heading back up to his room to wait on his friends. Brandon, Max, and Dmitri came up a while later, the group all heading out to go walk around campus. ~ * ~ A short while later, they made their way into the courtyard where he spotted Iris, calling out. "Iris!" He yelled, waving at the woman. ~ * ~ Max looked at Caden, who offered a glare. "Nope." He muttered, Max nodding and waiting on her response. |
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Iris thought she had figured it out. She'd been so worried when she accidentally touched him that he might get mad, so she had gotten nervous. Either that or she was just embarassed to touch him. Either way, she thought it wouldn't happen again and that she could be natural around him. He seemed nice and she hoped they could be friends. . Iris was just standing to go back to her room and finish her math when she heard someone call her name. From the accent of the words, she knew it was Caden, and turned to see him and three of his friends standing a few meters away. She thought about her options about what to do for a few moments, before waving back. She walked up to the group and smiled at Caden. She was relieved to notice that all of her past awkwardness was no longer there. . "Hello Caden." She didn't know if his friends spoke English or not, but decided to play it safe. "Privet, druz'ya Caden's." (Hello, Caden's friends. Used google translate LOL) She nodded at them politely, hoping her accent wasn't atrocious. |
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His friends all shared a grin when she called out to them in Russian, chatting as Caden and Iris talked. "Hey, what you up to?"
He asked, knowing it probably sounded choppy. The man looked down at the page she was holding and cringed at it ; math. Yuck. Caden struggled at it, barely even understanding what his professor was saying half the time. ~ * ~ Max chuckled at what the girl said, her accent obvious. -Great, another one? Poor Caden, she'll probably fall for him quicker than I can walk and he'll never know. How fun. How fun.- "She'll probably be like all the other ones, and he'll never know, per usual." Max whispered to Brandon, Brandon chuckling and telling it to Dmitri--him also chuckling untill all three of them were laughing. ~ * ~ Caden looked back at the sound of laughing and chuckled, seeing his friends were all looking at Dmitri's phone who was probably showing them a funny TikTok or reel. He looked back at Iris, his eyes doing that thing where he seemed to take in every detail of the person in the golden hour lighting. ~ * ~ Dmitri was laughing and realized they needed a cover, grabbing his phone and muttering that they needed to act like he was showing them a video. "Trust me, it'll be obvious and he'll never know since he's a wimp and never asks." Max whispered, the three erupting in laughter. ~ * ~ "Sorry about my friends, they're a big group of jokers."
Caden mused, gesturing back at the group as they continued laughing and glancing over at him before going back to whispering. |
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Warming, with Sleet and Heavy Icing
