That night

That night, I call Sarah like I usually do.

She answers with a smile.

“Hey.”

“Hey. How was your day?”

We talk for a few minutes about the usual stuff before she asks about school.

“How are your classes going?”

“Pretty good, actually. Except for that one I told you about.”

“The one you’re worried about?”

“Yeah. But I think I might have found a way to turn it around.”

Sarah smiles.

“Really? What happened?”

“I started going to tutoring.”

“That’s great!”

“Yeah. Doug told me about the tutoring center. I met with a tutor today.”

“See? I told you you’d figure something out.”

I smile.

“Yeah. She’s really good.”

Sarah pauses for a second.

“She?”

“Yeah. My tutor’s a girl.”

Sarah doesn’t even react beyond a casual smile.

“Oh, okay.”

There’s no suspicion in her voice. No hesitation.

Just complete trust.

“What’s her name?” she asks.

“Lauren.”

“Well, tell Lauren I said thanks for helping you pass.”

I laugh.

“I will.”

Sarah starts talking about how relieved she is that I’m getting help instead of letting the class overwhelm me.

“You’ve worked too hard to let one class mess up your last year.”

“I know.”

“And I’m proud of you for actually doing something about it.”

That makes me smile.

“Thanks.”

She looks at me through the screen.

“Seriously, Ethan. I’m glad you’re settling in and figuring everything out.”

I nod.

“Me too.”

We keep talking for a while longer, eventually moving on to other things.

Sarah never questions Lauren.

She simply trusts me.

Because Sarah has no reason to worry.

And I don’t want to give her one.