“Just one, maybe two. There’s four people in our group total so you wouldn’t be meeting one of them if Riley is there.” Jasper packed his books and papers in his backpack. He obviously didn’t care if any of his papers got crinkled or ripped.
“If you’re sure, then I’d love to have dinner at your place.” He smiled back. Seeing as Jasper lived with just his roommate, Isaac figured he knew how to cook to some extent. The best he could do was sandwiches though.
“I’m sure. Oh, and Riley might be there too. She’s part of my little ‘group’.” It was a group that helped save people, but he hadn’t told anyone that part yet.
Jasper dog-eared his page and leaned forward. “Any other questions you need help with or do you get the gist?”
“I see, sounds like a decent arrangement for you both.” He was a little concerned that Jasper’s roommate didn’t put anything towards rent though.
“Yeah, other than dinner later and some more studying there isn’t much I have planned for the evening. Are you sure he won’t mind me dropping in like this?”
Jasper managed to pay most of the rent on his own. Those were the only expenses he had to worry about. No more food to worry about, Caspar takes care of that.
“I’m sure my roommate wouldn’t mind you staying over for dinner. He’s really nice, I promise he won’t mind.”
“Really?” Isaac figured Jasper would have liked some money to just save, case in ever needed a little extra cash for an emergency. He never though Jasper would be interested in spending him money frivolities, but building up some savings was something he probably should do.
Hearing about his roommate put Isaac at ease. “That’s great! I’m glad you have a home and a roommate now! I’d love to meet him sometime.”
Jasper had a job, he had enough money. He couldn’t say the same for his roommate with thousands of dollars in debt... Jasper didn’t want any money for extra comfort he didn’t need.
“A stable home at least. I pay off most of the rent so Caspar can pay off his college loans. You should come over after we’re done. I’d suspect you don’t have anything much to do at home--”
“You sure? You’re taking time out of your day to help me. Time is money after all.” It was a phrase repeated around his house a lot, with his father running around for meetings and juggling paperwork, while his mother constantly was trying to squeeze in as many patients as she could see in a single day. Though if Jasper only wanted snacks, then Isaac could do that.
The phone call caught Isaac’s attention. He hadn’t know Jasper had a phone.
“No, it’s fine.” He replied. “Was that a classmate or something?” He could barely make out a deep voice from the phone, but didn’t catch what was said.
Jasper sat back in his chair and watched Isaac work on the current problem. “Time is money, but money isn’t everything. I can survive without some stuff that extra money would give me. But I’m not paying for an apartment every day like I used to.”
“That guy was Caspar. He goes to a local University and lives in a house. I live with him now and help pay rent. He gets mad if I tell much about him without him knowing. You should come over and meet him sometime.”
Isaac was feeling a little more confident now, but the harder questions still made him uneasy. It took a while for him to do each question since he made sure to show his work properly. He didn’t want to risk losing marks by not showing his work, and if he made a mistake somewhere it’d be easier to find if it was on paper.
“Yeah, Wednesdays would be fine. I don’t have anything going on then either. Want me to bring you snacks, as payment for the tutoring? Or would you prefer cash?” He offered, knowing that money was tight for Jasper.
“I don’t want a payment for the tutoring, that’s typically why it’s on a volunteer-basis. Snacks are always nice though... Unless it’s too much to ask for.” Jasper couldn’t accept cash unless he earned it. Tutoring isn’t exactly a good way to “earn” money. The only way he can get money is by working at his usual job.
Suddenly a upbeat song can be heard. Jasper takes a phone out of his pocket and answers it.
“Jasper, where are you? Riley said you had a meeting today.” A deep voice said on the other line.
“No...? Not today. Meetings are always on Sundays.”
“Okay. I’ll tell her to go home or have her hang out for a bit. When are you coming home?”
“When I feel like it. I’m helping a friend out with math right now.”
“Just be back before midnight this time.”
“Okay...” Jasper hangs up and stuffs his phone into a pocket. “Sorry.”
Isaac carefully watches what Jasper does and then starts working on the problem once the sheet is handed over to him. “So…like this?” He asked, plugging in the information his friend told him to. Isaac then holds out the notebook for Jasper to check over.
He then tried a few more similar problems before asking Jasper to help him with the more difficult stuff. Hopefully a few study sessions with him would help bring his B- up to an A.
Jasper watches, making sure that he goes step by step to the to the answer. It wasn’t that complicated of a process. it just took a very long time to complete. Jasper would often get away with skipping some steps in order to get to the answer faster. The teacher never criticized him or took points off, so there was no point not to do it if it worked.
He willingly helped out while Flower kept silent in the back of his head. Flower didn’t understand numbers as well as Jasper did but he was fascinated by them. “Wanna make this a regular thing? We can meet here every Wednesday. That’s the most convenient day for me since I don’t work and I don’t have to report to my group.”
