Seeking tutoring (Tag: Dulce) on Library

Delilah Kerrigan

April 13, 2011 4:38 PM

Seeking tutoring (Tag: Dulce) by Delilah Kerrigan

The holidays had been a mixture of good tidings and bad cheer. She had gotten everything she had asked for and more. Her little brother, Max, was as cute as ever and getting so big! Even Juri had been in good spirits, which was surprising given his ever-changing mood swings. Boys. She just didn’t understand them at all. It was just made worse by the visit to her grandmother’s for Christmas Eve dinner. She had harped on Delilah’s prospects for marriage. It was absolutely embarrassing. She went on about how Cassie and Veronica were on the right track, but where were her potential suitors?

In fairness, it was a good question. It wasn’t like she couldn’t ask Veronica for help. Her sister had finding a match down to a fine art. She had explained the system to her once and Delilah still couldn’t wrap her mind around it, but she knew that if she did ask Veronica, she would ensure her the best possible match. She just wasn’t sure that she wanted to though she knew that she should. But wasn’t there supposed to be more to whom you would spend the rest of your life with than a chart? She couldn’t help looking at Marla and her dad and how happy they were. She knew that her grandmother didn’t approve of Juri’s mom, because she was a muggle, but really was it so bad? What was really the big deal about having magic anyhow? It couldn’t cure her of her feelings.

The Pecari glanced nervously around the library. It was a place that she often avoided for one reason or another, but she could no longer. That had been another downside to the break. Her father had asked her about her grades and though she was trying, she really was, she couldn’t seem to do well. It was like she understood the material when the professor was talking about the subject, yet when it came to doing the work, she was an utter failure. If things continued as they were, she would never manage to pass this year. She didn’t understand it. Veronica and Cassie, even her stepbrother, were all Aladrens and here she was unable even to pass the basic subjects. Even if she did allow Veronica to find her a match, what guy that was interested in blood purity would be interested in a witch that couldn’t perform magic properly?

So, no matter how she looked at it, she was going to have to be able to perform magic. She would need to know magic if she allowed Veronica to fix her up, which was becoming more of a possibility. Okay, she could probably find a guy without her sister’s help. She could find one that didn’t care about family lineage or one that didn’t even possess magic at all, but would she really be happy and if she wasn’t going to be happy, then why shouldn’t she just make everyone else happy, which meant finding a proper suitor, one her grandmother would approve of. It would be better than what would happen if she told her family how she felt. She knew her grandmother and Veronica wouldn’t approve and she was scared that the rest of her family wouldn’t either. She was already enough of a disappointment without this too.

Delilah sighed and held tightly onto her bag, as she made her way into the library. She needed to get her academic life on track and to do that she was going to have to ask for help. She was less than thrilled about the fact, because it would be admitting to someone that she was probably the dumbest person in the class. And given that it was probably going to be her, she would obviously find out and then what would she think? Oh, Delilah knew that she shouldn’t care. She had to stop caring, but it was hard. She wanted to impress her, though she knew she shouldn’t try. Merlin, she really was stupid. She ripped out the barrette that she had put in her hair. What had she been thinking by trying to fix herself up? She was even wearing lip-gloss!

The brunette wiped her hand over her mouth to get rid of any shininess before she finally ventured over to where tutoring had been advertised. “Hi, I don’t know if you’re still offering tutoring or not, but if you are, I need some help.”

0 Delilah Kerrigan Seeking tutoring (Tag: Dulce) 158 Delilah Kerrigan 1 5

Dulce

April 14, 2011 10:09 PM

here as a Tutor for you. by Dulce

Dulce’s holiday vacation hadn’t been much different than it had been in the years previous. Like last year, Charlie had come to visit Adelita so Dulce had spent much of the time in the music room at home practicing. She had already mastered the guitar after only beginning to play it the summer before. Her teacher was always blown away by Dulce’s range when it came to musical instruments, but Dulce to watch someone play something, hear it, and be able to play it back. She didn’t know why she was capable of it, but it was what it was. That also probably helped her through her school work. Saw it once and had it down without a problem.

Which is why she was currently here in the library, sitting alone at a table with a book in her lap reading lazily as she waited to pass the time. So far she had only one person to request her help. Sophie was different. Crazy and energetic. Her issues with Transfiguration were rather common, but Dulce had hoped that by starting out with the basics of the basics, she’ll be able to conquer the more difficult transfigurations at a must easier and faster pace than some of her classmates. Dulce didn’t agree with how the Transfiguration professor was currently teaching the Beginners. How would anyone learn to do well if they weren’t provided the proper tools? She can only hope that her guidance would be enough for Sophie to take control of her own transfigurations.

Although she had not had any other students ask for help, Dulce still diligently went to the library every day at the hours she had posted and waited patiently. She occupied her time by reading books that she supposed were what others would call ‘entertaining’ but she considered hogwash. Why would anyone waste their time with these things? Love stories. Fantasy novels. Fairytales. Etc. The only ones that Dulce found any sort of use for were detective novels. For whatever reason, those entertained her, even if she figured out who the bad guy was within the first couple of chapters.

It took her a moment to realize that Delilah was standing before her. Dulce’s eye flickered from the pages of the book to Delilah’s face. Dulce’s features never changed from the look of a blank stare she had when reading to seeing her fellow classmate in front of her. Always indifference. Closing her book, Dulce put it aside and gave Delilah her full attention. Trying to be ‘normal’, Dulce smiled at the girl. Her mother said smiling always put people at ease. “Yes, I still am.” Dulce informed her. “What sort of help do you need, Delilah?” Dulce knew little of the girl, but she was at least willing to do what she could to help her. “I have top marks in all our classes, so I can tutor you in whatever you need. Unless they are electives. I’m not taking any of those, but I’ll do what I can to help with those too.”

0 Dulce here as a Tutor for you. 0 Dulce 0 5

Delilah

April 26, 2011 5:50 PM

Just what I needed. by Delilah

For a moment all Delilah could do is stare at Dulce. She had never seen the girl smile before. It was slightly mesmerizing. It was like a candle had just been lit, as her whole face seemed to just light up. Blinking a few times, she pulled herself back to the present. She didn’t need to pay attention to Dulce’s smile or the fact that she wanted to see it again and again. No, she had to concentrate on the reason she had come about tutoring. She needed help with her studies and no amount of work on her own had really helped her grades.

Delilah threw her bag onto the table before slumping down into the chair across from the other girl. She laid her head on her hand, as she began pouring out her problems, “I need help with everything. I’m only taking the basic courses, but I can’t seem to do any of them. It’s terrible cause I think I’ll understand the material, yet when I get to actually doing the work, I can’t seem to do it. I’m willing to work really hard if you’ll help me. I just don’t want to fail.” She would be a laughing stock if that happened. It would be absolutely embarrassing to watch her family and friends move on into the next years while she was still stuck in the same one.

Reaching into her bag, she pulled out her Transfiguration textbook. “I guess this is probably the one I’m having the most trouble with. This and Potions. Potions is very challenging. Professor Fawcett seems to expect a lot, but I’m guessing you don’t have any trouble with it. You always seem like you can handle anything.” Delilah bit her lip to keep from continuing with a ramble of compliments. Dulce always seemed to her to be someone to be admired. The wandering thought of why the other girl didn’t have boys following her around walked through and Delilah quickly dismissed it. Nothing concerning Dulce beyond academics was really her business. The girl probably had someone back home anyhow.

“I don’t even know what to expect when it comes to Transfiguration half the time,” Delilah confessed. “Professor Crosby just seems to pop up random things. So, I don’t know how much we should concentrate on it. It might be better if I can do better in other classes and maybe only do badly in that one, but I do want to improve in all my classes. Though, if we spend too much time on it, then I won’t be able to do well in the others.” The Pecari paused. She was definitely doing all the talking and really she shouldn’t be. “Sorry. I should just let you do your thing since you’re the tutor.”

0 Delilah Just what I needed. 0 Delilah 0 5

Dulce

April 28, 2011 7:25 PM

Glad to be of service by Dulce

Delilah didn’t say anything at first, but only stared at Dulce. Had she done or said something wrong? She didn’t think she had. She was pretty sure she just spoke everything that she had rehearsed in the past to whoever wanted or needed a tutor. But then the whatever had passed over Delilah was gone and the girl was slamming her bag down on the table. Dulce was rather happy that her own bag was on the chair beside her and her book had been in her lap. Otherwise, she might have been a bit annoyed if Delilah had dropped her bag onto her things.

Dulce focused on what Delilah was telling her. The girl could ramble. Seriously. Dulce now understood why the girl was in Pecari. It was pretty easy to figure out Demelza and Starbuck. But Delilah and Nina were different. Nina definitely. The girl never spoke. Dulce would have pegged her more for Teppenpaw because of her demeanor. Delilah had in the first couple of years seemed very Pecari (or what Dulce felt was Pecari) but in the last couple of years, she seemed less exuberant than she had in the past and Dulce figured it was probably just the changes that have happened between her and her friends and maybe family (she heard enough about Juri’s sordid life from Lita to know a brief description of it).

An eyebrow went up when Delilah complimented her on her abilities in Potions. Dulce said nothing though. She was right. Potions wasn’t terribly hard for her, but she at least could understand why it was difficult for others. At least, to some respect. Most of the lessons were just following directions in a book. The biggest issue was that people didn’t read them in greater detail and often missed a step or misunderstood a step and that’s where it all went wrong. Dulce was too thorough for that, which is why she did well in it. Well with most everything really. Except with people. She didn’t have enough of an understanding of them to know how to interact with them.

“I think everyone feels the same way about Crosby.” Dulce commented after Delilah had finished speaking. Dulce didn’t understand why complaints hadn’t been met by the Headmaster, she was sure that parents had been complaining, but nothing had changed. At this point, Dulce only had headaches from it, but dealt with it just the same. There wasn’t much else she could do about it. “First thing first, though.” Dulce said to her. “I need to know specifically what you have trouble with. Is it the practical part of the lessons, the writing part of the lessons, or both? From there, we can set up a plan on how to help you.”

0 Dulce Glad to be of service 0 Dulce 0 5

Delilah

May 03, 2011 8:14 PM

Wish I could be. by Delilah

What did she need help with? Delilah had to think for a moment on exactly what she needed help with. In every class, it always seemed to be the same thing. “Well…” she started. She really hated to seem dumb in front of Dulce, but she needed the help more and if the girl was going to judge her, she was going to judge her. There was nothing she could do about that. “When the professor explains the material, it makes sense, but then when I go to perform the spell or do assignments, I always do poorly. So, I guess, both? Maybe I’m just not understanding the material.” Just because she thought she did, didn’t mean she actually did.

Maybe that would explain her fascination with Dulce. Maybe she just thought she liked girls, because she didn’t understand boys. Boys were completely foreign to her. Maybe she would like them if she understood them better. Maybe if she did let Veronica fix her up, she would begin to like boys just like she should. Though, her gaze lingered a little on Dulce. Boys didn’t have hair like Dulce. Most girls didn’t either in her opinion. It was long and shiny. She wondered if it was as soft as it looked. She darted her brown eyes away from the other girl. She really shouldn’t be thinking such things. She was here to learn, to get her grades up.

“Like when we started doing inanimate to animate transfigurations. I think I understand the theory. Actually, I did get the whole lesson on desk to raven okay. I mean not as quickly as anyone in Aladren, but I did get it. I did poorly on all the essays and tests though.” She couldn’t help sighing when she thought of her last essay and how bad the grade had been. “Maybe we can start with a review of some of the things that we learned last term and go from there? Unless, you think it would be better to start with the material from this term. I don’t know. Maybe we shouldn’t do Potions right now since she’s always so far off the wall. We could start with Potions instead. More matter of fact stuff and all. Or maybe you could just access me and see where you think I need help?”

Delilah twirled a strand of brown hair around her finger. Talking. It’s all she could seem to do when she got nervous and right now she was about as anxious as anyone could get. She was waiting for the other girl to laugh at her or say that she couldn’t be helped. Perhaps, it was true. Maybe she would never be able to do anything professionally. She would have to get married and depend on some guy to take care of her like her grandmother and sister thought she should do. Maybe this was all a waste. Maybe she was just wasting the other girl’s time and should go now. Sigh. It was all so confusing. She wanted to go, but she wanted to stay and none of it seemed to be helping her with her schoolwork.

0 Delilah Wish I could be. 0 Delilah 0 5

Dulce

May 04, 2011 9:25 PM

You're giving me something to do. by Dulce

As Delilah began to explain everything to Dulce, Dulce took notes. She wrote everything down that Delilah said (although in a less frenzied manner). Dulce liked to keep records of everything so that as they continued on with the tutoring, she would have a timeline of the progress that was made or if there was even any progress at all. If they weren’t having any success with the strategic plan that they two of them would eventually come to terms with, then the plan would have to be revised. She didn’t want to waste too much time on a method if it was clearly not going to work.

For whatever reason, Delilah seemed really on edge about all of this. Dulce didn’t understand why. It wasn’t like Delilah needed to prove anything to her and the girl had taken a huge step for even having asked for help to begin with. Dulce had an understanding with anxiety that one may face when they need to ask for help or admit to something. She had never experienced it herself, but she had seen others time and again and she had read plenty of books. She may not have sympathy or empathy of it considering how much her emotional experience lacked, but she could respect and understand it.

Dulce let out a quiet laugh when Delilah ran out of steam, “Relax Delilah,” she commented, waving a hand slightly to try to calm the girl down. “It’s better to know what is harder for you so that we can make it easier in the long run.” She explained. Dulce read over her notes, picking up some commonalities in what Delilah had said. “It seems that you aren’t too bad with the practical. Everyone usually has a hard time learning the spells because being capable of controlling your magic at this age is ridiculously hard, but that’s something we learn with time and patience.” Dulce knew that she sounded like an old person, but what she spoke was as true as she could be in this situation.

“It’s the written part that seems to be your biggest downfall. I can look into making some practice exams for you and we can do the homework questions together and see if maybe it’s the phrasing of the questions that has you tripped up or if it’s the actually material itself that you aren’t understanding.” Dulce wrote some more notes to make sure she had covered all of it. “How much time do you have in your schedule to work on this material?” Dulce asked her. Dulce didn’t have much going on in her life. When she wasn’t in class, Dulce was playing music. But, she was mainly playing just to have something to do. She only enjoyed it when she felt she had something to say with it.

“My schedule is pretty open, so we can do a couple hours a day to get you where you need to be and cover all of your lessons.”

0 Dulce You're giving me something to do. 0 Dulce 0 5