The Tutor Read Online Free PDF Page A

ball, low to high, low to high as Erich repeated over and over until she wanted to scream, and hit a nice backhand crosscourt. Kyla hit it back, one of those deep shots of hers that was mostly a lob, not hit hard, just getting it back. Ruby hit another backhand crosscourt, maybe even better than the one before. Kyla lobbed it back. Ruby tried hitting the next one to Kyla’s forehand. Kyla lobbed it back. Ruby went to Kyla’s forehand a couple more times. Lob, lob. Then the backhand again. Lob. Three more times. Lob, lob, lob. Thrice—was that a word? A nice one, maybe even a great one. Ruby had a word list where she ranked all—
    She hit the next shot into the net. She must have because there it was,
bouncy bouncy,
on her side. Game, set, match. They went to the net, shook hands.
    “Nice game.”
    “Nice game.”
    Erich came over with a bottle of Gatorade, the blue kind that Ruby liked best. “Here you go, champ,” he said, handing it to Kyla, but with his Swiss accent or whatever it sounded just like
chump
, so Ruby started feeling better almost right away. “See everyone here next Monday,” Erich said.
    “Effryone will be here,” said Ruby, very quietly.
    “What was that, Ruby?”
    Maybe not quietly enough. She gave him a winning smile. “Thanks for the lesson.”
    “Oh. You are most welcome.”
    Velcome, velcome, effreyone’s velcome.
Ruby zipped her racket into its cover. Four men with knee braces, arm braces, hairy arms, loud voices, came onto the court.
    “Get the court good and warm for us, kids?” said one of them.
    “Don’t burn your feet,” Ruby said.
    Kyla laughed; she had a funny little laugh that Ruby liked.
    They went into the lobby. Ruby drank from the fountain, hardly getting up on her tiptoes at all. Someone had left gum in there.
    “Your mom called, Ruby,” said the lady at the desk. “She’s going to be a little late.”
    Ruby sat on a bench by the vending machine, checked in her backpack. Had she remembered
The Complete Sherlock Holmes
? No. Did she have any money left over from lunch, just sixty-five cents for M&M’s? No. She gazed at the M&M’s row through the glass of the vending machine, noticed that the lead pack was half hanging over the edge. Then, without quite being aware of it, she was on her feet, facing the machine. Maybe just a little nudge, completely accidental, like so—
    “Ruby?”
    She whipped around. Kyla, by the front door.
    “My dad says we can give you a ride home.”
    Ruby heard a thud behind her, but soft.

    M r. Gudukas had a nice car, all soft leather in the back where Ruby and Kyla sat. Alone in front, he glanced at Ruby in the mirror.
    “Where do you live, exactly?” he said.
    Ruby told him.
    “You’re Scott Gardner’s kid, right?”
    “Yeah.”
    “He and I go way back.”
    Ruby picked out a red one and a green one, passed the M&M’s to Kyla.
    “He hit a pretty good ball back when. Played for UConn, wasn’t it?”
    “Yeah,” said Ruby. She had the green one on the right side of her mouth, red on the left, like a ship. They tasted very, very good.
Just shippin’ M&M’s, baby.
    “This your street?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Nice.”
    So if he wasn’t sure Dad went to UConn, they only went so far back, Dr. Watson.
    “Don’t let me go past it.”
    “Next one,” Ruby said.
    Mr. Gudukas parked on the street. An empty Budweiser can rolled out from under the seat in front of Ruby.
    “Very nice,” said Mr. Gudukas, looking at the house. He twisted around and smiled at her, but all she really saw was his mustache, so weird. Mustaches were saying something. Whatever it was, Ruby didn’t want to hear.
    “How long you been living here?” he said.
    “Since before I was born,” Ruby said, opening the door.
    “That conservation land out back?”
    “Yeah,” said Ruby, getting out. It was cold.
    “How many bedrooms?”
    “Four,” Ruby said. Mom and Dad’s, Brandon’s, hers, the empty one at the end of the hall and up those little stairs.