She was my tutor
and I
was a terror.

I would not listen.
I would not behave.
I would not explain why I,
a perfectly adequate math student,
would avoid the assignments
and instead seek to wrestle
my instructor.

I mean,
I understand.
She was a few years older
and hot
in that unobtainable way
a high school junior is
to an eighth grader
not entirely in charge
of his hormones.
I can explain in retrospect
why I was picking fights
that consistently got physical
with this chesty chick
but at the time
I just knew
the thing I wanted to be learning
was less about algebra
and more about biology.

I ended up
getting into the high school of my choice
but not getting involved
with any girls
for any number of years to come.