Pete… No was it Pat? Oh, now Brooke understood, the embellishment on the desk read 'Pot'! Letting out a small snort of laughter at the idiocy of the tagger Brooke hurriedly straightened up and became silent as the teacher, Mr Holliston glared at her.

"Was there something that you wanted to share with the class Miss Davis?" He questioned. Brooke shook her head quickly and blushed as everyone's attention turned to her.

"Well in that case, please continue answering the test question on the Napoleonic Wars, I certainly find nothing amusing in it!"

Ducking her head and scribbling hurriedly Brooke focused back on the task at hand. How could she be so silly as to let the world history teacher catch her daydreaming in a test when she needed to pass it to pass the subject? Unfortunately for freshman, Brooke Davis, history was not her strong point and she had been advised, only last week, by her guidance counsellor that she was currently sitting on an F and needed to get herself straightened out by the end of the term.

"Come on, Brooke, think." She advised herself silently and turned her mind back to Napoleon and his famous battle against an English Duke called Wellington. The question, however (In which country did the Battle of Waterloo take place?) was proving illusive in her memory so she took a wild guess at France.

Twenty-eight questions later Brooke couldn't confidently say that she was sure of any of the answers she had written down and dubiously handed her sheet into the teacher.

Two hours later while she was half-heartedly conjugating the verb devoir into its subjunctive form (it was one of those horrible irregular ones she knew, but she just wasn't sure what the irregularity was!) she heard Madame le Jeune call out her name (well actually what she called out sounded more like Bruuuk-leen as she insisted on calling her by her full name (Brooklyn)) and she stuck up her head inquiringly. The teacher told her to take her bag with her as a staff member needed her. Slowly Brooke rose and picked up her hall pass. As she had expected the classroom 123 was listed by the name Mr Holliston. Had she done so badly in the exam that she was going to be kicked out of school?

When she knocked on the door and was told to enter she was surprised to see that her history teacher was not alone. Sitting in a front row desk, chatting animatedly with him was another student (one of the male variety) who was obviously not a freshman. His sandy blonde hair stood up at the back and he worn jeans fit perfectly in all the necessary areas.

"You called for me Mr Holliston?" She asked.

"Ah yes, Miss Davis, thank you for arriving so promptly I'm sorry for detaining you from your French lesson but I'm afraid this is urgent, well in my books anyway."

Brooke nodded her head and sat a little across from the boy. As he turned his head to look at her, she recognized him immediately, Lucas Scott; co-captain of the basketball team along with his twin brother Nathan, amazingly good-looking and from the gossip she'd heard, intelligent to boot. The other impressive fact was that he was a senior. She, Brooke Davis, was sitting in a room with one of the most popular male seniors in the entire school!

"So, Miss Davis, I assume you've realised what I've called you here for?" Mr Holliston's voice blared in her ears and she snapped out of her reverie.

"Umm… no, not really." She answered, hoping it wasn't to do with her test results but knowing that it was. Lucas was now subtly smirking, his perfectly kissable lips turning up their edges in a knee weakening way. Brooke had to once again draw herself back to the present as the teacher's voice sounded.

"Surely, Miss Davis, you must know why you're here, I know Ms Smyth met with you last week to discuss you history grade?"

Reddening slightly Brooke acknowledged this fact with a small nod while wondering why the ever so present Master Scott was part of this meeting? Was he perhaps failing the dreaded subject as well? But no that couldn't be right, he was the one who had been voted most likely to named Valedictorian in the gossip halls since the start of the year, two weeks previously.

Well she'd soon find out.

"I gave you one last chance Brooke, hoping this latest test might provoke you to take on board some of the facts I have been teaching you and your fellow classmates over the past week, but to no avail. Had you even known that Napoleon died in exile on the island of St. Helena not St. Barts or that the Prussians were on the side of the English not the French then I might have had some faith in you, but unfortunately you didn't!"

By this point, Brooke could see out of the corner of her eye, Lucas, with a hand pressed over his mouth, trying to stop himself laughing but failing miserably. Brooke felt, if possible, even more embarrassed and wanted to sink into the ground.

"But..." Continued Mr Holliston, " this is only the beginning of your freshman year of high school and I believe that you will be able to pass with good marks if you actually work. As you seem to be incapable of doing this on your own, I have enlisted the help of one of our senior students; Mr Scott, who is one of Tree Hill High's top students in History and English. As a tutor he has agreed to help you and I suggest you take him up on his offer!"

Brooke knew that Mr Holliston's statement hadn't been a question and simply nodded her head while looking at the floor. She hated the fact the she was so appalling at history. She really shouldn't be as she had travelled the world with her parents as a child. That was part of her problem as she had had a bad grounding in the way of learning to work. Brooke also suspected that her constant moving as a child had led to her becoming something of an introvert. It wasn't that she didn't like talking (she did, a lot!) it was just that she found it hard to start conversations with new people; a fear that some difference in her to them, would lead them to believe her to be odd.

"Great," Answered Mr Holliston, "I suggest you two hop on back to class and arrange a time for your first session. I expect it to be this week!"

With that the two students walked out of class, Brooke hardly believing her good fortune to be walking next to Lucas Scott! How could she learn from him; she'd be tongue tied the whole time!

Lucas however, didn't seem to have any of the same qualms. "Don't worry about old Holliston!" He reassured. "He'll make sure you pass and if he doesn't I will!"

Brooke glanced up at him and saw the smirk that still adorned his handsome face. She wanted to say something witty or funny but at that moment nothing came to mind so she simply nodded her head again timidly. "It's ok," He tried to reassure her, "I don't bite!" and as an afterthought, "Unless you ask nicely!"

At this comment Brooke turned such a bright scarlet that she resembled a raspberry and turned her head towards the ground. Lucas, upon seeing this actually burst out laughing!

"Don't worry Baby," he murmured, "Your innocence is kind of cute!"

If Brooke had ever regained the power of speech, this last comment certainly made it vanish. He'd called her cute! True, it wasn't as if he was actually calling her cute, only her innocence but still, and baby! Then Brooke berated herself for thinking too much on it. He was the sort of guy who probably called all girls he knew (which were a lot!) cute.

"So, we need to set a time and place?" She questioned.

"Ahh!" Gasped Lucas in fake surprise, "I see you do actually have the power of speech!"

"Of course!" Answered Brooke, gaining confidence, "I just don't always choose to use it!"

"What a shame!" Lucas smirked, "So time, place? Well, I have study hall fifth period, how about you?"

"I'm a freshman Lucas." Replied Brooke, relishing the use of his name. "I don't get any study periods."

"Oh that's right, I remember," Sighed Lucas, "That blows! Straight after school I have basketball practice so it'll be pain for you to have to wait around then so maybe…"

"Oh no," Brooke interrupted, "I have cheerleading practice so that would be fine!"

"Really, you're a cheerleader?"

"You sound surprised!"

"I don't doubt your skill, only your… cheeriness!"

This last comment left Brooke unable to think of a reply. Chuckling, Lucas announced, "So when practice is finished sounds good then, meet you afterwards in the gym?"

"Yeah, ok." Answered Brooke as he came to a stop outside her French classroom. "I'll see you later then."

"Sure thing, see later Chick." He replied, winking at her before walking off down the hallway.

Thirty seconds later Brooke had to shake herself out of her daydream. He'd called her Chick, first Baby then Chick! This was turning out to be her best day yet at high school. Quietly opening the door and slipping back into her classroom she returned to her seat with a smile adorning her face.

Her new friend Peyton nudged her elbow as Madame le Jeune still droned on and on about the subjunctive form.

"What's with the Cheshire cat face?" She questioned. Brooke replied with a puzzled frown.

"Oh you know, Alice in Wonderland, the cat that grins all day long?"

"Oh yeah," replied Brooke, "Nothing much really, I just had to go and see Holliston because I did really badly on the test and he's making me have tutoring."

"And you're smiling why?" Asked Peyton.

"Well, Lucas is my tutor!"

"Oh my god, you mean Lucas Scott the senior, co-captain of the basketball team and general hottie?"

"The very same," Replied Brooke, the grin still etched across her face. "It turns out he's a tutor in English and History so he's intelligent to boot!"

"And you actually had the courage to talk to him?" Peyton questioned, sceptically.

"Well..." Stuttered Brooke, "Sort of, I mean, yeah kind of…"

"I bet he loved it!" Laughed Peyton, "You know you're a little freshman in his eyes."

"Yeah, he said that my innocence was cute." Repeated Brooke choosing to leave out the use of baby and chick. Those words meant a lot to her but she suspected that Peyton would simply tell her that Lucas would call all girls those names (a fact she'd already realised but didn't want to admit to herself just yet).

"Awww… little Brookie!" Joked Peyton, smiling. "Well I guess it's a good way to get you to want to go to your tutoring sessions. I'm sure other girls will start failing History or English in the hopes of getting Mr Scott as their tutor too!"

"Ha, ha!" Responded Brooke and they hurriedly turned back to their verbs as Madame le Jeune glared at them.