3 - Extra Credit

The next Monday was different. Elizabeth's personality the week before had been all bubbly energy, but during class on Monday it looked to Mr. Riggs like someone or something had popped all of her bubbles. She looked a bit deflated, and resembled much more closely the girl of two weeks ago. She hardly talked to any of her new friends, who seemed puzzled by her sudden with drawl and downcast mood.

She stayed behind after class again, fidgeting nervously and glancing up at Mr. Riggs whenever she thought he was looking the other way. Mr. Riggs studiously ignored her, curious as to what she would do. He concentrated on wiping his board clean, then tidying up his desk. He heard Elizabeth sigh miserably behind him, then she picked up her backpack and shuffled out the door. He turned to watch as she made her slow way across his windows, contemplating her. She must have run through her little supply of the powder he'd given her, he thought. He had given her enough to last until Tuesday or Wednesday of this week, but it looked like she had already begun upping her dosage a bit. He wasn't surprised by this. He was, in fact, quite pleased with how events were developing.

If Elizabeth had looked a little deflated on Monday, by Tuesday she looked positively wilted. She drooped in her chair, head down on her arms, and appeared practically unconscious. She'd roused a little when Mr. Riggs had called on her, but hadn't seemed to understand his question, only mumbling a feeble excuse instead of an answer, before again cradling her head in her arms. He was completely unsurprised to see her remain behind again after class.

Mr. Riggs watched as Elizabeth plodded slowly up to his desk, her head down and hands clutched together. She stopped in front of him, swaying a little on her feet, then spoke.

"Umm, Mr. Riggs? You know that powder you gave me, the pep powder? I, uh.. I don't suppose that you would let me have a little more, would you. Um, please?" she asked. She didn't seem willing to look at him while she spoke, and her hands were working nervously, twisting and pulling at each other.

"Already, Elizabeth? I'm certain I gave you a two week supply of it. You shouldn't need more until next Monday, at the soonest." Mr. Riggs replied, allowing a small frown to cross his features. Elizabeth actually seemed to flinch a little when he said "next Monday".

"I, uh.. I actually ran out on Sunday. I thought that I wouldn't need any more, you know? I thought that maybe the powder had, uh, cured me or something." Elizabeth said, glancing up at Mr. Riggs' guiltily. "But I guess I do need it still. I think I actually feel worse now than I did before."

"Well, I don't know, Elizabeth. While your schoolwork has improved, I'm still worried about your chances of passing this class. You've got a lot of ground to catch up on, unfortunately. If you want me to give you more pep powder, you're going to have to do something in return for me." said Mr. Riggs, his tone grave.

Elizabeth was obviously confused by what was, it seemed to her, the sudden switch in topic. She was so focused on getting more pep powder that it seemed she had completely forgotten the reason it had been given to her in the first place: to improve her school work. Her muddled mind eventually caught up with thread of logic behind Mr. Riggs's request, however.

"Er, what, ah.. what do you want me to do?" she asked, hesitantly.

"Two things. First, I want you to stay after school several times a week for the rest of the semester, so you can work on some extra credit assignments here, with me." Mr. Riggs said, motioning to the classroom around them.

Elizabeth looked almost comically relieved when she heard his first condition, which amused Mr. Riggs greatly, although he didn't let it show. He briefly wondered just what she had been imagining he would ask her to do.

"Second, I want you to limit your intake of the pep powder to just the amount I specify, alright? It's sort of like coffee, Elizabeth. If you drink too much of it, it will stop working for you very well." he finished.

Elizabeth had begun nodding frantically even before Mr. Riggs had finished his second request.

"Okay, Mr. Riggs. I can do that, no problem." she answered, obviously eager to please and just as obviously thrilled that she was going to get more powder.

"Okay, then. Do you have the bottle I gave you still?" Mr. Riggs asked.

"Yeah! Yeah, I've got it right here, Mr. Riggs." Elizabeth blurted eagerly, fumbling at her backpack for a moment before producing the bottle and almost shoving it into Mr. Riggs' hands.

"Okay, just give me a moment, Elizabeth." he said, placing the bottle on his desk with one hand and pulling his keys out of his pocket with the other. He went into the back room briefly, then returned with the large bottle of pep powder.

He sat back down at his desk, then opened up both bottles. He glanced into the small bottle for a moment, curiously. It was completely empty, not a speck of powder remained inside of it, as if it had been rinsed or even licked clean. Hiding his amusement, he carefully scooped powder from the large bottle into his student's small bottle. Her reaction, half relief, half disappointment, as he finished and recapped both bottles threatened to crack the neutral expression he was struggling to maintain.

"Thank you, Mr. Riggs. But, um.. isn't that less than last time?" Elizabeth asked, a slightly plaintive note in her voice.

"It's enough for one week, if you only use the amount I told you to use. Just one quarter tablespoon, right?" he replied.

"Er, right.. Okay, Mr. Riggs, thank you." she replied, clearly unsatisfied but seemingly unwilling to push the issue.

Elizabeth didn't quite snatch the bottle out of his grasp, but it was close. She clutched the bottle tightly in both hands as she hurriedly made her way towards the exit.

"Elizabeth." Mr. Riggs called, just as she was about to leave the classroom. "Your backpack. Don't forget it."

Sheepishly, Elizabeth returned to Mr. Riggs' desk, slung her pack over one shoulder, then turned to leave again when Mr. Riggs' voice stopped her once more.

"Tomorrow afternoon will be your first extra credit session. Make sure you don't forget, please." he said.

Elizabeth glanced back over her shoulder at Mr. Riggs, nodded a quick acknowledgement, then darted out of the room, nearly sprinting, clearly in a hurry.