“Yeah.” Duff felt suddenly very much outside Eleanor — her life, her friends and the places where her life would undoubtedly lead her. “Yeah. He’s nice.”
That was when she kissed him. She kissed him hurriedly, almost in confusion, certainly impulsively, and she missed his cheek, getting his chin instead. But when she did it her eyes were shiny. And she said, “Duff, you’re a love!”
Then she ran out to the barn and drove away. Duff heard Scotty’s car hoot as they passed each other; the pink convertible came crackling up the drive. But during that time Duff stood where he was, beside the front door, even when he heard Scotty Smythe’s feet on the worn porch boards. She kissed me, Duff thought. And he thought, She kissed me because she feels sorry for me. It was the kind of idea that made a man want to kick walls down, even in sandals, such as he had on. Nobody wants to be felt sorry for by a girl. By anyone.
But when Scotty reached the door, Duff had recovered. His smile was hospitable; he took in Scotty’s new, herringbone-Angora sports jacket, and said, “Hello, Pythagoras.”
Scotty replied in the gravest tone, “Good evening, Euclid.”
After Scotty had paid gay respects to Mrs. Yates and briefly teased the younger children, who were studying, they went up to Duff’s room and settled down to work.
Duff possessed the second most important faculty of a true teacher, as well as the first — which is to present new knowledge lucidly. The second is the ability to perceive the mental gaps and blocks in a student — the points at which, for individual reasons, he fails to grasp the subject. Often it is not stupidity, but a particular shape of a special personality or a bad background in previous teaching which causes a student to appear unintelligent. In Scotty’s case it was both; no previous teacher had ever given him the feel, the sense and excitement of mathematics. Under Duff’s tutelage, Scotty’s attitude changed; he learned to appreciate the reasons behind die symbols.
Their hour went quickly and was extended to a second hour. Finally, however, Scotty broke up the session, “Getting late, pal. And we’re already a week ahead of my class.
Wouldn’t my old man be startled if I got good marks in trig!”
“You will.”