Sooraya recruits Sam

[xp_dust]

Sooraya is always happy to recruit a volunteer for tutoring. 

Sam knocked on Sooraya's door and grinned when she opened it. "Hey, you wanted to talk to me about community center stuff? Whatcha need?"

"That was quick. I only sent you the text a few hours ago!" Sooraya shook her head, pleasantly surprised. "But come on in and have a seat." Pulling the seat from behind her desk, so she could easily take a seat across from Sam. "It's nothing urgent. Let me put that out there first. So, would you like something to drink first? I have water, some kind of juice or I can put the kettle on for some tea."

"What? I can't be excited to see my friend? We ain't gotten to talk in person in a bit thanks to...the everythin' that keeps happenin'." Sam teased. "I'm alright fer now, but thanks."

"Of course you can be excited." She commented, rolling her eyes at him. "And it's good to catch up." Sooraya reached for the kettle and started filling it. "I hope some tea will do and I've some sugar cookies around here that we made with the afterschool program yesterday."  

"Yeah, y'know me- I ain't picky. Work's been a <i>bitch</i> but at least that means we're helpin'. How've you been? How's the community center?"

"Busy, but what else is new." Sooraya took her seat, shaking her head good naturedly. "And things at the community center are good. The school supply drive was a big success this year. For the youngest ones we were even able to add a picture book or two. And people are starting to find their way to the center more and more, for various needs. Especially the afterschool program seems to be popular so far."

"Hey, that's great!" Sam grinned. He'd felt guilty about not helping with the school supply drive this year. "Anythin' I could help with on that front? I mean, I'm a bit bogged down with work still, but I could always spare an hour or two for somethin' since it's close by."

"Well..." A playful little smirk flashed over Sooraya's face. "The afterschool program also includes several options for tutoring. And a little bird told me that before you were not bad at helping them with school. I was wondering if that was something you'd be interested in."  

".....which one of 'em told you that cause if was Paige she's lyin'- she ain't never needed help." Sam said on impulse. "But yeah, I've done my share of helpin' with homework, suppose I could do some more of it."

"And the nice thing is, it is something you could be pretty flexible with... working around your work with XFI." Sooraya explained, a small grin on her face.

"Do you know what ages need it most?" Sam asked, mentally running through what classes he'd taken in high school...and what all he remembered from them.

"For now we could really use some help with the pre-teens the most, I think... basically across the whole range of subjects." Sooraya quickly looked over some notes. "From math and reading to the social sciences. What kind of things do you feel most at home with?"  

“Okay, that age I could prolly do most of it but science might be a bit iffy unless I can look at a textbook beforehand.” Sam said, brows furrowed in thought.

"Easy. Otherwise we need enough help with the other subjects as well." Sooraya looked up from her notes. "Any subjects you really enjoy and feel enthusiastic about? Tutors who are excited about a class can sometimes really help pull the kids along."

“Always liked math n’ physics and the like…only really need textbooks for those sciences to make sure nothing’ updated in the twelve years since I took ‘em.” He shrugged. “I did good in English too, but I weren’t as crazy about it as Paige.”

"I'll find you the science textbooks, but I don't think the very basics have changed much in the past twelve year. And I don't know if it's something you enjoy, but we might also have a few of those books around with experiments you can do with the kids?" Sooraya raised an eyebrow questioningly.  

“Oh that would be perfect!” Sam almost visibly lit up at the idea. “I’m also pretty good at helpin’ to learn how to read if any of ‘em need it.”

"Gotcha." Sooraya nodded, then frowned, looking a little uncomfortable. "There is one thing though... Since you'll be working with kids, we do try to look into your background. Is there something we should know about?"

Surprisingly. "No." He said. "I was...awful as a teenager, but never actually had anythin' put on my record so I oughta be clean as a whistle."

"We would have worked with you if that had not been the case, depending on what happened." Pulling open a drawer she quickly removed a form. "But this is good. We can do the full formal thing for our records. If you want to fill out this form..." She pushed the form across the desk.

Sam knew damn well it would have been assault charges. He'd never been thankful for a corrupt cop before but..."Yeah course." He said, pulling a pen from his pocket to start completing the forms.  

"Do you already have some idea when you might be available or not?" Sooraya had pulled out a schedule, studying it carefully. "Or do you need to check with Worthington..." Distaste flashed over Sooraya's face at the thought of the peacock. "... before being able to say anything?"  

"I....will check with Q and or Arthur." Sam said, choosing to avoid the peacock as much as possible. "But I'm usually good on weekends."

"That is always a good point to start from." Sooraya made a quick note on the schedule. "And if it's somewhat irregular, you wouldn't be the only one. We'll make it work."  

"Cases can fuck with schedules too." He groaned softly. "But I'll do my best to be as communicative as possible to make sure I don't flake on any of the kids."

"You're not the only one who sometimes has other obligations." Sooraya quickly reassured him. "Like I said, we'll make it work and the kids know that the tutors sometimes have to miss a session or two. Now, how are you doing with those forms?"  

"Nearly done." Sam promised, making sure that his handwriting was legible- that was the problem with rushing, he sometimes forgot that <i>other</i> people also had to read his handwriting. "Need anything else from me? Or am I good to go get started on supper?" 

"Not that I can see, but I'll give you a text if I do find something." Sooraya smiled. "And thanks Sam. We can really use your help."   

"Of course." Sam says breezily, grinning. "You know me, always happy to help."