Tempted Tutor - Lia Lin

The Tempted Tutor: Lia Lin’s Struggle Between Boundaries and Empathy

Lia is known on campus as the “miracle worker.” Students who scrape by with D’s come to her cramped apartment-turned-classroom and leave with solid B’s. Her secret, she says, is patience. But her newest student, 20-year-old art major Ethan, is testing more than her teaching methods. tempted tutor lia lin

“I know the rules,” Lia says, rubbing her temple. “No fraternization. No dating clients. But empathy feels a lot like love when you’re tired and lonely.” The Tempted Tutor: Lia Lin’s Struggle Between Boundaries

“He’s not difficult,” Lia admits, pushing her glasses up with a sigh. “That’s the problem. He’s eager, funny, and when he looks at me like I’ve just explained the meaning of the universe after a simple calculus derivative… I forget to be professional.” “I know the rules,” Lia says, rubbing her temple

That caring, however, has begun to show cracks. Her other students have complained of shorter, distracted sessions. Her own grades have slipped. Last week, she found herself designing a practice exam just so she could spend two extra hours alone with him.

Ethan, for his part, seems unaware of the turmoil he is causing—or perhaps he is fully aware. “She just gets me,” he says with a shrug. “Most tutors just run the clock. Lia actually cares.”

For now, Lia Lin remains a tempted tutor. But she knows that the hardest lessons are the ones we teach ourselves.