Mason had always been a dedicated teacher at the fancy university he worked at. His passion for math was contagious, and his students really appreciated him for making tough concepts feel easy to understand. But Mason had one rule: he didn’t do tutoring. He liked to keep his personal time and energy for his regular classes. But when his old buddy Thomas asked him for a special favor, he just couldn’t say no.

Thomas explained that his son was struggling in his advanced math class. He was a bright kid, but his mind seemed to wander all the time, making it hard for him to focus on what really mattered. Mason was skeptical at first, but the worry in Thomas's voice got to him. After all, how could he refuse to help a friend in need?

Their first meeting was at Thomas's house, which was cozy and packed with books. The student showed up with a nervous smile and a notebook full of scribbles. Mason kicked off the class with excitement, but soon realized that his student couldn’t take his eyes off him. Instead of focusing on the math problems on the board, the kid was staring at Mason like he was trying to figure out some hidden mystery behind his gestures and expressions.

“You”, Mason said after several minutes of explaining without any response, “Are you listening?” The kid blinked like he was waking up from a trance. “Yeah... sure”, he replied with a nervous smile, but his gaze kept drifting back to Mason instead of sticking to the numbers.

As the class went on, Mason noticed that every time he tried to explain a complicated concept, his student got more distracted just watching him. His attention faded away while Mason moved his hands to illustrate an idea or changed his tone to stress an important point. It was frustrating; Mason felt like he was talking to a wall.

After several similar sessions, Mason decided to switch things up. Instead of sticking with theoretical problems and complicated formulas, he started asking more interactive questions. “What do you think about this? How do you see yourself using this in your daily life?” but even those questions seemed like just another distraction for the student, who kept looking at him with this kind of fascination.

One day, during a math exercise session, Mason finally stopped and asked him directly: “Why are you staring at me like that? Is there something you find more interesting than math?” His deep brown eyes locked onto the student's; he was kinda annoyed that his student wasn’t paying attention.