Chapter Text
Mia
I was a little nervous as I headed up the driveway of the Smith's house. It was only my fourth week tutoring, and I was about to start my first session with a new kid named Morty. It was always awkward the first time at a new house, meeting parents and becoming familiar with family's schedule and mannerisms. Some parents were pretty chill and left me to it, but some would hover like helicopters, judging whether every word out of my mouth was worth the pennies they were spending on their precious bundle of joy.
Tutoring definitely wasn't my favorite use of time, but what were you supposed to do when college cost your life savings and the only affordable housing was the size of a shoe box? I needed some way to pay for everything - my deadbeat parents weren't much help in that department, and I'd nearly depleted my savings from jobs I'd had in high school. So I didn't really have the luxury of just studying like some college kids. I had to earn a living too. At least with tutoring I didn't have to deal with customers throwing their latte in my face when I accidentally added two pumps of syrup instead of three.
Taking a deep breath, I rapped my knuckles on the door and waited.
"--Jerry I told you to put on some pants! Yes--" The door swung open, highlighting a slim silhouette in the hall. "Hi! I'm Beth."
Beth showed me inside, and quickly got me situated. Everything seemed pretty tolerable at the Smith household; his family left me to it, and Morty was a sweet kid who was eager to learn, even if he was a little slow. The hour flew past pretty quickly, which was unusual for a Friday night - normally the calling of a glass of wine and a lie in was enough to slow the session to a crawl.
"Th-Thanks again, um Ms Brown." Morty showed me to the door
"You can just call me Mia." I smiled. "I'll see you same time next week."
"M-Morty is that you? Morty I gotta- I need your help with s-s-something in the-- oh."
My hand was on the door handle when we were interrupted by a gruff voice; a tall, slender man with haphazard, muted white-blue hair emerged from the kitchen. His eyebrows were furrowed in annoyance. I hadn't met Morty's father that evening but this man didn't fit the profile - he looked older than Morty's mom, who was beautiful and blonde and couldn't have been more than thirty. The man's eyes landed on me and narrowed curiously, and he seemed to do a double take before his face folded into an unjustified look of hostility.
"Who the fuck a-are you?" He furrowed his brow, staring back at me with an expression that I was sure was disgust.
I opened my mouth to speak but his brashness had taken me off guard and I struggled to form the words.
"I- I'm-"
"What?" He turned to Morty. "Does it -buurrp- speak or did you buy one of those a-alien sex robots again?"
"G-Grandpa Rick! Of course not! She- she's just my math tutor!" He turned a deep shade of puce, avoiding my gaze.
Grandpa? Morty was related to this asshole?
"Math tutor?" The man named Rick responded incredulously. "Goddamnit Morty, tutors are useless! Don't you k-know the saying those who can't do, teach?"
"Geez Rick, y-y-you don't have to- to be rude." Morty rubbed his arm.
"Shut up Morty." Rick took a step towards me and clicked his fingers in front of my face as if he thought I was mentally challenged. "Hey." He grunted. "D-Do I know you?"
My brain was still trying to interpret 'alien sex robot' but I managed to force out an answer, or at least the start of one. "Uh... No I don't think-"
"W-Where are you from?"
"Here? Ish? I grew up the next town over-"
"You ever been to the h-headquarters of the federation?"
"...Federation? What's-"
Rick didn't really seem like he was listening to my answers. "No that's not it..." He scratched his head. "Y-You're not a-- an intergalactic porn star?"
"I... excuse me?" I wondered if i'd misheard.
"Y-you know I- I really feel like - burrrp - I feel like I've seen you somewhere but I can't put my finger on it. C-Caan you turn around and bend over for a second, like on- on all fours-"
"Rick!" Morty protested.
I stepped back, confused and a little alarmed. This man seemed unhinged. "I think you're mistaking me for somebody." I said plainly. If I'd met him before, I definitely wouldn't have forgotten.
"Oh, you're- y-you sound nervous all of a sudden. Was the porn star guess r-right on the money?" Rick smirked. "I don't- I'm not sure that's it actually, but I'll -buurp- double check if you catch my drift."
I stared at him. I usually wasn't quite so speechless and my mind was screaming at me to bite back but not only was he absurdly rude... he was just plain absurd! I decided to make a break for it while I still had an ounce of dignity. Besides, I was really looking forward to that glass of wine.
"Sorry, we definitely haven't met." I turned to Morty. "I'll see you next week Morty. Don't forget to try out those problems I showed you." With that, I quickly slipped out of the door.
Morty
"Rick!"
Morty's grandpa had already swept away, his lab coat billowing behind him as he headed into the garage.
"Rick what the- what the hell!" Morty hurried after him, entering the large concrete room. It resembled a mad scientists lab more than a garage, with every visible space cluttered with experiments and strange gadgets. Rick was already getting busy with his current project, tapping some crystals together at his workbench.
"Why do you have to be so- so fucking weird and hostile? She's probably n-never gonna come back here again now!" Morty continued. "And I felt like she was actually helping ya know! I-I-I actually understood the way she explained things! And she didn't- didn't make me feel like I was an idiot or belittle me or-or-"
"C-Calm down Morty, the fuck do you need a tutor for anyway? I-I've told you so many times, school is for ch-chumps. Besides, little miss maybe-a-pornstar isn't really here to- urrrp- t-to tutor you."
"She's not?"
"N-No Morty! She's just u-using that as a-- it's a cover Morty! S-so she can get to me."
Morty rolled his eyes. "Geez Rick, not everything is about you, ya know? Sh-she's not some evil alien from another planet trying to s-steal your portal gun or whatever. Why are you so paranoid? Y-You're a paranoid asshole you know that?"
"S-shut up Morty you little t-twerp! Y-y-you're a little-- a little smug son of a bitch sometimes- you're an idiot! Of course she's not just a tutor! B-because of the- the deja vu!"
"The... the deja vu...?"
"Yes Morty, the deja vu. God do I- do I have t-to explain everything? Look y-you know that dumb movie you like, the one with K-Keeno... whosits--"
Morty raised an eyebrow, refusing to believe his Grandpa didn't know who Keanu Reeves was. "You mean the Matrix?"
"Y-yeah that. Well ignoring the rest of the un-unrealistic shit in that movie--"
"It's not supposed to be realistic Rick, it-it's just a cool movie! That's why it's called science fiction!"
"Shut up Morty. B-Besides all the rest, the one thing they got right i-is- is the deja vu. Deja vu, i-it means something's been tampered with. A-And not in the matrix o-or whatever, in your mind Morty! Your mind! S-Someone's gone and- someone's erased your memories o-or changed them! She might be an alien Morty! She might be a spy!"
"That's ridiculous Rick!"
"Y-You're ridiculous Morty! I-I'm telling you she's up to something! Either that or I-I've seen her naked somewhere. And I'm gonna- I'll prove it to you Morty! J-Just wait."
Morty sighed; he knew there was no stopping his Grandpa when he was on a roll like this.
Whatever happened, it wasn't going to end well.