THE PINK CLOUDS

chapter 4

By 3 O'clock the next day, Richard met Prof. Grace in her office.
"Good afternoon, Ma'am," Richard cautiously greeted after he was permitted to come on.
"Afternoon, how're you doing?," she asked with a smile. She was sitting at desk with a bunch of papers before her.
"I am doing okay."
"How are your studies?"
"All good, ma'am."
"That's really nice to hear," Prof. Grace said. "So, have you thought about my proposal?"

"Yes I have," Richard answered.
"And what did you decide?"
"I think I can handle it, as long as it doesn't exceed 3 contacts per week."
"Three times is quite enough," Prof. Grace agreed.

"Would you please sit and wait for me while I get done with these papers? I would like to introduce you to my daughter ," she offered by pointing at the empty sofas behind Richard. Richard sat on the sofa and watched as went through her papers. She worked for about 20 minutes before she finally finished.

"Sorry I've kept you waiting. We can go now," Prof. Grace announced as she stood up.
She walked out of the office with Richard behind her and headed towards the faculty car park. They entered her car which was a white Range Rover sport and drove out of the faculty.

She drove the car for a few minutes before arriving at her house at the staff residential area. It was fenced with yellow flowers with a small space left for the entrance. It is painted white and has sliding windows. The doors were black, and the veranda was completely covered in white tiles.

All the houses in the area were similar in structure and were arranged in queues. Prof. Grace parked her car in front of her house. She led the way to the entrance of the house.

When they entered the living room, Richard was so impressed by how beautiful and organized the interior was. All the cushions were white, matching the color of the walls. There was a small white table at the center of the room. There was a white base filled with white flowers resting on it.
"Rebecca!" Prof. Grace shouted as she sat on one of the cushions.

"Yes mum," came a reply from one of the rooms.
"Please have a seat," she gestured to Richard with her hand, and he proceeded to sit on the sofa opposite to her.

About 5 minutes later, the girl walked into the living room. She was wearing a zebra T‐shirt with black skinny jeans. Her hair was beautifully plated covering her right eye.

The moment Richard made eye contact with her, his soul left his body. His heart started racing. Even though it was the fourth time he was seeing her, he felt as if it was the first. She looked very discernible from when they argued when she was wearing a school uniform.

"Welcome back mum," she said as she stopped before her mother.
"Thank you," Prof. Grace answered. "What were you doing in the room?"
"Nothing. I was just going through my phone," she answered. She was holding an expensive phone that could feed Richard for months.
"Alright, meet Richard; he is going to be your new Mathematics and Physics teacher," Prof. Grace introduced, gesturing with her hand.

"What? Are you kidding me?" Rebecca shouted. The calmness on her face suddenly vanished.
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Prof. Grace retorted with a very displeased expression.

"But mum, he can't be my teacher. Just take a look at how young and feeble he is. What do you think people would say if they see him as my teacher?" Rebecca said in distress as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"You said your last teacher was too old to teach you. That's why I got someone who's around the same age as you. If you don't want me to get private teachers for you, I suppose you should improve your grades at school," Prof. Grace replied.

At that moment, tears started falling from Rebecca's eyes.

Seeing her reaction, Richard felt he shouldn't accept the role of being her tutor. He was about to speak when Prof. Grace continued talking.