Teaching Mr. Graham

Chapter Ten

    Kenya was chattering in Tatiana's ear about how cute the arm wrestling boys were, shouting over the loud hip hop music playing from a set of speakers that had been crammed into the window. Her words went into one ear and out the other, though. Tatiana couldn't keep her eyes off of the man in the hat.

    He turned his head and talked to the girl standing beside him, but his responses were clipped. Brief. At one point he smiled, but then he turned his head. He lifted his head a little, and Tatiana caught a glimpse of his eyes. The glimpse was so brief, and his eyes were still covered in a shadow created by the brim of his cap, making it difficult to make out the shape of them.

    Why do you look so familiar to me, though? she wondered. I've seen you somewhere before...not just at the coffee shop, but before that. I know you. She almost walked right up to him and asked, but stopped herself. Was I really just going to walk up to him? She frowned down at the bottle in her hand. Exactly how much alcohol is in this?

    Kenya laughed. "Are you starting to feel drunk already?"

    "No," Tatiana said with a shake of her head. "Or...I don't think so. I was just going to do something bold, and was wondering how much alcohol they put in these things."

    "It tells you how much somewhere on the label," Kenya told her. "But that isn't the only alcohol you've had tonight. The punch was spiked."

    Tatiana gasped. "That's why it tasted weird and why you were looking at me funny!" she exclaimed."

    Kenya grinned mischievously. "It was time for you to walk on the wild side. So, yes. As your friend, I stood right by your side as you consumed alcohol. PBS specials the world over would say that I'm a horrible, horrible friend and an insanely bad influence."

    The arm wrestling contest was apparently over, because the boy who'd been staring at Kenya stood up and turned towards her. He was very attractive, with a nice fade. He wore a blue Polo shirt, jeans, and sneakers. "Hi," he directed at both girls.

    "Hi," Kenya said, looking him up and down.

    "My name is Eric," he said, his eyes landing on Kenya. "I was...I was wondering if you and I could go for a walk? Talk a little bit?"

    Kenya lifted an eyebrow, then turned her eyes on Tatiana. "I...I can't."

    "You don't have to babysit me," Tatiana told her.

    "This is your first college party. Babysitting you is exactly what I need to do," Kenya argued.

    Eric held his hands up. "It's all right...maybe I'll see you around campus, then?"

    Kenya smiled at him. "I'm looking forward to it."

    He smiled back and turned around.

    Tatiana pinched her arm. "What are you doing?" she hissed. "You should talk to him."

    "I'm not leaving you in here by yourself, Tati," Kenya told her firmly. "The first party we walked into had weed. In this one, they're handing out beer like it's candy. You couldn't even tell the punch was spiked. If I leave you alone, you're going to end up pregnant and your parents will kill me - after they give me a lecture about how I ruined your life, career, and future, at which point I'll want to kill myself."

    "Melodramatic much?" Tatiana asked with a roll of her eyes. "And I'll be fine. I have my phone on me. But if I'm not in this room, then I'll be out in the backyard. I'm not going to go off on an adventure hunt without you."

    Kenya glanced at Eric, who now stood over near the window, peering out of it. "Are you sure?"

    "I'm beyond sure, Ken. He's cute, he's polite, and he's into you. Don't let the babysitting duties you've thrust upon yourself get in the way of getting to know him."

    Kenya smiled and hugged her. "It was a relief that he didn't say something corny like, 'Yo, Ma,'" she admitted. "Okay, I'm going to go and talk to him. Make sure you don't lose your phone. And like you said, stay in here or head back to the backyard if the party in here gets dull. Got it?"

    "Got it, Mama Kenya. Now go." Tatiana watched Kenya walk over to Eric.

    Eric turned around in surprise and grinned when he saw it was Kenya standing behind him.

    Tatiana smiled at them, then looked down at her bottle.

    "You're a good friend," a deep voice said from beside her. "It's nice to see that sarcasm isn't the only thing you have going for you."

    Tatiana's smile stretched wider as she turned her head. She already knew whoshe'd see. His voice was too recognizable. "Hello, Mr. Mysterious,"she greeted before taking another sip of her beer.