Teaching Mr. Graham

Chapter Forty-Two

    Aubrey turned out of the college campus, blasting Majid Jordan through his stereo speakers. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, unable to stop himself from grinning. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this happy. There had been women he'd slept with, and he hadn't felt this happy the morning after. But the grin was fixed on his face; he couldn't remove it even if he tried.

    He sang out loud to "King City" as he pulled the car to a stop at a red light. A loud buzzing sound drew his attention downward, and he saw a candy bar-shaped cell phone sitting in his cup holder. Tatiana's phone. He glanced at his watch. I should get this back to her before her parents show up, he thought. When the light turned green, he pulled a U-turn and headed back towards her dorm hall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

    "M-mom," Tatiana said, stepping forward.

    Her mother wore an expression of shock. She looked Tatiana up and down, her gaze lingering on the tight skirt Tatiana was wearing. "Tatiana?"

    Her father narrowed his eyes at her. "Where did you come from? What are you wearing?"

    "We...decided to go and grab some breakfast," Kenya told them.

    "Dressed like that?" Mrs. Wallace demanded.

    "Who needs men as an excuse to dress up, right Mrs. Wallace?" Kenya asked with a wink.

    Tatiana stared down at the floor, her cheeks aflame.

    "We can continue this talk inside, right?" Kenya asked, pulling out her dorm room key. "No need to give the neighbors a show."

    Mr. and Mrs. Wallace exchanged confused looks as Kenya led the way inside.

    "We wanted to surprise you," Mrs. Wallace explained. "So we decided to come down a little early. We called you, over and over again. You didn't answer."

    Tatiana flipped open her purse and rummaged through it. She lifted her gaze, realizing where she'd left it. "I'm...sorry. My phone isn't in my purse. I must have left it-"

    "At the coffee shop we just came from," Kenya interjected. "We'll check with them to see if they've seen it."

    "I'm sorry that I missed your calls," Tatiana apologized, for the first time looking each of her parents in the eye.

    Her mother was still frowning at Tatiana's skirt in disdai.

    "We should still go out for breakfast," Tatiana said, trying to sound chipper. "Kenya and I can change."

    "I still don't understand why you would wear that out to breakfast," her mother said. "It looks like something you'd wear to a nightclub or something."

    Kenya's laugh was loud and sounded forced. "Nightclub? Tatiana? That's more my speed, don't you think?"

    "Which is why I'm starting to question whether or not it's a good idea for you two to room together," Mr. Wallace said sternly. He turned to his daughter. "How are your classes going."

    "They're going well," she replied quickly. "I'm learning a lot."

    "Are you? Which classes are you taking again?"

    The answer died in her throat, and she started to stammer.

    A knock sounded on the door.

    Tatiana moved towards her parents, but her father held up his hand. "I'm right here. I can answer it."

    Kenya said low under her breath, "If it's Eric, I'm going to kill him. It will be a slow death, if that's him right now."

    Mr. Wallace pulled open the door.

    Aubrey stood on the other side of the door, holding up a cell phone. "Tatiana, you left this-" he stopped in mid-sentence when he saw Mr. Wallace. His eyes darted to Tatiana, who stood just over Mr. Wallace's shoulder.

    The frown on Mr. Wallace's face deepened as he turned to look back at his daughter.