Freedom, Books, Flowers, and the Moon

Chapter 5

He pulled out his keys and pressed a button, causing a car at the back of the lot to beep and flash its headlights. They walked in the direction of it, and when they got closer, Aurie realized it was a sleek black sports car. Her face must have been one of confusion because Cielo said, "My father is a successful businessman and continues to buy things for me despite the fact that I'm not a child anymore."

Aurelia nodded and made her way to the passenger side of the car, reaching for the door handle before the Italian cut her off, opening the door for her. He ran around to his side and got in, saying, "My mother always taught me to never let a woman open her own door."

"She raised a gentleman, I can see."

He grinned and glanced at her before starting the car and peeling off onto the road. 10 minutes later, they were pulling into a massive driveway, revealing what Aurie would have considered a mansion. Cielo drove the car into a garage attached to the house, finally parking. He got out and ran to open the door for the girl once again. When they made it indoors, Cielo began to talk again: "The school bought it for us; it's the closest housing to the university. It makes our commute tolerable. It's a decent size too; it gives us all our own space while still being together."

"I didn't realize that all of you lived together."

"We didn't used to, but we've been friends for years, and it was the only way the school would dare buy their staff a house," Cielo explained.

"Speaking of staff, where are the other two?"

"Growing tired of me already?" Cielo picked.

Aurie giggled and blushed before the man decided to actually answer the question. "They are most likely in the kitchen, but we have no way of knowing until we go look,"

Ciel beckoned for Aurelia to follow him as he began to guide her through the mansion. It was a straight shot down a long hallway to the left, the end of which revealed a huge kitchen. The cabinets were black, while the countertops were white and gray granite. There was an island in the middle with stools on one side, and there, as Cielo predicted, sat the two men they were looking for. Beau sat on one of the stools, his massive frame leaning over a book, while King leaned against the counter, popping grapes into his mouth. Aurie made eye contact with the math professor, and he smirked at her and raised an eyebrow in greeting. The girl waved slightly and snuck up behind the country man, who was still deep into his book. She started reading over his shoulder before realizing what book it was.

"Little Women? I haven't read that in years."

Beau jumped, and everyone in the room laughed. He sat up at his full height and turned around to look at the girl. Aurie grinned at him and said, "Hi."

"Hey darlin'," He realized they were at the same eye level and said, "I'm surprised this isn't your favorite book considering it seems to be named after you."

She rolled her eyes and sat down beside him. "You're not very far in," she pointed out.

"Yeah, Jo just cut her hair."

"I used to love this book when I was little," Aurie picked it up and thumbed through the pages.

"When you were little? Don't you mean now?" Cielo asked over her shoulder.

"Haha. Very funny. No, I read this book for the first time when I was in 3rd grade."

"That can't be true. Most adults have some trouble with this book," Beau pointed out.

"Reading has always been my thing," she shrugged.

"No shit. I don't even understand half the words in this thing," Cielo admitted.

"Ciel, you're from Italy." King deadpanned.

"Yes, and you idiot Americans forget that we speak both Italian and English."

Aurie turned and looked at Cielo, interested. "When'd you move to the States?"

"When I was 16,"

"That explains how the accent stuck,"

"Yes bambola," He laid on the thick accent, "Lo fa."

Aurelia blushed and turned back around, trying to hide her red cheeks, only to find Beau and King smirking at her. She cleared her throat and tried to change the subject, saying, "Anyway, um, Professor Angevin, we're grading quizzes?"

"Call me King, doll,"

"Yes, sir, sorry." Aurie was convinced her face was going to become permanently red from these men.

"Yes, quizzes. I got through your class on my own, but my others are much larger and I need assistance."

Aurelia nodded, showing her understanding. King sighed and pushed himself off of the counter. "My office is this way."

He led her out of the kitchen through the other entrance, and they found themselves at a back stairwell. Once they reached the second floor, King pushed open the first door on the left. It was a spacious space filled with nothing except a massive desk, a couch, a few chairs, and a filing cabinet. The walls were a charcoal gray, while the floors were black cherry wood. His desk was made of glass, making the room seem even more empty, while the black leather couch did the opposite. King sat in his chair, which matched the couch, behind the desk and gestured for Aurelia to come stand beside him. He split the massive stack of papers on his desk in half and handed one to her. He peeled a sticky note off of the corner of his monitor and stuck it to the top paper.

"So that is the answer sheet. All you have to do is go through and mark questions either correct or incorrect, and then calculate the grade and put it at the top of the paper. Do you have a red pen in your bag?" King made eye contact with the girl.

"Yes sir,"

"Perfect. Do you have any questions?"

"No sir,"

"Ok, just tell me if you run across anything you're unsure of, but I trust your judgement."

She nodded and sat in one of the chairs beside the desk, using the corner to write on. The room became silent except for the scratching of pen on paper. Aurie was grateful that none of her papers were illegible as she flew through the process of grading. About an hour later, she found herself on the last paper of her stack. When she put an 85% at the top, she picked up all of the papers and perfected the pile. She looked up at her professor and found him sliding his papers into a file. The two made eye contact, and a ghost of a smile crossed the man's face. He gently took her stack and placed it with the others. King began to panic internally, not wanting Aurie to leave yet. He silently guided her down the stairs and back into the kitchen, finding both Beau and Cielo still sitting there. He leaned against the counter nonchalantly, an idea coming to his mind.

"Aurelia, would you like to stay for dinner?"

Her eyes went wide at the invitation, and she glanced at the other men, trying to gauge their reaction to what their friend had just said. When she felt confident that they weren't horrified by the offer, she answered.

"I'd love to,"