Teaching Mia

Chapter 12 - Reality Bites

"It will be fine Mia, I promise. If you don't make it a big deal, then it won't be."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," she said sighing. "Can we talk about one more thing before we enter the battlefield?"

"Of course," he said chuckling.

"Please don't be offended, but do you mind if...I mean, do you think we can...take things...slow?" she said nervously.

"Do you have any idea how adorable you are?" He leaned in and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips. "The answer is yes, I'll be on my best behavior. You can always be honest with me Mia, and I won't take offense," he said warmly.

"Thank you, Leo. I want you to be honest with me, too."

"Okay. In that case, we have to haul ass because we're going to be late for school."

"Are you serious? I didn't even realize it!" she said jumping out of the car.

Leo laughed and pulled her quickly towards the school building. Just as she suspected, every single person that passed by stopped to stare at them. Not wanting to bring more attention to herself, Mia remained silent.

Before she knew it, they arrived to her classroom. Leo's expression was apologetic as they heard people whispering behind them.

"Remember what I told you, okay? You'll be fine," he said kissing her forehead, before walking down the hallway to his classroom.

Not wanting to enter her classroom just yet, she stayed a few moments by the door until she watched Leo disappear into his classroom.

"Already love struck, huh Mia?" she heard someone say behind her. She didn't even bother to see who it was and walked into the room.

She was glad when she ran into Victoria once inside. That is, until she started talking.

"Tú! Why haven't you answered my messages? I've been worried about you all weekend! The only reason I didn't come knocking down your door is because Omar said you were okay. Don't think you can get away with it, missy. We're going to lunch and you're spilling the beans," she rambled.

Before she could answer, the last person she would have ever thought approached her, sporting a very black eye. Did Leo do that to him? Mia winced, and took a step back.

"Did you have a fun weekend with prince charming, cupcake?" Johan said icily.

"Don't worry about it," she said with a tone of indifference and turned her attention back towards Victoria.

She looked back at Mia wide eyed, stifling a chuckle.

"Alright, everyone, take your seats. I'm sure everyone's weekend was fantastic, so let's jump into today's lecture," Professor Davis called out.

Mia quickly made it to her seat, thinking she had never been so grateful to start a lecture in her entire life.

Even though a lot of students complained about his mood swings, Mia really liked this particular professor and enjoyed his class thoroughly. He was one of her few American professors, and his style of teaching reminded her of her classes at NYU.

He was also pretty entertaining as he resembled the comedian Tracy Morgan, and Mia repeatedly caught herself imagining him on Saturday Night Live skits when he would speak.

"Now, who can give me a quick summary of the eBay case?" Davis asked.

Mia sighed as 20 hands flew up in the air. That first question was always the easiest to answer, but she never had the guts to go for it. Instead, she decided to focus on the lecture with a limited attention span.