The Mellow Yellow restaurant waiter took their breakfast orders and walked around collecting their menus. Mixed chatter filled the medium-size Chicago restaurant with large windows.
Mr. and Mrs. Wallace had their eyes fixed on their daughter. "Is that true, Tatiana? Is that what you plan on doing after graduating?"
"Do you have anything against me seeing the world?" Tatiana asked curiously.
"Of course not," Mr. Wallace told her. "I just never knew it was something you were interested in."
"That's because you were too busy forcing your own dreams on me to ask what I really wanted," she said nonchalantly, picking up her straw and sliding it out of its wrapper.
Mrs. Wallace's eyebrows knitted together. "We just want the best for you. You know that."
"Yeah, Mom. I know that." Tatiana sipped some water and prayed for the ability to fast forward time.
"We're getting off track here," Mr. Wallace said, holding up both hands. "How are your classes going? Do you feel like you're grasping everything being taught to you, or is there anything you're struggling with? Do you feel yourself gravitating more towards medicine or law?"
"My classes are fine," she told him. "I'm not struggling with anything, not yet."
"So that means we should see nothing but A's when your report card rolls in?" he asked pointedly.
"Sure," she said, desperately trying to distract herself from thoughts of her parents' reaction to the report card they got in. That report could would contain the grade she received in her writing class. A ton of different visuals came to mind with varying degrees of fury directed at her from both parents. She idly stirred the water with her straw.
"Kenya, how about you?" Mrs. Wallace asked, the tone of her voice light. "Are there any classes you're struggling with?"
Kenya shook her head. "Classes are good. If I have any questions, I can check in with Tati and she helps me out."
"That's good to hear, Kenya."
The waiter delivered their food to the table and asked if he could assist them with anything else. Tatiana asked for an orange juice.
"I'm still curious as to why the Aubrey guy looked so familiar to me," Mrs. Wallace murmured to herself. "It's bothering me."
"Maybe you saw him when we came to visit the campus with Tatiana," Mr. Wallace said dismissively. "I wouldn't worry too much about it. Although I'm still curious about how close you are with him. Your focus should be on your schoolwork. Not messing around with these boys, who are nothing but trouble."
Tatiana sectioned off her mushroom and cheese crepe. "He's actually a very nice guy. If you gave him a chance, you'd like him."
"He's a very nice friend, you mean," Mr. Wallace said.
She shrugged.
"I feel like maybe I've seen him on television," Mrs. Wallace said, pushing her food around her plate.
Tatiana and Kenya exchanged fearful glances.
"Television?" Mr. Wallace repeated. "I doubt it."
"I have," Mrs. Wallace insisted.
"Out of curiosity, Mr. Wallace, would it be so bad if Tatiana started dating someone?" Kenya questioned. "I mean...she is in college. I can understand the 'follow our rules while you live under our roof' mentality, but she's not under your roof anymore."
Mr. Wallace's eyes narrowed. "She may not be under my roof, but she's under a roof of a residence that I pay for," he stated. "And as such, she still needs to follow our rules. Her schooling and her career are the number one priority."
"Meaning that I can't have a life outside of schoolwork," Tatiana said while spearing a piece of crepe with her fork. "No wonder you both were so disappointed to see what I was wearing earlier. It wasn't one of the church dresses you've bought for me."
"We have your best interests at heart," Mrs. Wallace told her.
"Are you sure?" she pressed, tilting her head to the side. "Because you guys want me to go into medicine or law, but sometimes it seems like all you want to do is keep me under lock and key for the rest of my life."
Mrs. Wallace frowned. "We want you to get out and experience the world, Tatiana."
"As long as you can monitor everything I do, everything I experience?" Tatiana supplied for her. "As long as you can keep me from experiencing anything too fun, or too enjoyable?"
"Where is this coming from?" Mr. Wallace asked. "What has gotten into you?"
She pursed her lips shut and sat back in her chair. "The entire way here, I had to hear about the outfit that I was wearing earlier. You lectured me and said that it looked like I was having a little bit too much fun at college. You kept me from having fun in high school. A part of me understands that. You want me to make something of myself, and you wanted to make sure that I took my education seriously. Well, guess what? I do take my education seriously. That doesn't mean that I have to think of nothing but school and schoolwork all the time. I should be able to have friends. I should be able to go to a party without you guys freaking out."
"If you invite too many of those indulgences into your life, you are inviting in the risk of distraction," Mr. Wallace told her. "You are running the chance of hurdles coming up and preventing you from reaching your goals."
"Guess what, Dad? Living life is running the chance of hurdles coming up. It's about time that I learn how to balance life and my educational or carer obligations. Keeping me from experiencing life isn't setting me up for success. It's setting me up to fail." She took a deep breath and shook her head. "Me dating someone isn't the end of the world, the end of my education, or the end of my career. I deserve to have someone in my corner rooting me on, someone who isn't shoving their own agendas down my throat."
"I don't like the effect college is having on you," Mrs. Wallace said, lowering her fork and picking up her napkin.
"Well, I love the effect college is having on me," Tatiana retorted, leaning forward. "You can't keep me cooped up anymore, and you can't keep me from living life anymore. I appreciate you paying for my schooling. I appreciate you for trying to protect me from all of the horrible circumstances that could prevent me from being a doctor or a lawyer. But you've done your duty as my parents. You've guided me the best you could. Now you have to put a little trust in me, that I will make the right decisions about my own future."
"You are still young, Tatiana," Mrs. Wallace said. "You are still incredibly naive."
"Whose fault is that?" Tatiana shrieked. "When you don't allow me to do anything? Ever?"
"That's not true."
"Then let me take a writing class next semester," she said. "A real writing class."
Mr. Wallace shook his head firmly. "We agreed to give you time to decide between pre-law and pre-med. For that to work, each of your classes needs to go to one of those fields. There is simply no extra room for classes taken on a silly whim."
"A silly whim?!" Tatiana repeated, scooting her chair back and standing.
"Sit down," Mrs. Wallace hissed at her.
"Tati, calm down." Kenya looked concerned.
Tatiana shook her head. "I'm done with this. Mom, Dad, there's no need to give me a ride back to campus. I can catch a train or a cab. And just so you both know? The nice guy that you met earlier? I am dating him. He's good to me. He's the sweetest guy in the world, and you should be happy that I met someone as amazing as he is. No matter what you say, I'm not going to stop dating him, because he's good for me. If you have a problem with that, it's your problem." She turned to look at Kenya. "Are you coming with me or staying with them?"
Kenya's mouth dropped open and stayed open, but she slowly rose out of her chair and slung her purse over her shoulder.
Tatiana turned away from the table and walked through the restaurant.
"Tatiana, get back here," Mr. Wallace yelled, his voice a thunderous boom. "Tatiana!"
Tatiana kept walking. She didn't look back.