Taking the Plunge (4 page)

“Okay.”

“And you taste like mint.”

She smiled. “Thanks.”

“Good night.” He shut the door then went back to his car.

Little moment
s like that made her heart flutter. She was equally happy and miserable. The dynamics shifted so much and so suddenly that it was jolting and difficult on her heart. But she didn’t know what else to do. Hope made her stay in the relationship, that Derek would become the man she needed in her life right now. But in her heart she knew he never would. She was just digging herself a bigger hole to fall into.

4

“Don’t you ever challenge me like that in front of my inferiors,” her father said as he stared her down. She just walked through the door and hadn’t even put her bag down yet.

“Your inferiors?”
she asked with a disgusted voice. “They’re your employees, not slaves.”

“Just don’t do it again.
I mean it.”

“It was my fault. I asked him to take out his phone.”

“You did?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. His tie was thrown on the chair and the first button of his shirt was undone. He obviously just got home.

“Yes, I told him to show me pictures of his kids. What was he supposed to do? Refuse the boss’s daughter?”

“It was still unacceptable behavior.”

“No, your behavior was unacceptable,” she snapped. “You can’t talk to people like that.”

“I’m running a business, not a daycare.”

“You don’t get it,” she mumbled.

“What was that?” he said, raising his voice. “You like the house you live in? You like having a balcony that faces the ocean? Free tuition? I suggest you shut your mouth and be grateful for everything I’ve done for you.”

She hated hearing that
argument. She heard it so many times. “I am grateful. That’s beside the point.”

“If you’re
grateful, you’ll stay out of my affairs.”

“Dad, how do these people even survive living off minimum wage
? It’s ridiculous. They deserve to be paid more.”

He grabbed his suitcase and a glass of wine. “I’m not talking to you about this. Good night.”

“Dad!”

He walked down the hallway and disappeared.

She sighed then walked into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. She immediately went to her balcony and grabbed a blank canvass and started to paint. It was the only thing that calmed her down. She wasn’t even sure what she was drawing. Hours passed until she realized it was really late, way past her bedtime. She went to sleep with a heavy heart.

The next morning
, she went to the class she missed the day before and realized she missed a quiz. That made her more annoyed with her father. When she went to lunch in the cafeteria, Derek acted like nothing happened the night before. The fight was forgotten in light of the animal sex they had. Derek didn’t offer to buy her lunch, and the kiss he gave her on the cheek was weak. When Nancy looked around at everyone, she saw the love Henry and Coen had for their ladies. She wished Derek would look at her like that. He only paid attention to her when they were in the bedroom.

“I’m headed to class,” Derek said. He wiped his hands with a napkin then stood up. He left his tray and his mess on the table.

“Derek, throw your stuff away,” Nancy said.

“I don’t have time.”

“Well, I’m not going to clean up after you.”

He rolled his eyes then grabbed the tray. “Okay, Mom.”

Nancy took a deep breath and swallowed the insult without retaliating. Her hands clenched at her sides and she bottled her anger. Her friends stared at her, waiting for the explosion.

“Now can I go?” he said sarcastically.

She didn’t look at him, waiting for him to walk away.

When he finally left the cafete
ria she let the air escape her lungs.

“I’
m breaking up with him,” she said.

Coen exchanged a glance with Henry. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t stay anything to him either,” Nancy said.

Sydney leaned across the table and patted her hand. “I’m so sorry, Nancy.”

“Don’t be,” Nancy said as she shook her head. “It’s my fault for giving him a chance.”

Henry gave her a sad look. “If it makes you feel any better, Coen and I are pissed at him too.”

“No, it doesn’t,” she said weakly.

Henry leaned back, defeated.

Sydney pulled her hand away. “Will you still be friends?”

“I
’m willing to if he is. It shouldn’t be a problem. We were never more than friends anyway, just friends with benefits.” She grabbed her bag and sighed. “I have class. I’ll see you later.”

“Don’t you have an exam today?” Sydney asked.

“No, it’s tomorrow.”

She raised an eyebrow. “John told me it was today. He has lab with you, right?”

Nancy felt her heart race. “Yeah…”

Sydney shrugged. “That’s what he told me.”

“Fuck,” Nancy said under her breath. “I gotta go.” She walked to the science building and went into the classroom. There were microscopes out and stations that were numbered. All the petri dishes were out, along with Bunsen burners and inoculation tubes. Her heart fell when she realized she was wrong. The exam was today.

After everyone took their seats, Dr. Drake handed out the exams. She took a deep breath before she began. She knew a lot of the
answers based on her lab write-ups, and she recalled some of them from the lectures in class. But there were still a lot she had to bullshit, and she hoped she would receive partial credit.

When she reached the practical stations, she recognized the different chains and shapes of bacteria
under the microscopes, but still felt nervous because of the unexpected exam. She hoped she got at least half of them right. Next, she went to the gram stain station where she had to take a slide and mark the gram positive bacteria. She felt the relief flood through her when she arrived. She knew she could do this.

Dr. Drake gave her a nice smile when she reached him. He was one of her favorite teachers, always being humorous when it was allowed. He was the only science teacher that she felt a c
onnection with. The rest of the professors had their TA’s handle most of the work.

She grabbed the inoculation loop and placed the bacteria on the slide then swiped it across the flames of the Bunsen burner. She went through the steps that she memorized, adding the correct dyes in the right order. When she reached the end, she stumbled
, unsure what to do. She felt like she missed a step.

Dr. Drake looked at her expectantly
. “Ms. Erikson, are you finished?”

She handed him the slide, having nothing to say.

He grabbed it and looked at it under the microscope. When he looked back at her, he just shook his head. She felt the panic set in. That part of the exam was worth twenty points. She would surely fail the entre exam without those points.

She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself.

“Ms. Erikson, please do it again.”

“What?”

“I know you can do it. Give it another shot.”

He was wasting class time on her
, and Nancy couldn’t believe he did that.

“Just follow the steps as you remember them. Don’t rush and don’t be nervous.”

She nodded then did it again, trying to stay calm and stop her hands from shaking. When she finished the process she handed him the slide. He looked at it through the microscope then gave her the thumbs up.

“Good job.”

She breathed a sigh of relief.

“May I speak to you after class, Nancy?”

That didn’t sound good. “Of course.”

“Okay.”

She walked back to her seat and waited for the rest of the students to finish. When the exam was over, Dr. Drake collected them and placed them on his desk. The students filed out, leaving Nancy alone at her seat.

Dr. Drake approached her, wearing slacks and buttoned shirt. He wore a blue tie that he constantly touched as he walked. His blond hair and blue eyes highlighted his outfit. He was young, in his thirties, and he was in good shape. “Having a bad day?” he asked as he sat next to her.

She nodded. “What gave me away?”

“You were upset the moment you walked through the door.”

“I didn’t realize the exam was today. I thought it was tomorrow.”

“The date has been on the syllabus since the beginning of the semester.”

“I know,” she said with a sigh.

He placed his hands on the desk and played with the ba
nd of his watch. “I realize it isn’t my place to get involved with students affairs, but is everything alright?”

“I—I’m just stressed out.”

“Would you care to discuss it?”

“You don’t want to know. It’s—it’s stupid.”

“Nothing is stupid, Nancy. But you don’t have to talk about it if you’d rather not. I’m here whenever you need me.”

“Are you always this invested in your students?”
Nancy asked.

“Always.
I care about my students. Most of the faculty doesn’t, but I do.”

“That’s why you’re my favorite teacher,” she said with a smile.
“Even though I hate this major.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You hate this major?”

She shrugged. “I’m just not good at science.”

“You have a good GPA.”

“That doesn’t mean much.”

“If you hate it, why did you pick it?”

“I don’t know. Job security,” she said.

“That’s not a very good reason, but I understand your logic. What are you actually interested in?”

“I love art.”

“What kind of art?
” he asked.

“Painting
s.”

“Maybe you would be happier there.”

She chuckled. “And do what with that degree?”

“Be a painter. Show your artwork at an exhibit.”

“There’s a problem with that,” Nancy said. “I love art, but I’m not good at it.”

“Says who?”

“Well, no one. I just showed my dad and he didn’t seem impressed.”

“Maybe you should ask more people what they think.”

She shook her head. “I’m not ready.”

“Well, whenever you are, you should do it.”

“Maybe.”

“So, is that what’s on your mind?” he asked as he leaned back in his chair. “That didn’t sound stupid.”

“No, I’m having—boy trouble,” she said.

“Ah, I see. High school never ends, does it?”

“Unfortunately, no.”

“
What’s the problem?” he asked.

“Basically, my boyfriend is a jerk. I’m going to end the relationship next time I see him.”

“You’ll feel better about it shortly. The most important thing in life is to be happy. If this guy doesn’t make you happy, he’s gotta go.”

She sighed. “He does make me happy—sometimes.”

“But not all the time?”

“The rest of time I want to rip his throat out.”

He chuckled. “Couples fight. That’s normal.”

“But he drives me insane. There are small moments of happiness, but they are very rare and they never last very long.”

“It sounds like you’ve thought this through.”

“I have. I just need to dump him
before he can sweep me off my feet again.”

“I have a suggestion,” he said.
“If you like him, why don’t you just tell him how you feel?”

“I have—many times. He doesn’t get it. We can’t even communicate.”

“It makes me wonder why you’re with him at all.”

She felt her cheeks blush
. “We have a—strong chemistry.”

He laughed and leaned back. “Which means the sex is good.”

Nancy shrugged. “Maybe.”

He smiled. “I miss being young.”

“You’re only thirty.”

“Thirty-
two.”

“That’s still not old.”

“It’s not young either.”

“And you see co
llege students on a daily basis,” she said.

“I’ll never date a student. It doesn’t matter if they’re an adult.”

“I wish more teachers were like you.”

“They can’t all be awesome,” Dr. Drake said with a smile. “So, do you feel better now?”

“Actually, I do.”

“I’m glad I could help.”

“And thank you for giving me another chance on the exam.”

“I knew you had it in you.” He stood up then grabbed his bag, putting the exams inside. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bye, Dr. Drake,” she said as she walked out. When she pondered what he said, she wondered if she should change her major. Even though she wasn’t good at art, at least she loved it. She walked across campus until she entered the classroom and sat in her seat.

“Hey, Nancy,” Shelly said.

“Hey,” she said with sigh.

“What’s with you?”

“I just had an exam.”

“Oh, I got
ya.” Shelly tucked her blonde hair behind her ear. “At least it’s over, right?”

Tiffany turned around in her seat. “An exhibit competition is b
eing held for the university at J and K Showroom next week. We should enter it.”