Teacher's Pet - The Complete Series: Books 1-4

by Avery Phillips

  “Well, to be honest, you can’t. But it’s really not up to them and all that. Her height and her pretty eyes don’t matter. What matters is how you two feel about each other. What matters is what you’re willing to do to make it work. And that goes for Simon or with Dane, whomever you chose. In the end it will only be you two. Just make sure you do your part to make it work. Stop tearing down your house before it’s finished.”

  Bobbi grabbed her bag and headed for the door. “You only get one life, hon. You either swim with the sharks because it’s nice and cool in the water, or you stay where it’s safe and burn your ass up in Fresno. It’s your choice, sweetie, but either way, I love you. Now, I gotta go catch up with my man. You sad, lonely chicks are depressing.”

  Lesson # 16

  The only way to knowledge is through experience

  “After saying our preliminary goodbyes, I took a last look at my room.” -Lynora Minnelli

  Lynn

  I felt like I was backstage at a highly anticipated show during fashion week. The smell of burnt hair was in the air, the scent of the multiple perfumes. Bobbi, Sonja and I were running around like chickens with their heads cut off, all trying to get dressed at the same time. It was frantic yet comforting. My girls and I were together for what could be the last time, at least for a while, with the one common goal of looking as beautiful as we could get.

  “You’re sitting on my hair clip. Can you please release it from the wrath of that big ass of yours so I can put it to proper use?”

  I rose off the bed with a smile on my face and a curler in my hair to let Bobbi retrieve her clip. I didn’t even know I was sitting on it.

  “Wow, it isn’t even broken. Either this is the toughest clip on earth or all that stair-climbing and sex you’ve been having is paying off.”

  Sonja snickered.

  “That’s not funny. You make it sound like I’ve been having sex day and night and working out on the stair climber on my days off.”

  “Well…”

  “Well…” Sonja repeated.

  “It’s none of your business, guys. Come on, we’re supposed to be getting ready to graduate after years and years of brain-killing education, and all you two are concerned about is my sex life. That’s so raunchy.”

  “Well, at least you have one,” Sonja said.

  “Exactly, and I’m still trying to figure out where the problem is.” Bobbi placed her hands on her hips. “Raunchiness is the spice of life. Besides, it’s interesting that you went from being a self-proclaimed man hater to America’s most wanted in a span of a semester. Tell me, how does that even happen?”

  “By sheer bad luck, I assure you,” Lynn said.

  “Or good luck, depending how you look at it,” Sonja chimed. “So how is old Baby Arm, anyway?”

  “Pfft, whatever.” I rolled my eyes and grinned, changing the subject quick. “So, where’s Jay? Is he going to meet up with you somewhere?”

  “Girl, Jay is still recovering from partying with his boys last night, since he got word of the draft. And you know how he is about training, so I guess he’s getting it all out while he can. Hopefully he’ll land on one of the western teams, if that’s at all possible. I’d hate for something like that to put a strain on our relationship.”

  “Speaking of your relationship, where do you think that it’s going? You two have been together since you were seniors in high school. Don’t you think it’s about time you think about marriage?”

  Bobbi blushed, one of the first times, if not the first time, I’d ever seen her do it. The crimson tone went well with the cocoa color of her skin. “We’ve discussed it, but you know it’s still too soon with our careers being so vastly different, and we could wind up in different states. So we’ll see what happens. One can always hope.”

  “And we’ll hope with you, because you guys make a great couple,” I said. “And secretly I’ve always thought I’d make a great godmother to your children.”

  Bobbi huffed. “Lynn I’m sure you’ll be busy with kids of your own. I can see a bunch of spoiled little Fosters running around.”

  “Ha! Don’t hold your breath.”

  “I don’t plan to.”

  It turned out Sonja’s family couldn’t make it to graduation. They were far too poor, and tickets were far too expensive. A family of four flying clear across country could add up to thousands they didn’t have. She was set to go home before coming back to settle, but you could tell that she wasn’t in the best of moods.

  “Are you okay?” I sat down beside her on her bed, wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her close to my shoulder.

  “Yes, I’ll be fine. I just miss my family. I haven’t seen them in years. My brother and sister probably look so different by now. I’ve seen them in pics, but seeing them in person will be different. Plus, I’d like them to see me graduate and accomplish this goal that I set for set for myself. It sets a good example.”

  “Yes, I know, but we’ll take plenty of pictures and video for you, okay? It’ll be almost like they were right there with you, cheering you on as you stand.”

  “Yeah, almost.” She hugged me. “Thank you, Lynn.”

  I kissed her on the cheek. “It’s no problem.”

  We made our last minor adjustments to our hair, our clothes and our makeup. Three Amiga’s getting ready for the show, although each event was well separated. Thirty minutes for me, an hour for Sonja, and Bobbi was the last, starting in two.

  We gave each other hugs and kisses, smearing lipstick on our cheeks, took a lot of pictures, hammed it up for the camera, shared tears of joy and of sadness.

  “It’s not like we’re not going to see each other later.” Bobbi wiped the tears from my eyes. “We still have some partying to do. Post-graduate party blowout, anyone?”

  “Count me in,” Sonja said. “Besides, I’m tethered to you for the next few days.”

  “Wait, what?” I said. “What does that mean?”

  “Oh, I forgot to tell you. Sonja was bumped from her flight so… she’s going to stay with me for the next few days while they straighten things out, since she has no place to stay. And she certainly doesn’t want to stay in that empty room.”

  “I’ve found the loner in me has died thanks to you two.” Sonja smiled.

  “And that’s a good thing?” Bobbi responded.

  “Yes, I think so.”

  After saying our preliminary goodbyes, I took a last look at my room. I also took some time to think of the things that I’d learned and all that was said to me over the years. Profound as it was, most things were easier said than done. Words were freely given until it was time to take some action. And taking action was something I once found difficult.

  My phone rang in my hand. I still didn’t know what to do with it, as I was wearing a dress and there were no pockets in my gown, but I needed to hold on to it in case my parents got lost. It was my father’s number—probably lost. I pushed the green button to accept.

  “Hello?”

  “Hello.” It was my mother.

  “Mom? Why are you calling me from Dad’s phone? Is everything okay?”

  “Yes, Lynora, everything is fine. I’m calling from your father’s phone because I couldn’t get to mine. Your father handed me this one.” There was something in her voice, wheezing, congestion. “But it’s good that you answered because I needed to talk to you… Your father and I—”

  “Today’s kind of hectic, Mom. Graduation is in fifteen minutes and it’ll take that long just to walk across the quad. Where are you? Why aren’t you here yet?”

  “Well, that’s the reason why I called.”

  “What do you mean that’s the reason why you called? You got my invitations, right? You know I graduate today.”

  “…”

  “Mom? You there?”

  She cleared her throat, followed by a raspy, excruciatingly painful-sounding cough. It gave me empathetic aches in my chest. “We feel bad about this, honey, myself especially, but we won’t
be able to make it. We’ve tried, but we… I mean, I haven’t been feeling well lately. My stomach hasn’t settled in days. Your father doesn’t feel right about leaving me by myself. He decided to stay here and take care of me.”

  My mother had a cast-iron stomach, so I doubted what she had was some type of bug, but I guess you never know. People can surprise you, even when those people are your parents. “Mom, you guys can’t do this to me fifteen minutes before I have to step on the lawn.”

  “I know, honey. I’m sorry, I don’t know what else to tell you. Here, you can speak to your father.”

  “I don’t want to speak to Dad,” I shouted, then took a breath, and spoke with an easier tone. “At least not right now. You guys aren’t punking me, are you? Because this isn’t funny. Please tell me you’re not doing this just to have time to try and plan some kind of party, because I’m really not in the mood for that. Dad already threatened to buy a car for graduation, probably a restoration special, a Chevy Nova or some beater of a Mustang. Sometimes I feel like he wishes I was a boy.”

  My mother chuckled and coughed again. “Trust me, honey, I know better than to throw you a surprise party. Your father is here helping me clean up the house. It’s a big mess, and I have a lot of stuff I need to get rid of. I’m going to have a garage sale. So I can get rid of this clutter.”

  My mother and father were divorced. She was too much of a control freak for him. He was too laid-back and a slob for her. An accountant and a mechanic got together on a whim. How two people so different could still fall in love was far beyond me. “Are you sure you’re okay? This all seems a little too strange to be real and a little too last minute for you. All you’ve ever talked about since I was little was watching me graduate. And now you and Dad are not going make it? I don’t know how I should take this.”

  “Um, miss.”

  I turned around. The guy straight out of a Jane Austen book was standing in the doorway looking impatient. “I’m sorry, but I’m here to pick you up. The boss is waiting in the car and time is pressing.”

  I sighed, done with it all. “I have to go, Mom. I guess we’ll have to talk about this later. I hope you feel better soon. Tell Dad I love him, and if you can find any way to make it down here, even if you have to stay in a hotel, I’d really like to see you.”

  “Well, aren’t you coming home tomorrow, dear?”

  “About that.”

  “Ahem.” The guy looked at his watch.

  “I’ve been thinking of not going home right away. I want to try and stay with Bobbi for a little bit while I start getting my résumé together. She doesn’t know it yet, I haven’t asked her, but I think it’s what’s best for me right now. I have loose ends I have to tie up as well. I hope you understand.”

  My mother let out a breath. “I’m trying, Lynora, I really am.”

  “I also wanted to tell you that I was sorry. I was dealing with extraordinary stress this year and I haven’t been the best daughter. I wasn’t answering your calls and insulted you last time we talked. I wasn’t myself when I said those things, and I didn’t mean them. I’ve been making a lot of mistakes, and those are the two that I regret most, so I’m sorry, Mom. I truly am. Now I’ve got to get out of here. Someone ordered a limousine for me and the driver is waiting. I love you both. Gotta go.”

  “I—”

  I hung up on her. I didn’t mean to, but I really had to go, and my mom could talk until my ears bled if I let her. I blew a kiss goodbye to my room and all of the memories that it held—some good, some bad, some downright scandalous, but those were the ones that put a smile on my face. I closed the door behind me and walked fast down the hall. My phone started ringing but I ignored it. I had five minutes left to get across the quad, so I had to hall ass so I could make it.

  I still had yet to check in. Simon would be there, along with my other econ professors—Professor Trudeau, Professor Lentz and all the others, with the head of the department. I had to make sure I thanked them all. As we walked outside, I saw the car, the same black limo that drove me to the city, but not the same driver as before.

  The Jane Austen guy sped up ahead of me, stood by passenger door and cracked it open. My phone started to ring. I knew it was my mother, so I needed to answer the call because the way I’d hung up on her earlier was rude.

  “Hello.” I crouched down to step in the limo and saw Dane, as I expected, sitting comfortably in the back, wearing a cream button-up shirt, black slacks and black shoes, looking as casual as I'd ever seen him before, but to my right were my parents and I couldn't believe my eyes. They shouted, “Surprise!” waving their hands, with smiles ear to ear.

  I was so surprised that I jumped, hit the back of my head on the roof and slumped into the seat both happy and hurting. “I’m sooo happy to see you,” I said. I hugged them both, kissed them on the cheeks. But a thought crossed my mind as I did it. If it wasn't my mother, then who was on the phone? I felt the weight of my cell in my palm. I looked at my father, and then looked at Dane. Neither had phones in their hands.

  So who could it be? I put the phone to my ear. “Hello, who is this?” I was curious. They said nothing at first; I heard a sob, a woman, familiar, and something in me panicked.

  “I didn’t want to call you.” Her voice sounded hoarse, just above a whisper—strained. I could hear the tension constricting her throat as she pushed out every word. “I didn’t want to do it but he gave me no choice. He needed me to call you. He begged me.”

  It was… “Caroline? What the hell’s going on?” Dane and my parents were staring at me with concern in their eyes and confusion on their faces. “Who needed you to call?”

  “Simon, Lynora… he’s hurt really bad. There was an accident… a truck hit his motorcycle.” She could hardly get out the words, crying, sobbing, sniffing and hesitation. I was hanging on every syllable. “He’s in the hospital… He won’t stop calling your name.”

  Part IV

  Lesson # 1

  People in hell want ice water

  “It was torture to my very soul to be trapped inside a parked car.” -Lynora Minnelli

  Lynn

  I swear the words leapt out of my mouth before my mind managed to comprehend the consequences. I yelled at the driver at the top of my lungs, “Turn this car around right fucking now!”

  My mother looked pained, taking the full brunt of my words, turning her head like I had slapped her in her face. She opted to look at my father instead of me. She was wearing a purple summer dress hanging just below her knees, strappy silver sandals, a white shawl over her shoulders, and a look of disappointment on her face. She was sitting with my dad in the seat directly across from me. But I couldn’t worry about any judgments from my parents for now, because I had a prime directive, and I had to see it through.

  We had to get to the hospital, and pronto!

  The panic in Caroline’s voice was infectious like a disease, and before she hung up the phone I managed to catch it. There was a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I felt tingling on my skin like piercing nettles. There was tension in my shoulders that crept up my neck and balled into a headache pounding at my temples. Sweat was forming beads as large as pearls on my forehead, and as the perspiration poured down, I blinked—my vision was blurred, and I blinked again. I brought my hand up to wipe my eyes clear, because the sweat had started to sting…until I realized it was tears in my eyes.

  I heard the trapped breaths in my ears. It was like I was submerged beneath muffling waves—not an outward breath, like I’m used to hearing, but muted and shallow, like I had sunk so deeply that I couldn’t just casually float to the surface. That was how I felt, like I was drowning. My gaze avoided Dane, and I stared blankly out the window as I fought the rising panic. I needed to know if Simon was okay. My spontaneous command to turn away from graduation suddenly brought me to the realization of how many people would be hurt by my decision, but at that moment I couldn’t let their disappointment faze me, not even Dane’s. I had to do
it.

  “What do you mean turn the car around?” My father looked at the watch he’d worn on his wrist since I was a kid, an old gold Rolex he inherited from his father. It was the single most expensive thing he owned. “We’re supposed to be at your graduation, and we’re already late as it is.”

  “Dad!”

  “Lynora.” He scratched his fully bearded chin, as he usually did when he was irritated, and my eyes flew to his face. It occurred to me he was growing older. The thought stuck in my head as I stared much longer than I wanted. His beard was light brown to beige, with tufts of gray. There were crinkles at the corners of his eyes and smile lines creasing his cheeks. He wore a concerned expression, as if he was trying to understand what madness fueled my erratic behavior.

  But could he understand the fear gnawing at my insides that I might never get to see Simon’s beard go to gray? I held my tears in check. My father replied gently, “Look, it’s important you attend your graduation, sweetheart. Events like this only come along once in a lifetime. So, whoever this is, this…this Simon…and whatever the situation he’s gotten himself into, I’m sure he can wait. We can stop by the hospital afterwards.”

  “I agree,” my mother chimed in. “Listen to your father, Lynora. Be sensible. We’ll stop by the hospital after the ceremony.”

  “Well, that’s not acceptable.” I turned to Dane, because he hadn’t made a sound. I was hoping he could provide some much-needed backup. It was his brother we were talking about, after all.

  “You should listen to your parents,” he muttered gruffly. He looked at me with cold, steely eyes. He stared for several seconds before he turned to look out of the window at the busy street. A sadness I couldn’t explain spiraled at my core, and I realized I wouldn’t get any help from him. I found myself going from sad to angry. I glared at each of them, trying to make them see how important this was to me, but what I got staring back was anything but an understanding.