by cross, kali
Karen sneers at her, puts in her information, and says, “Mine’s right.”
“Mine, too,” Jerrod says
“This can’t be right. What do I do? I can’t let these grades post. Aunt Patty will have to tell my mother and God knows what she’ll do.” My heart is racing, and I feel a trickle of sweat run down my back.
“Pequena, it’ll be fine.” Bobby grabs my hand, locking his eyes with mine. “Breathe. It’s ok.” I breathe in and out slowly, staring into those dark pools as my heart slows. He says, “Good. That’s much better. I had a roommate my first year who had an incorrect grade posted. You have to gather all your papers and test scores and talk to your advisor. He should be able to help. I think he had to take his papers to each professor, and they had to file a correction with the Chancellor’s office. The good news is it can be fixed.”
Great. I have to try to catch Professor Stewart and all the other professors before finals start tomorrow. Shit, that gives me twenty-four hours.
Chapter 18
I run across campus and rush up the stairs to Professor Stewart’s office. The air rushes in and out of my lungs. Shit, I need to start running, this is fucking ridiculous. I am gasping for air as I blast through his open door. I stand, hands on knees, huffing and puffing.
“Really my dear, I can’t have students expiring in my office. It just wouldn’t do.” His keen eyes dance with laughter as he patiently waits for me to catch my breath.
I lean on the office chair in front of me, finally when I think I can speak, I puff out, “Grades came out today. Not right.” I pause to take a breath. “Please help me. What can I do to fix this?” Geez, why can’t I catch my breath? I set my laptop down on one of the massive piles of papers on his desk. Type in my user ID and student pin. Turning the screen to him, I point and gulp in air.
He takes a look and frowns. He mumbles, “My word, Amber. That is a beastly average.” As if he remembers who he’s talking to, he says, “Let’s look at my class. I certainly know what grade I submitted. Hmmm. Bloody hell. That is not what I submitted to the Chancellor’s office. You have an A in my class. This is bullocks. This bloody machine says you have a D.”
“I know. It’s not right. I have some of my papers in my bag, but most of them are in my dorm room. What can I do?” I know I sound desperate, but I don’t care. I need this fixed before the grades post.
“I’m terribly sorry, but you will have to go to each professor and obtain a written letter confirming the correct grade. They file their copy with the Chancellor’s office, and only then can the grades be changed. I know this is bloody inconvenient, but you have to speak to each of your teachers personally. With finals beginning tomorrow, you will be hard pressed to get signed forms before the faculty is able to entertain your request. You would have to wait until finals are over and then file a form with the chancellor’s office. That could take several weeks to correct, and you wouldn’t see any change until the fall.”
I’m dumbfounded. I stare at him as my stomach hardens. I am so fucked.
His kind eyes drink in my tortured face as tears begin to well. “Buck up, girl. Crying will not get this problem solved.” Handing me my copy of the form, he says, “I’ll take a stroll to Ms. Chadwick’s office and discuss this with her. Dreadful woman. I detest spending any time around her at all. But, time to buck up. There is definitely something dodgy going on. Righto.” Staring at me as if he’s seeing me for the first time, he says, “Clear off now. No time to waste. Professor White’s office is in the math building. I believe that is the closest. I would start with her.” He rises with me, as if remembering something important. “Speak up, my dear. You’ll have to persuade each professor to submit the correction immediately. That will not be easy. Most will beg off and offer to submit it later. You will have to politely insist. No time for wallflower antics. Clear off now.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
I run to each of my professor’s offices like a mad woman. They all try to blow me off but I do everything I can to get them to fill out the correction form – plead, insist, cajole.
I text Sally:
Only one more class to go – Professor Black.
My phone pings:
Why are you texting me?
RUN!
I whisk across campus as the bell tower rings the six o’clock hour. Damn, there’s no way he’ll be in his office. I rush into his office, and Bobby is sitting in front of his desk. He glances up at me and continues, “Professor Black surely you can see the merits of amnesty for all current aliens. Oh, I’m sorry to have kept you. I appreciate you taking the time to have an open discussion regarding the matter. I believe Ms. Turner is waiting to speak with you.”
“Not at all, Mr. Sanchez. I enjoy our spirited discussions. It’s refreshing to discuss current political issues with such a passionate student.” He smiles and looks up at me from his desk. “Ms. Turner, what can I do for you?”
Bobby stands to leave, squeezing my hand discreetly as he walks out to the hallway.
“Dr. Black, it appears a mistake has been made on my grade. My records indicate I should have a B+ in your class, and a C has been posted for the class.” I open my computer log on and turn the screen to him.
“That’s not correct, but neither is a B+, Ms. Turner.” His eyes narrow as he examines my laptop.
“I made an A- on the paper, and I had a B on the midterm. I’m confused. I should have at least a B+.”
“No, Ms. Turner,” he says, glancing at his computer and turning to me with a smile. “You have an A-. If you refer to your syllabus, you have a participation grade that increased your grade to an A-.” He looks at me impassively. Pulling a correction sheet, he fills out the correction request and hands me my copy.
Smiling a sheepish grin, “Is there any way I could persuade you to walk the form over to the Chancellor’s office? Please, sir.”
“Her office is closed.”
“Yes, but if it’s in her mail slot, she could have it processed along with all the other grade corrections in the morning. Please, Dr. Black.”
“I’m sorry, but that’s not possible. My wife is waiting for me. I’ll turn it in next week, and we’ll get a corrected grade report out hopefully before the semester ends.”
“All right. I understand.” I hedge out the door as Bobby’s hand pushes me back in the office.
“I’m sorry sir, but my mother will give me no amount of grief if she sees these grades. I can’t risk it.” I stand straight and try to sound firm. “I don’t want to leave school, and I don’t have the greatest track record. I’ve worked hard to correct that here,” I beg. I’m willing to humiliate myself to get this fixed. I know exactly what my mother will do. She’ll have me out of here in a hot minute. I can’t let that happen. “Please, sir. Just walk past the Chancellor’s office and slip it through the mail slot. Please.”
He stares at me impassively and says, “All right, I’ll walk it over. I’ll drop it off on my way out. Is there anything else?”
“No, thank you, sir. I really appreciate it.” He hands me my copy.
I walk out and jump into Bobby’s arms, kissing him on the lips. Just a quick peck. I know exactly what he was doing. If he hadn’t stalled Professor Black, I wouldn’t have been able to talk to him.
Bobby cracks up and says, “Happy, pequena? Should I duck now?”
I climb down and settle onto my feet, punching him on his arm. “No.” I grin.
***
Bobby drops me off at the dorm and asks, “Pequena, let’s go out and celebrate the end of the semester. I’m flying back home tomorrow so I won’t see you for the whole summer. Can I take you to dinner?”
I smile and study my feet. I guess it’s about damn time. He’s worn down my resistance…he’s been so sweet and patient. It’s only dinner. Throw the guy a bone. “Sure. What time?”
His eyes widen, and his lips stretch into a broad grin. “Seven. I’ll see you then.” He turns and walks away. I can’t help but
check out his ass. It’s my thing, my favorite body part. Not bad. Not bad at all.
After so many weeks, hell months, I expected to hear something. I haven’t heard word one. I finally resign myself that Tommy’s done. It’s over.
I have to call Aunt Patty and see if she’s still coming for a visit. I’m surprised at myself that I want her to come. I remember how disappointed she was last time, and since I’m not going anywhere for summer break, we can see some of the other parts of Austin together. I wonder if Sally has plans.
“Hey.” I yell, closing the door.
“Were you able to talk to all your professors?” Her face is full of hope, her eyes lit with expectation.
I smile, my eyes dancing as I jump up and down. “They’re all changing my respective grades.” I bounce around and do a little jump at her, hugging her.
She hugs me back and sets me back on my feet. “That’s great, hon.” She giggles, her hand grazing over my butt.
Slapping her arm playfully, I say, “Yeah, it was strange. More than one of them mentioned that the transmittal report they had showed the correct grades for me. Isn’t that weird?”
“What did you say?” Sally asks. All the blood drains from her face.
“I said more than one of the professors mentioned that the transmittal showed the correct grade was transmitted.” Putting down my bag, I look up, “What?”
“None of them put in the wrong grade and were correcting their own error?” Her eyes widen.
“No, they all showed the correct grade. Hell, Dr. Black had a higher grade than I expected. It was-“
“-Amber, did I ever tell you what Lily’s major is?” Sally face is filled with concern.
“What does she have to do with anything?” My eyes narrow as I tilt my head to the side, looking at her. What does Lily have to do with my grades? “You’re not sleep - ”
“-Amber. She’s an IT major.” Her voice is firm, but her eyes are anything but calm.
I drop to my bed as my stomach lurches to the floor. “What did you say?”
“She’s an IT major, and hello? She works in Chadwick’s office,” she says.
“What the fuck! Are you kidding me? Like fuck she is going to get away with this. I’ll go to Chad - ”
“-Keep your voice down. I haven’t seen her, but I also haven’t seen her move out. For all I know, she’s still down the hall. Did you talk to your advisor about it?”
“Yes, he’s the first person I spoke with.”
“Well, if he goes over there with his grade and mentions it to her that should get Chadwick to investigate. If everyone turns in new grades for you, Chadwick will put two and two together. But, that doesn’t prove its Lily. And, from what Lily tells me, Chadwick loves her. I wonder if she left some proof that she changed your grades. We could ask Jerrod. He’s an IT major,” she says with a supportive smile, “Let’s go down the hall, they‘re heading home to Kansas City after finals.”
We walk down the hall and pound on Karen’s door. Karen opens the door.
“Is Jerrod here?” I ask.
“Yeah. What’s wrong?” Karen pushes her glasses up as she tilts her head. Her eyes narrow as she looks at my anxious face.
“We can talk inside,” Sally says, pushing the door open and going inside as I follow. “Hey Jerrod.”
Jerrod looks up from his computer. “Hey guys.” His eyes search my face, and he asks, “What’s up?”
Sally glances at me. “When Amber went to talk to her professors about her grades, they all mentioned one thing. They had a transmittal report that confirmed they submitted the grade Amber was expecting to the Chancellor’s office. Not a single professor made the error. Every grade was changed after it was submitted to the office and before it was posted on the student connection. Lily McAllister has been hassling Amber since she got here, and she works in the Chancellor’s office. AND, she’s an IT major. Is there any way to prove that she changed Amber’s grades?”
“If she did it from inside the network, yes, she would’ve had to log in to do anything.” Jerrod looks down in thought. His face is expressionless as he mulls over the problem. “I doubt she would have used her own user ID, or that she would have that kind of access under her ID. She could have used someone else’s user name if she knew it. If she came from outside the network, her IP address would have left a footprint. That is if she didn’t cover her tracks using an IP service that routes her through several IP addresses. She’s a first year, right?”
“She’s a sophomore,” Sally says. I stare at him wondering if all this crap has been Lily’s doing. Could she really hate me this much?
“I doubt she would be able to pull that off. She probably went through the network and used someone else’s ID and password.”
“Would you be able to tell what IP address an e-mail was sent from?” Sally asks.
Where she going with this?
“Yeah, sure.” He shrugs.
“Even if it was titled ‘Anonymous’ on the sent line?” Sally glances at me, and my stomach sinks. She didn’t.
“Sure.” I give him my phone and open the e-mail sent to Tommy. Jerrod punches into various programs and says, “It came from this building. I can’t tell you anything more than that without more information.”
“That’s enough for me. Thanks.” My lips press into a thin line. “Thanks, Karen.”
We walk down to our room, and I sit on my bed. “Someone in this building sent Tommy that video of Bobby kissing me. How much you want to bet it was her?” I say with my head in my hands.
“I don’t take sucker bets, darlin’,” she says with a sneer. “I think you should talk to your advisor.”
“I was going to call my aunt and ask her to come down for a visit. She wants to meet Professor Stewart anyway. I can tell her all the shit that Lily has pulled, and she’ll be able to request an investigation from Chadwick. Hopefully, Lily left some kind of an electronic fingerprint somewhere.”
“She’s manipulative, but I don’t think she’s smart enough to know how to cover her tracks that well. She probably thought you would get thrown out of school and just leave.”
“I was waiting on you. That’s why I asked you this morning, dork.” She smiles.
“I would really like for you to meet my aunt. We can stay at the hotel with her, show her around town, and explore all the shit I haven’t seen. She’s a riot. I promise it will be fun.”
“I’m in!”
I call Aunt Patty, and she answers on the first ring. “Hi Amber. What’s up?”
“A couple of things, but the reason I’m calling is that I want to invite you down to visit. That is if you can come. Summer break is next week. I was going to hang out and study before the summer session starts, but my roommate tells me that I’m completely lame. So, I thought you could come down. We could stay at the hotel with you and explore Austin. What do you think?”
“I would love to.”
“I want you to meet my advisor. He might be around if he has classes scheduled over the summer. Can you stay until Wednesday of the following week? That’s when the summer term starts. We might be able to catch him then. I don’t want you to miss work if you don’t have enough vacation days. Maybe you could stagger the time so you’re here over a weekend. That way, you won’t miss too much work.”
“I’m sure it won’t be a problem. I liked the hotel I stayed in when we came down. Why don’t I book two rooms?” Her voice is filled with excitement.
“That sounds good. Text me once you know when you can fly down. Bye.”
“Bye, hon.”
I hang up the phone and look at Sally. “She’s going to text me the info. I hope mom doesn’t give her shit about using the jet,” I say offhand.
“Your family has its own jet?” Sally says, her eyes widen to big brown saucers.
“Yeah,” I say looking away. It’s always so embarrassing whenever a friend finds out how wealthy my family is. I hate that look.
“So, why haven’t yo
u invited me to Paris yet, bitch?” Sally says with her hand on her hips.
“I don’t know. Not willing to give up a pound of my flesh, maybe?” I sigh. “Everything comes with a price with my mom,” I say hoping my eyes don’t reveal how sad that makes me. “Bobby asked me out. I said yes. Is that ok with you?”
“Why should I care? I have no desire to go down that road again. Believe me.” She waves me off. “Go have fun.” Her face curves into a smirk as he points her finger at me, playfully. “Watch his moves, honey, or you’ll be one of the many.”
“There is no chance in hell that I am sleeping with him. None. Nada.”
“You will be surprised how fast that man can get your resolve to fade away. Almost as fast as he gets girls out of their panties, I’ll bet. Besides, you don’t need to jump into something else. You haven’t even talked to Tommy.”
“And, obviously I’m not going to. That ship has sailed. I’ve tried to reach him, and I haven’t heard word one. I think I’m finally ready to move on.”
“Well, I just got you back. You are not tying yourself down to another guy if I have anything to say about it. We need to set this town on fire first. Come on. It’s been so long since I’ve had a partner in crime,” she says. Her eyes are alive with mischief. “Tomorrow your ass is mine, ok?”
“Ok.” I smile, giggling.
I haven’t had any real girl time with Sally. I got here and started dating Tommy right off the bat. Date? Who am I kidding? I jumped into bed with him. Normally, I wouldn’t give a shit. I sleep with who I want, when I want. I don’t follow The Rules or any shit like that. It could be two dates or twenty. If it feels right, I go for it.
It’s not like I was looking for a boyfriend. He wiggled his way into my heart before I knew it. The familiar ache resonates in my chest. Now, I’m here, my heart bumped and bruised. No. He’s gone, and I can’t even get him to talk to me. Sally’s right. It’ll be nice to be single for a while. Keep it casual.
“Go get ready but don’t look too cute. No need to break his heart. Just dress like you used to, street thug a la 1980.”