Teaching Mr. Graham

    Cadence Hall was a wide, three-story brick building that wasn't far from the coffee shop Tatiana and Kenya had visited. They could hear the music playing inside from the outside. That could be in part because most of the windows were open, as was the front door. College kids lounged around on the porch and in the courtyard that stretched out before the residence hall.

    Tatiana hadn't attended one house party back in her hometown. Her mother was very much against them, saw them as a distraction that could lead to "potentially destructive behavior." Throughout her entire high school experience, Tatiana had been extremely jealous of her classmates whenever they mentioned a party they were going to. She always heard about how fun the parties were after the fact. Not once had she gotten to see one with her own eyes.

    This was her first house party, and she was very anxious. She followed Kenya into the residence hall.

    Kenya checked the flyer in her hands. "I can't tell which floor the party is on," she muttered.

    A tall, skinny kid with shoulder-length blonde hair made his way past them. "A floor isn't listed because the party is on all of the floors," he called over his shoulder. He spread his arms out and whooped in excitement. "Welcome to the party!"

    Kenya arched an eyebrow.

    Tatiana leaned in close to her. "What does that mean?"

    "That the party is taking over the entire building, I guess," Kenya said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Come on...let's follow him. He obviously knows where to go."

    The blonde kid walked down the long, dark hall lined with doors. He burst out through a back door leading into the backyard of the house. Refreshment tables were set up with drinks and snacks, people sat in lounge chairs or danced to the music blaring out of the open dorm windows that looked out over the yard. Far out into the yard, there was a Slip N' Slide, and girls and guys alike went sliding down it.

    Tatiana stopped in her tracks, just taking everything in. It was mayhem. Girls dressed in skimpy clothing dancing with boys who were checking out other girls over their dance partner's shoulder. There were students laughing and drinking from red Solo cups, or goofing off with each other.

    Kenya, who was several paces ahead of her, turned around. "What are you waiting for?"

    "I was just...looking around," Tatiana said, feeling extremely nervous.

    Kenya rolled her eyes and retraced her steps back to Tatiana. "You're so annoyingly innocent, I swear." She grabbed Tatiana's hand and tugged on it. "Come with me. You just let me know what our first order of business should be."

    The first order of business turned out to be grabbing a few drinks.

    It's going to take more than Hawaiian Punch to calm my nerves, Tatiana thought, lifting her cup to her lips. After taking a few sips, she lowered her cup and frowned down into it.

    Kenya was watching her closely, and it looked like she was trying not to laugh.

    "What?" Tatiana demanded.

    "Nothing," Kenya said, turning her head and squinting off into the distance.

    "So...you're the queen of parties and social events. What do we do? Stay out here, and dance? Go inside and see what the parties look like inside of the dorms? Walk up to random guys and start flirting?"

    Kenya shook her head. "You're breaking down this party and thinking about it like it's a school project or some shit. Relax. Calm down. Not everything has to be planned out. The whole purpose of parties is to blow off some steam. In a best case scenario, you meet new people that you can vibe with."

    "Okay," Tatiana said, tapping her cup with her fingers. She glanced around at the other students scattered around the yard. There looked to be somewhere between fifty and a hundred other students in the yard with them, and from the sounds of the music, screams, and laughter coming from the residence hall windows, a decent amount of students were also inside. She looked at some of the boys, sizing some of them up.

    One of the drawbacks of being born into her family was that she hadn't been allowed to date. That didn't keep her from having love interests that she flirted with at school, but those romances - if you could even call them that - were short-lived. Because her parents were so strict, she hadn't been able to go on dates with those interests. It never took long for the boys to grow bored of her lack of freedom and move onto the girl whose parents were less strict. Her dating experiences were limited, and one of the most exciting aspects about starting college had been the freedom to date whoever she wanted to.

    As her eyes scanned over the crowd, none of the guys stood out to her. Some of them were attractive. One guy would have a pretty smile, while another would have classically handsome features. A few of them dressed really well. None of them really captured her attention, though. Meanwhile, she was finding it hard to stop thinking about a certain guy whose face she'd only seen a half of...a guy whose advice had helped lead her to make one of the toughest decisions of her life.

                                                                                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Aubrey tugged the brim of his hat lower as he walked up the short steps to Cadence Hall, one of the largest residence halls on campus. Students were everywhere. If he wasn't careful, he could easily be recognized. Despite his desire to lay low, he couldn't resist the curiosity that had surged up within him when he'd spotted the girl he met the other day.

    Once he was inside of Cadence Hall, he heard music coming from every which direction. He didn't now where to go, but several kids ahead of him were walking down the long hall, towards a door at the end of the hall. He took a chance and decided to follow those students.

    Following those students led him to an expansive backyard, where students were dancing and talking and carrying on. He smoothed a hand down the front of his crisp, white button-down shirt and tucked both hands in the pockets of his jeans as he stepped out into the yard. He surveyed the faces of each of the students. Then his eyes landed on her.

    She was standing near the beverage table, talking to her friend. Then she turned and looked around the yard.

    He dropped his gaze immediately and lowered his head, feeling his cheeks heat up. What the hell is wrong with me? I'm a grown ass man acting like a high schooler with a crush. I don't even know anything about her. I don't even know her name. She's just some girl who I sat near at a coffee shop, a girl that I had a five minute conversation with. She's not even just a girl - she's a student, and after the pep talk I gave her, she could be one of my students. So...what am I doing here?

    She and her friend started walking in his direction, while talking.

    He ducked his head down farther and moved away from them. In all of his years as an entertainer, how was it still possible that just the sight of a girl could make him nervous?

    The two girls drew nearer to him, but he kept his back to them to keep from being seen.

    "I feel like I could strangle your parents sometimes," the cute, full-figured girl said. "Not letting you go to any parties has seriously stunted your social skills."

    "That could be true," the girl he was obsessively shadowing replied. "Or maybe not going to any parties helped keep me out of trouble."

    He couldn't help but smile. So, the girl who'd come at him with all of the attitude in the world was sheltered? A good girl who hadn't so much as gone to one party? He chuckled to himself at the thought.

    "A life without any trouble in it is boring, Tati," the dark-skinned girl said as they entered the building.

    Tati? Is that your name? Clearing his throat, he thought, Don't go in after them. You're already dangerously close to becoming a full-blown stalker. Don't follow them. But he heard their voices. They were still talking, and dammit...as much as he wanted to stop following her, he couldn't resist. He wanted to hear her voice. He wanted to hear more about her. So, even though he knew it was a horrible idea that he could come to regret later, he went in after them.