Teaching Mr. Graham

Chapter Ten

    The first dorm room that Kenya and Tatiana poked their heads into was filled with thick smoke hovering near the ceiling. It had a strange, unpleasant odor. Alternative music was playing on a laptop sitting on the desk in the corner of the room. Several college kids sat or stood in the room, talking to each other and smoking. They glanced towards Kenya and Tatiana when the two girls entered.

    Tatiana wrinkled her nose in disgust and immediately turned out of the room. "Ugh." She waved a hand in front of her face.

    Kenya took longer to return to the hallway. "All right, if you're a party novice, then that dorm room is definitely way too advanced for you."

    Now that they were standing out in the hall, Tatiana could still smell the questionable odor. She continued fanning a hand in front of her face. "If the other parties are anything like that, I'd rather just hang outside."

    Kenya linked arms with her. "In the spirit of adventure, we owe it to ourselves to try a few more dorms."

    Tatiana glanced towards the door leading to the backyard, and tilted her head to the side.

    A man wearing a baseball cap was leaning against the wall with his head tilted down. He wore a button-down shirt and jeans, but at the sight of a man wearing a baseball cap, she couldn't help but wonder if it was Mr. Mysterious.

    "Will you come on?" Kenya urged.

    Tatiana stared at him a minute longer, wishing that he would look up; he didn't. With a disappointed sigh, she turned back and walked alongside Kenya.

    "I say we try one of the dorms on the second floor," Kenya said.

    Hip hop music greeted them as they climbed the stairs. "That music is a good sign," Tatiana said cheerfully.

    Kenya laughed. "I'm cautiously optimistic, I must say."

    They scaled the steps and poked their heads into the first dorm room they reached. This time when they entered the room, the college kids greeted them with a warm, "Hey!"

    Tatiana raised a hand in greeting, and someone put a bottle of apple cider beer into it. "Thank you," she said, lowering her hand and inspecting the label on the bottle.

    Kenya nudged her. "Please tell me you're not reading the ingredients."

    "I was just curious," Tatiana mumbled.

    They walked further into the room. Two cute black boys were arm wrestling on top of the desk, and a couple was dancing in the middle of the dorm room. One of the boys who was arm wrestling glanced up at Kenya and took a double-take. He grinned, flashing a set of perfect pearly whites.

    Kenya was completely oblivious, sipping from the bottle of apple cider beer that was given to her. Tatiana caught it, though, and smiled.

    "I think...that guy is checking you out," Tatiana said, leaning close to her friend.

    "Who?" Kenya's brows furrowed and she looked at the two boys. Her brows shot up. "Never mind, it doesn't matter who. Either one of them could get it."

    Tatiana burst out laughing, but her laughter subsided when she saw the door open to reveal the same man she'd seen in the hallway. Her laugh caught in her throat, as she recognized a very familiar set of lips and familiar, perfectly groomed facial hair.

    He kept his head down, and she was curious as to why he did that. It was as if he didn't want anyone to see his eyes. As soon as he walked into the room, he headed to the opposite side of the room that Kenya and Tatiana were on. The room was so small, though, that he was still less than fifteen feet away from her. A brown-skinned girl was quick to provide him with a bottle of apple cider beer, but instead of walking away as she had done with Kenya and Tatiana, she stayed by his side and instantly started chatting him up.