Teaching Mr. Graham

Chapter Sixteen

    Tuesday was a free day for Tatiana. She didn't have any classes on Tuesdays or Thursdays. She spent the day familiarizing herself with campus and studying her textbooks. She and Kenya spent the evening catching up on a few of their favorite television shows via a streaming website.

    Wednesday morning, Tatiana practically hopped out of bed and frantically searched her closet for an outfit that was halfway cute. Ideally, she would have loved to wear a skirt. The only skirts that she had, though, looked suitable for church. Miserably wishing that she and Kenya were the same size, she settled on a pair of jeans and a white, button-down shirt. Kenya's right, she thought to herself. I do need to go clothes shopping. I didn't really care about what I looked like before, but now...

    Now, what? What had changed? Why did she all of a sudden want to look her best in class?

    Sighing, she walked over to her bed and dropped her clothes on it. I'm trying to look cute because Drake teaches my class. I'm trying to look cute for him. She dropped onto the edge of her bed and covered her face with her hands.

    Kenya shifted in her sleep, but didn't wake up.

    Tatiana sighed. Kenya thinks it's okay to seduce a teacher, but I'm not as free-spirited as she is. I wish I were, but... An image of his face flashed in her mind. She dropped her hands in her lap and gripped the edge of the bed. Where do you even begin when it comes to seducing someone, anyway? People don't really go around pretending to drop things just so they can bend over...do they?

    She rose from her bed and gathered her clothes and hygiene products. Then she took them to the communal shower for the girls in the dorm. While she loved the freedom that came with dorm life, she wasn't a fan of having to use a public bathroom. Is it worth being able to live away from my parents, though? she wondered while undressing. Definitely.

    After showering and dressing, she packed her textbooks into her backpack and slung her backpack over her shoulder. Kenya was just starting to wake up, her hair going in every which direction as she sat up in bed. "Headed to your boyfriend's class?" she croaked.

    "I'm headed to my Philosophy class, actually," Tatiana replied, pocketing her cell phone. "And then I'm off to my Biology class."

    "And then?" Kenya prompted, scratching her head.

    Tatiana smiled. "And then I'm off to my writing class."

    "The writing class taught by the love of your life, you mean?" Kenya asked, yawning.

    "The writing class taught by a man who is completely off-limits to me," Tatiana corrected her. "I have to go."

    "Tell Drake I said 'Hi,'" Kenya mumbled before lying back down and rolling over.

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

    Tatiana's first two classes were uneventful and uninteresting. There was only one class she was looking forward to, even though she wasn't completely honest with herself as to why she was looking forward to it. She entered Mr. Graham's classroom while clutching onto her backpack strap for dear life. When her eyes landed on him, her heart melted a little.

    He was seated at his desk writing on a sheet of paper. There was something cute in the way he wrote. He hunched over his desk and positioned his face really close to the paper while writing.

    Trying not to smile, she quietly found a seat in one of the empty top rows and lowered into it.

    Students out in the hallway were shamelessly snapping pictures of him as they passed by. The same went for some of the students seated in the classroom, despite having been warned that their phones could get confiscated.

    Tatiana continued to watch him write on his sheet of paper. She watched him until he glanced at his watch and looked up at the students socializing in the room.

    His eyes found her. She didn't know if he'd been deliberately looking, but when he saw her, he smiled.

    Her heart pounded in her chest, but she raised a hand and wiggled her fingers at him.

    His smile widened and he stood up from his desk. "I want to remind everyone that at this point, if you have your phone out and you're taking unauthorized photos or video of this class, your phone will be confiscated." He looked each student in the eyes. "Now is the time to get over the fact that I'm your teacher and take the class seriously."

    Get over the fact that you're our teacher? Tatiana thought incredulously. Easier said than done, buddy.

    "As an introduction to this class, I've brought in a video for us to watch," he said, pacing in front of his desk. "This is one of the best writing videos I've ever seen. It covers many of the mediums of writing throughout history, covering everyone from Shakespeare to Bob Dylan. Legends. The video is quite long and we most likely won't finish it today, but you will be quizzed on what you see today and Friday in class. I'm going to take a minute to get the projector set up. You can talk amongst yourselves while I get everything ready."

    Chatter started almost immediately.

    Since Tatiana didn't know anyone in the class, she busied herself with watching Mr. Graham. Today, he'd chosen to wear a black Polo shirt and a pair of slacks. His biceps stretched the short sleeves on the shirt. In recent months, the muscular bulk he'd gained had been the talk of gossip blogs nationwide.

    Several times, she caught him looking her way. She'd quickly avert her gaze, then resume watching him when it was safe.

    "All right, we're good to go," he announced, grabbing a small remote control from the top of his desk. He walked over to turn off the lecture hall lights, then climbed the stairs. He didn't stop climbing until he reached Tatiana's row. "Is anyone sitting here?" he asked, indicating the seat next to her.

    She lifted her eyes and wordlessly shook her head.

    He sat down inthe seat beside her. Then he raised the remote control and pressed Play.