Teaching Mr. Graham

Chapter Thirty-Two

    "Ever since I've known you, your style has been either really chill, or really laid back," Kenya said while leading Tatiana through Old Orchard Mall, an outdoor mall located in the Chicago suburbs. She'd dressed in jeans, an oversized tee, and Jordan sneakers. "There is never really any in-between choices in your wardrobe. Some of your more formal dresses are actually gorgeous. And your chill style is nice - a little one dimensional because most of your laid-back outfits are the same: a tank, a pair of jeans, and flip flops. You don't really have a lot of cute sneakers in your wardrobe. No cute low heels. No cute high heels. Your wardrobe right now has no range. That's what I hope to resolve today."

    "My parents didn't really let me go shopping too often," Tatiana reminded her. "And whenever I did go shopping, my mom was there. She wouldn't even let me go inside of the stores I wanted to."

    "Your mom is pretty old school when it comes to a lot of things," Kenya said with a nod. "And your dad is even more old school than she is. I understand why up to this point, your wardrobe is limited. But while you're here, you have a chance to spread your wings a little bit. Experience life. Discover who you are and what you like. You've already done a little experiencing with Mr. Drake Graham." She flashed a smirk at Tatiana. "But now it's time for you to discover your personal style."

    Tatiana glanced around them, at the people bustling around and at the stores looming over them. "Do you really think clothes shopping is necessary, if he's shown that he already likes me?"

    Kenya abruptly stopped walking, turned, and gave Tatiana a blank stare. "That's all the more reason for you to go shopping, Tati. Are you kidding me? You're too smart to be this dumb. Just think about it: you hang out with him a few times each weak. Are you going to wear the same outfit? Is it enough that the color of your tank top changes every time you hang out? No. You want to give some kind of variety. He shouldn't be able to predict what you're going to wear. Not this early on, at least. And there are too many fashion options to limit yourself to one outfit choice. As your friend, I cannot allow you to go through your life without determining what your personal style is." She grabbed onto Tatiana's arm and led her towards a store with giant, glowing white letters over its double doors. "My crazy ass categorizes stores into two groups: skinny bitch stores, which I avoid like the plague, and every shape stores, which...is pretty self-explanatory. Today I will take you to some of the skinny bitch stores, because you might be able to find something cute in one of them."

    Tatiana didn't consider herself skinny at all, but she nodded anyway.

    "This is Nordstrom, as you could probably tell from the sign," Kenya explained, pulling the door open and leading Tatiana inside. "Technically, they're an every shape store. They have a plus-size section and some of their stuff is actually pretty cute. They have a little bit of everything in here, so I'd be surprised if we didn't find at least a few good ensembles for you." Her steps slowed down, and she withdrew her cell phone from her pocket. After looking at the screen for a few moments, she broke out into one of the prettiest smiles Tatiana had ever seen on her.

    Without asking, Tatiana knew that Kenya had gotten a text message from Eric. That morning, Kenya had waken to a "Good morning beautiful" text message from him. Tatiana was so happy for her best friend, but it also struck her that she didn't have Aubrey's phone number, and he didn't have hers. If someone else scrolled through his phone and saw her listed in his contacts, that could land him in a considerable amount of trouble - likewise if she left her phone and someone else scrolled through it. In order to see him, she had to go to class or randomly bump into him outside of class. Realizing that forced her to face the fact that their courtship was far from typical. They had to be careful, mindful of the people around them. They couldn't be carefree like Kenya and Eric were. Her mouth curved downward into a frown as she watched Kenya examine skirts lined up on the nearest rack.