The Tutor (girlxgirl)

Nine

Vee and Amber were upstairs in Amber's room. Amber was helping her study for her precalculus midterm. However, Vee was going to have to leave soon because Amber's parents were going to be home soon.

"Do you use the x or the y coordinate to find domain?" Amber was holding a thin mint in her hand. For every question Vee got correct, she was rewarded a cookie.

"X value!" Amber smiled and plopped the cookie in Vee's mouth.

"How do you move an equation four units to the right?"

"Subtract four from inside the equation!" And Vee was awarded a second cookie.

Amber's phone buzzed and she went to check it. She didn't look happy, "My parents are gonna be home in a few minutes. We should probably go."

Vee packed up her stuff and the two were heading down the steps when Amber abruptly stopped. Vee practically ran into her. When Amber turned around, she looked terrified.

"What is it?" Vee tried to make eye contact, but Amber was looking at the ground.

"I didn't think they'd be here yet," Amber mumbled. When Vee looked down the steps, she noticed that the house was full. There people were all over the place, seeming to be decorating the house for something. The first thing Vee noticed were the cardboard cutouts of Donald Trump that were all over the place, as well as banners that said 'Make America Great Again.'

"What is this?" Vee asked, stumped.

"It's been two years since Trump was elected. My parents are hosting a party. I didn't really want to tell you."

"I see . . . " Vee was truly floored, "Your family is going all out."

Amber finally looked up, but Vee wasn't looking at her, "You know I don't support him, right?"

"Yeah, I know," Vee sighed, "Sometimes I just forget that not everyone around you thinks the same way."

Amber grabbed her hand, "I'm sorry, but we should probably get going before my parents come home." Vee nodded softly. Amber let go of her hand. The two silently made their way out of the door. Just as they were getting into Amber's car, her parents pulled into the driveway. They were too late.

Her parents came out the car, looking at Vee skeptically, "Hello sweetheart," Amber's dad greeted her with a hug. Her mom was still staring at Vee.

"Who's this?"

Amber waved Vee over, "This is Viviana, a friend of mine."

"Oh," Her dad smiled at her, "Nice to meet you, Viviana."

"You didn't say anything about having friends over," Her mom was still looking at Viviana weirdly.

"Sorry," Amber looked at the ground, "We were just studying."

"It's fine, sweetheart," Her dad reassured, "You two seem to be on your way out. Will you be back home on time for the party?"

Amber nodded softly, "Yeah, I'm just taking Viviana home."

"Amber can we speak to you in private for a second?" Her mom interjected. Amber handed Vee the keys to her car. She jumped into the passenger's seat and turned on the radio.

From what Viviana could see, the conversation seemed tense. Amber had her head down and her mom seemed to be upset. Her dad on the other hand seemed to be trying to calm down Amber's mom. When the conversation ended, Amber looked relieved.

When Amber finally joined her in the car, she was quiet. The only time she looked at Vee was when she kissed her on the cheek when Vee got out the car.

When Vee got home, she had to get ready for work. But she couldn't go to work, not when she was feeling like this. Something happened while she was waiting in the car, but it doesn't seem like Amber's gonna tell her what. Vee doesn't know if it's her place to ask. Yes, they're in a relationship and share a lot about their lives with each other but does that mean Vee should also pry Amber for information?

When she got to work, she shared her concerns with Lucas. He seemed to agree with her and said she shouldn't pry. He said if Amber wanted to tell her, she'd tell her. However, his advice didn't make her feel any better.

Vee was working the register for her shift but she wasn't doing a good job. She could barely focus and kept messing up orders and giving back the wrong change. It got so bad her boss eventually had to step in and take over for her. Vee spent the rest of her shift in the kitchen. There goes employee of the month.

~

"Amber can we speak to you in private for a second?" Her mom interjected. Amber handed Viviana the keys to her car. Once Viviana was in the car, her mother spoke up, "You've never mentioned having a friend named Viviana before," Her mother sounded annoyed, "What happened to you and Jinny?"

"We're still friends," Amber tucked her hair behind her ear, "Viviana and I were just studying for a test."

"And you had to bring her to our house?" Her mother's voice was getting louder. Amber hoped Viviana couldn't hear, "What if she took something!"

"She's not like that, mother."

"And then you just gave her the keys to your car! What were you thinking? When did you become so irresponsible?" Her mother was yelling now. There were workers outside and some of them were looking at her. Amber's mother didn't seem to notice, but her father did.

"Honey, why don't you try and keep your voice down?" He put a reassuring hand on her back, "It was probably just an honest mistake and it won't happen again, right Amber?"

Amber nodded quickly, "Never again."

"See? You can calm down," Her father rubbed her mother's back as she took deep breaths.

"Okay, I'm sorry," She sighed, "Amber, I just want what's best for you. You don't need to hang around people like that. You have Jinny and your other friends. It's your senior year, you don't need to expand your social circle that much."

Amber didn't say anything she just nodded.

"Be careful dropping her off," Her father warned before kissing her forehead, "And be back on time for the party, okay?"

Amber just nodded. When she got back in the car, she couldn't face Viviana. How could she after her parents just disrespected her behind her back. Plus, she didn't want to bother Viviana with her negative energy. So, their car ride home was spent in silence.