Page 12 of Somewhere Between Falling

One familial scandal at Parkhurst was enough.

Chapter Eight

Once I got over my initial anxiety, it wasn’t as hard to get my thoughts down as I thought it would be. I think I might have been overthinking it before, but after running into Tobias at College Station, I felt surprisingly confident in my ideas. However, I was still nervous about him reading it.

“Now, as I pass these out, please don’t be discouraged,” Tobias said sympathetically. “It’s pretty normal to score lower than you may be used to on your first Kiuchi paper. He has a very strict rubric. Look over the notes left on your papers, so you know what to fix next time.”

He walked up and down the aisles of desks, and when he got to me his hand lingered a bit longer and there was a knowing twinkle in his eyes that basically liquified me from the inside out. How can one person have such power over another without even trying? When he finally moved on, I slowly turned over my paper.

C+

That was so much worse than I was anticipating.

The girl with shiny black hair, whom I had since learned was named Julie, craned her neck in a not-so-discreet way to try to see what I got. I quickly slid my paper inside my notebook so she couldn’t see what I scored. She, on the other hand, left her paper proudly displayed in the middle of her desk. She got a B+. Which really frustrated me because she clearly had a better grasp on the material than I did, so why was she so being nosy about my grade? It was none of her business after all, and I wasn’t sure why she was so interested in the first place. It wasn’t a contest.

I spent the rest of the class period staring outside. The sun had all but disappeared into dark clouds, which I couldn’t help but believe was a reflection of my mood. When Tobias finally dismissed class, I took my time collecting my things so that I was purposely the last person remaining.

“Everything okay?” he said, as he turned around to start erasing the board.

“No, actually it’s not.”

“Ah, your paper?” he asked knowingly.

“I’ve never gotten a C before. Like, ever.”

“It was well-written—you’re an excellent writer—and grammatically, it was perfect. If you would have had just a little stronger introduction and included a more thorough summary of your points in your conclusion it would have been closer to an A paper.”

“Thanks for the tip,” I replied glumly. My phone buzzed, and I reached for it in my bag. A quick glance showed me it was Dad.

“Should you get that?” Tobias asked, tilting his head toward my phone.

“I should, but I don’t really want to.” With a deep sigh, I answered it. “Hello?”

“Hi, Tamsin, it’s Blair,” she said, as if I wouldn’t immediately realize it wasn’t my dad.

“Yes, I know.” My voice sounded colder than I meant it to, and it made me cringe wondering what Tobias thought about my tone. I didn’t like the idea of him thinking poorly of me.

“I just wanted to invite you to my baby shower. It’s in two weeks, and we would both really love it if you could be there. We haven’t seen you in so long.”

It had literally been a month, but who was counting?

“Oh, um, sure.” I worked harder to sound kinder than I had when I answered the call. “I can probably make it. Text me the details, okay?”

“Okay, great, yes I will right now.”

“Alright, bye.” I ended the call, and as if it was a sign from some higher power, thunder boomed so loudly it felt like it shook the room. I glanced out the window and the dark clouds I had originally thought were just a reflection of my mood had turned into a torrential downpour.

I groaned. “Perfect, just perfect.”

“What?” Tobias asked.

“I walked here,” I answered.

“Ah.” He laughed. “Well, you know, I’m parked right outside. I can give you a ride if you’d like.”

I hesitated. It would be more convenient than having to traipse back to the dorms in the pouring rain, but would anybody think it was weird if they saw me get into his car?

“Okay,” I impulsively agreed, deciding it was worth the risk to avoid getting drenched. “Yes, thank you.”

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