Free King 02 - Breathless by Tawdra Kandle

relieved beyond words that the car didn’t stall. As I glanced in my rearview mirror, I saw that Rafe Brooks was still standing where I’d left him, looking after me.
     

The ride out to the nursery did refresh my tired spirit. It was a busy afternoon, and even Marly, who always had time for me, barely had a chance to do more than give me a quick welcoming hug. When closing time came, I ducked my head into the greenhouse to say goodbye.
    “Oh, Tas, I’m sorry, I didn’t even get to ask you about your first day of school. Everything okay?”
    I was tempted to tell Marly about Ms. Lacusta, as a trial run for explaining to my parents and Michael. Marly was by far the most sympathetic person in my life, and I knew she’d have words of wisdom for me.
    But one look at her tired face stopped my words before I spoke. I could hear and feel her exhaustion.
    “Yes, thanks, everything was fine,” I responded. “I’ll tell you more later.” I turned to go.
    “Wait a minute, sweetie. Are you sure you’re all right?” Marly was almost as sensitive to moods and feelings as I myself was. I forced a wider smile.
    “I’m sure. Just tired—I guess we all are. I’ll see you on Wednesday afternoon, okay?”
    Marly held my gaze thoughtfully. “Tas, you know, if you need to cut back on your hours here, it’s fine. We don’t want your senior year to be any more challenging than it already will be.”
    The idea of losing the nursery, too, made me panic. “No! No, thanks. Really, I love being out here. It’s the best part of my day.”
    She studied me a minute more. “Okay. You’ll tell us if you change your mind? And you know, you don’t have to work to come out here. You can come out just to visit us, any time. You know that.”
    “I do.” Impulsively I leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thanks, Marly. I’ll see you Wednesday.”
    Dinner was on the table when I arrived home. I answered all the questions about my first day with as much patience as I could muster before I heard the one I’d been dreading.
    “What happened with your independent study? Did you get the history or the English assignment?” My father knew what I’d been hoping to do this year.
    “Not exactly.” I fidgeted with my silverware and wished I’d had time to formulate a more convincing argument.
    “Why not?” My mother stood to carry her plate to the sink.
    “Well, I talked to Ms. Ross, and it turns out that they offer the teachers a chance to choose students for independent study. And… someone had chosen me.”
    My mom was running water over silverware, and I knew she wasn’t paying much attention to the conversation. My father, on the other hand, was frowning at me, and I could pick up his apprehension.
    “Oh, that’s nice, Tas! Was it one of your teachers from last year?” My mother looked at me expectantly.
    “Actually, it was. It was Ms. Lacusta.”
    My father sighed heavily. My mom dropped the dish that she’d been holding into the sink.
    “Tasmyn! You told her no, didn’t you?”
    I avoided meeting their eyes. “No… well, at first, yes, I did tell her I wouldn’t do it. I—obviously I don’t want anything to do with Ms. Lacusta. But then Ms. Ross just kept pushing me, and she said if I didn’t agree to have Ms. Lacusta facilitate my independent study, I’d have to take an elective instead.”
    “Tas, you’d be much better off taking an elective than you’d be spending so much time with—with that woman. I understand that this guidance counselor might have pressured you into agreeing to do this, but we can take care of that. I’ll go in there tomorrow morning and straighten it out—”
    “Dad,” I interrupted. “I know what you’re saying. But listen. Ms. Lacusta isn’t going to stop here. She isn’t going to leave me alone. If this doesn’t work, she’ll do something else. And what I realized was that if I’m near her, I can keep control of the situation. I can listen to her, try to