Free The Instructor by Terry Towers Page A

seen him lose his cool.
    Silence continued to dominate the room as the remaining students looked down at their desk, or the floor, anywhere but at Tony or Faith. None wanted to meet Tony's eyes. Tony looked to Faith, gave her a weak smile and nodded.
    "Fine. In that case, those I called the names of stay, the rest I'll see you Monday."
    Faith was nervous as she left the classroom. The last thing she wanted was trouble for Tony because of her. He loved teaching, loved the job, and he was great at it. The majority of the guys preferred Tony over the other instructors. She chewed at her bottom lip as she made her way to her locker.
    Faith was in the process of opening her locker when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Spinning around she was relieved to see it was Mike.
    "Do you have time to go with us for lunch?" Mike jerked a thumb at Adam. "There's something we'd like to discuss with you."
    Faith paused for a moment before nodding. "Sure. Of course." She grabbed what she needed and walked with them down the hall to the parking lot.
    As they passed by the main office Faith noticed Jerome was sitting across from Jerry Alton, who happened to be the department's head. The bad feeling she was getting in the pit of her stomach got bigger. Mike and Adam also noticed this new development. They looked at each other, then both gave her a weak smile of reassurance.
    The trio exited the school to be greeted with one of the best fall afternoons a person could ask for. The sun shone bright in the fall sky as a slight refreshing breeze casually caressed their bodies.
    Mike touched her upper arm. "We'll meet you at the Daily Cafe if that works for you?" he asked, although it was evident in his tone that he didn't expect her to oppose.
    Faith looked over at him and nodded. "That would be great." Her stomach rumbled, reminding her she had missed breakfast, and had built up an appetite from the night before.
    "See you in a few," Adam called as the two men headed in the opposite direction of the parking lot.
    As Faith made her way to her car, found it, got in and started the engine, she couldn't keep herself from worrying over what may be going on within the school at that moment. What exactly did Jerome know if anything? What was he telling the department head? Worst-case scenario, where would that leave her and Tony?
    The traffic was light as she followed their small silver sports car to the cafe, then pulled her car into a parking spot beside them, just seconds after they had parked. The cafe, which was normally packed with college students at this hour, was uncharacteristically light on customers. Faith was thankful for small miracles. Depending on what Mike and Adam had to say, perhaps the fewer people around to overhear them the better.
    Shutting off the car, Faith grabbed her wallet from her backpack and opened the car door, and slid out from behind the wheel. Slamming the door behind her, she pressed the automatic door lock button.
    Faith spotted Adam and Mike standing just outside the entrance, waiting for her.
    The smell of an assortment of greasy and delicious foods made its way to Faith, beckoning her in. Her stomach grumbled in response, urging her to quicken her pace and get in there as quickly as possible.
    The Daily Cafe was well known within the city for their juicy, mouth-watering burgers and tasty french fries. Adam opened the door for Faith. She breezed past him and into the restaurant. The cafe had servers, but customers were expected to seat themselves, so Faith and the guys found a booth in a back corner of the restaurant, as far away from prying ears and eyes as possible. Adam sat next to Faith, while Mike sat across from her.
    Within five minutes of sitting down they all had placed their orders. The middle-aged waitress, took their orders swiftly, holding a genuine smile on her face.
    Once the waitress was out of earshot, Mike started, "Faith, we really like you."
    "And Tony," Adam chimed in.
    Mike nodded his blond head and