Freedom, Flowers, Books, and the Moon

Chapter 4

Aurie glanced around nervously at the three men waiting for her to cross the threshold into Cielo's office.

"Am I in trouble?" she asked as she inched into the room, jumping as the Italian man closed the door behind her.

"Of course not, cara, please sit down."

Aurelia cautiously studied the men before easing into an armchair across from the desk, next to where Professor McBride was sitting, smiling gently at her. Professor Angevin was sitting in Cielo's office chair directly across from her, one of his feet resting on his knee, exuding power. Professor De Luca leaned against the edge of his desk, feet crossed at his ankles, looking over his shoulder at King. The man in question uncrossed his legs and slid the chair closer to Aurie.

"How many classes are you taking this semester?" The oldest man asked randomly.

"Um, four, sir," Aurie answered nervously.

"Good. I'm going to be honest with you, Aurelia; we've been needing an assistant."

"All of you?" The girl glanced at the three men in her view, slightly confused.

"Yes. And luckily for us, we've found someone who is in all of our classes.

"Oh. Oh! Are you telling me that all of you want me as your assistant?"

Beau chuckled, "Yes, honey."

Aurie blushed before answering, "I appreciate the offer, but I'm not sure I'd be the best fit. I mean, I don't think I'm particularly good at any of the subjects you guys teach."

Cielo scoffed, "You were the only person in that room that had any idea what was going on. I'm willing to bet my salary that you know more than all of those boys combined."

"I had to read some of your writing to allow you to take my class. Normally, it is reserved for upperclassmen only, but your writing is so immaculate that I personally decided to make the exception."

"I-" The girl stuttered, nervous, "Thank you, and although you two might think that, there is absolutely no way I am qualified to help Professor Angevin; math and I don't have the best relationship."

"You're better than you think," he said as he picked up a piece of paper from his desk and handed it to Aurie; it was her quiz from earlier that day.

She stared at the paper, more specifically at the grade at the top, in utter confusion.

"There's no way this is right,"

King smirked at her and leaned back, lacing his hands behind his head. "It is. You got the only 100 in the class. You are the perfect person for the job, Aurelia, if you'll accept it."

She chewed on her bottom lip, deep in thought, and continued to squint at the big red number on her quiz. She glanced back up at King through her eyelashes and nodded slightly.

"Perfetto," Cielo said softly.

Aurie popped her knuckles before tucking her hands under her legs and asking, "What exactly does this job entail?"

"King needs help grading, Cielo will need a partner for demonstrations, and I need some new ideas."

The student was confused momentarily as to who was who, but then quickly realized the very Italian name belonged to the very Italian man.

"I'd love to help you guys," she said, smiling at the three men.

"We'll pay you, of course," Professor McBride blurted out.

"Oh, no, you don't have to worry about that; y'all's jobs aren't easy, and if I can help, that's all that matters."

"Thank you, bambola," her Italian professor said with a gentle smile.