Questions for Answers

Chapter Twelve

Two months had passed since Tristen and I spent Valentine's Day together. He was fully recovered and we were going stronger than ever. Since I had focused my attention on other things, school became a priority for me and I was able to maintain an 'a' average in all of my classes. Ms. Kentri had finally gone back to grading me fairly, so I didn't have anything else to worry about on that front.

We ended up getting a new choir teacher right before our state competition, but it worked out in our favor because our ensemble received 2nd place, which qualified us for nationals. If we won nationals, our school would grant us a free trip to Disney World and I had already promised Kat that I would bring her with me if it happened.

Speaking of Kat, our school held a talent show, and she performed a solo on the piano. There were a bunch of different acts: some guys break danced, there were tons of singers, one kid did some magic tricks, and some people showed off their acting skills. Some were great, some were not so great, but there could only be one winner, and that was Kat! She'd been getting piano lessons since she was three, so she was exceptionally talented. Her mother always pushed her to be the greatest at everything, and it paid off.

Since getting into relationships, me and Kat hadn't spent much time together, so we decided to set aside time for us to hang out. She suggested that we go on a double date, and while I loved spending time with my man, I really just wanted to have some girl time. But I agreed and was still excited about going. She and Danny picked this nice Mexican restaurant called La Cocina. It's where they had their first date, so I had high expectations.

I put on a white, long-sleeved shirt with a black skirt I hadn't worn in forever with some leggings and finished it off with my black boots. I never dressed up much, but I felt it was necessary to put in some effort as I was going on a date and spending time with my best friend and her significant other. I didn't know much about Danny, but I knew that he made Kat happy and that made me happy.

As I looked out of the window, I noticed we had arrived at the restaurant. Tristen parked and turned to me, "Is it lame that we're here early?"

I chuckled, "What? No! Early is on time. Kat said they're still on their way, they just got stuck in traffic. Do you want to wait out here or go inside and get us a table?"

He thought for a moment, "Uh, yeah, we can go inside." He got out, opened my door, and led me inside the restaurant. He approached the hostess, "Hi, it's gonna be a party of four. Do you guys have any booths available?"

She smiled, "Yes, right this way."

We followed her to the back end of the restaurant and took our seats. Tristen looked around then back at me, "This place is pretty nice, right?"

I nodded, "Yeah, it seems like it's pretty expensive."

"Well, you know I don't ever let you look at price tags, so you don't have to worry about that. Get whatever you want", he finished with a wink.

I blushed at his words. He was such a gentleman and he really meant it when he said he wanted to take care of me all those months ago. Tristen still helped out at the bookstore his father owned, but he ended up getting a different job to bring in more income. One of his friends got him a job at his father's company, so he was hired as a web designer. Since he wouldn't be in high school for much longer, he was hired full-time and worked independently. His goal was to go to college for graphic design, but since he had gotten hired at his current job, he didn't feel that it was necessary. Plus, he was making a lot of money already and he didn't want to put that towards school when he had other things to take care of.

Harlem wasn't too happy about him not planning on furthering his education, he was old school, but he couldn't complain once he saw how much Tristen was making. He put a lot of his money towards the bookstore, helping his dad out, while the rest of his money he put towards getting his own place. I was truly inspired by how he had gotten his life together. It made me want to step up my game as well.