Sweet Expressions

You Make Coffee In Hot Water

The line at the drive in was taking forever.

Kota turned off the engine and sat back in his seat, murmuring equations quietly to himself as we waited for the car in front of us to be able to move forward. I settled into my own seat and wrapped up what was left of my doughnuts, unable to finish even one. I wiped my hands with the other napkin Ericka had given me earlier and twisted in my seat so I was facing him better, keeping an eye on the phone sitting in his lap. He fidgeted a finger on it nervously, but hadn't picked it up yet. He looked over at me and smiled, filling the gap in the line ahead of us almost immediately after the car ahead of us moved. My hands slowed as I finished wiping my hands, going on too long after they were already clean. Now that I had Kota all to myself it felt awkward, and I couldn't figure out how to start the interrogation, or even how I could get out of him what he and the others were up to. I scrunched my nose and thought, for the moment all I had was that everyone had something they weren't telling me about the betting, with the exception of Gabriel, Dr. Green, and Mr. Blackbourne.

"How do you want your coffee, Sang? Sweet and creamy, or...?"

I creased my napkin with a thumbnail and bit my lip, unsure. "I'll just have it however you have it today."

He adjusted his glasses and ignored the scattered voice of the woman taking our order through the drive up speaker.

"I'm having it black with sugar. Are you sure?"

I nodded and he shrugged, turning to the speaker to finish. I had a cup of very hot aromatic coffee in my hands a few moments later, cupping my hands around the paper cup and blowing so the steam blew out in swirls in front of me. A burning sip cautioned me it wasn't drinkable yet, so I put the drink down to rest on my knee, keeping my hands around it and drawing comfort from the heat. I raised and blew it again, anxious to take another sip soon.

"Victor discovered a few things about the Superintendant and Miss Ayers yesterday."

I lowered the coffee and raised my eyebrows in interest. Kota lifted his phone and hit send on a text before pulling out on the street. He set the phone down again and I eagerly nodded, urging him to continue. He chuckled.

"Their relationship is one of mother and daughter."

I gaped at him, going over the differences between the two in my mind. The two were nothing alike. My phone buzzed against my chest and I absently pulled it out, checking the screen to see Nathan had texted me with the message that he missed me this morning, accompanied by a frowny face. I sent a quick sorry back, pushing the phone back into my bra where it promptly buzzed again. I pulled it back out and frowned at the next message, Luke wanted to know if I had seen the hairclip he had been using around anywhere. I typed out the last location I had seen a hairclip, glancing up at Kota apologetically and trying to get back into the conversation.

"Wait. Miss Ayers has a different last name. How is that?"

Kota nodded resolutely, seeming pleased I had noticed.

"The Superintendent remarried a few years back, and Miss Ayers chose to keep her father's surname. Miss Ayers was hired soon after the Superintendent came into her position on a recommendation from herself."

I mulled that over and glanced down at the phone now buzzing in my hands, my last text to Luke still unsent. I pressed the send button and pulled up another text from Nathan, telling me not to run off again without telling him. Another quick sorry was sent and I looked back up at Kota just in time to notice the last of a pleased grin. I raised an eyebrow at him and narrowed my eyes. He cleared his throat, turning back to the road.

"Anyway, aside from that, we have an ear in her classroom now. I'm just worried it will be enough. Are you doing all right with this assignment Sang? I'm worried about you."

"I'll be fine, Kota. She hasn't done anything to actually hurt me."

He scoffed. "Yet."

I set my mouth in a grim line. I didn't have a decent comeback for that. Buzzing in my hand alerted me that two texts had come in at once, one from Luke complaining about something North had done, and the other from Silas, a lone deadpan emoticon. I squinted at the little face and narrowed my gaze at Kota. The boys were sending an awful lot of texts so early in the morning. Kota caught me looking at him and opened wide, innocent eyes at me, turning back to the road and pulling in to a white Optometrist's  office parking lot. I had seen those eyes before, he had given them to Ericka just before we had left this morning. He parked, helped me from the car and closed my door for me while I looked at yet another text, this one a selfie of Luke with his hair up in the clip he had been looking for. I sent a smiley emoticon and wasn't surprised when another text came in right behind it, this one from Silas. I smirked at the message and lifted it up so Kota could read the knock knock joke I had just been sent.

"You wouldn't be having the boys trying to distract me, would you?"