Letters by Her [Book 2]

Chapter 10

Dusty was glad to get out of her room and avoid any further awkwardness. As she hurried along the corridor of her dorm, she noticed girls stopping to glance at her disheveled appearance.

Dusty hadn't dared to even look into a mirror that morning, knowing she'd be too ashamed of what it revealed. She probably still had makeup strewn down her cheeks. It was not a good look.

As Dusty ran across the courtyard, she heard her phone start ringing in her backpack. She considered ignoring it but decided against it at the last second and answered an incoming call from her mother.

"Hey, Mom," Dusty panted, tired from running to class.

"Hey, sweetheart." Kayla's warm voice came filtering through the handset. "You're not in class yet, are you?"

"No, not yet. Going there now, got a few minutes to spare." Dusty slowed her pace so she could talk to her mother.

"Well, I put a dollar's worth of quarters into the payphone, so we should have ten minutes to talk," Kayla informed her.

"Great." Dusty forced a smile, the doors to her class loomed up before her, closed, and foreboding.

"How is everything going? I haven't heard from you for a while." Her mother sounded hurt by this, which made Dusty feel guilty.

"I'm just super busy, Mom. Classes are really intense." In Dusty's defense, classes were intense, when she actually managed to attend them.

"I'm so proud of you. You're working so hard."

"Uh huh."

"And Dust is doing really well. He got straight As on his report card. Can you believe that? Maybe both of my children will go on to college," Kayla said.

"Yeah, that'd be awesome."

"Are you eating right?"

"Yes, Mom."

"Getting enough sleep?"

"Yes, Mom."

"It's just, you know how I worry."

"Yes, Mom. But you don't need to worry, I'm fine." Dusty tried to reassure her mother.

"Do you have enough money?" Kayla asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine for money." Dusty was fortunate that her schoFinnhip included accommodation and on-campus meals, and next year her sorority dues would be covering similar things. She had considered getting a part-time job just to earn some extra cash, but felt she currently didn't have the time to spare.

"I've worked some extra shifts so could always send you some if you need it," Kayla offered. Dusty stopped fretting about her class and focused solely on the conversation she was having with her mother and smiled. Her mother tried so hard to be there for her, and it wasn't easy. It warmed Dusty's heart to hear such selflessness.

She hoped that if she were to ever have children, she'd be as willing to take care of them as her own mother was. "That's really kind of you, Mom, but I'm okay, really I am. Why don't you take that money and treat yourself to something nice? Like a new dress or something. You deserve it," Dusty told her.

There was silence on the line, and Dusty feared that she'd made her mother cry. Before losing her father, Dusty knew he'd taken such good care of all of them, especially her mother. He'd regularly take her out to fancy dinners and buy her new dresses and jewelry. If Dusty was his princess, then Kayla was definitely his queen. Dusty forgot sometimes that it wasn't just her who'd lost her hero; her brother and mother had too.

"You okay, Mom?"

"Yeah, yes, I'm fine." Kayla sniffed a little.

"I'm sorry, but I've got to go to class now."

"Oh, that's fine, honey. You go and learn and be great."

"I'll try."

"I'm so very proud of you, Dusty-Rose."

"Thanks, Mom."

"I miss you," Kayla whispered.

"I miss you too, Mom." Dusty hung up and steeled herself for her entrance into class.

****

Dusty tried to be as stealthy as possible as she walked in late to the lecture hall. She spotted a vacant seat near the aisle that she quickly occupied. She could feel people looking at her, but she didn't turn to absorb their judgment.

She knew what they'd be thinking, and she was too tired to care. The class was being taught by a young female professor. She wore her blonde hair atop her head in a tight bun and had on a beige skirt suit. She looked extremely professional, which was a stark contrast to the casually dressed students she was teaching, in particular Dusty, who looked like she belonged in a nightclub rather than a classroom.

Dusty began to regret not at least changing her top. The sequins sparkled and called out. A less shimmering top would have helped her to blend in more easily. "If you can all turn to page sixty-six of your textbooks," the professor instructed. Dusty and the other students all obliged, but as Dusty scanned the page, she could feel the eyes of the professor settle upon her.

"Miss Black, since you are so accustomed to being late for my class, perhaps you can tell us the solution to problem 3B?"

Problem 3B was conveniently about time, or rather the lack of it. A complex equation that centered on vortices and aircraft speed.

Dusty had previously studied the problem, as per the homework from the previous class. Thankfully, her gifted mind could easily solve the problem. She was grateful that her aptitude in mathematics gave her leeway to be late sometimes.

She assumed the only reason she was kept on the course was that her grades remained steady. Her attendance was the real issue. Dusty looked back through the question, wanting to be certain of her answer. "The solution is to take time and distance, divide it against weight and speed, and you create a formula which should run five, seven, seven, and eight, all in seconds. This is the only pattern you could release the aircraft in."

"The only pattern?" the professor asked.

"Yes, Miss Dunne," Dusty confirmed. "That is the only pattern which would work as a sustainable solution." Dusty watched Miss Dunne's reaction, which was unreadable.

Behind her designer glasses, the professor appeared indifferent. She paused for a moment, absorbing Dusty's response, and then nodded in agreement. "Very good," she commended Dusty. "If only, Miss Black, your own timekeeping was as accurate as your mathematical skills." Some people sniggered at this, but Dusty didn't care. She'd got the answer right, which meant she was safe in her class, for now.