A Mile In My Shoes

NINETEEN

Omniscient

"Good morning, Capri. Thank you for coming to see me on such short notice." Professor Winston greeted Dellen as he entered her classroom.

"I wasn't doing anything important anyway. What's up?" He took a seat at a desk sitting directly in front of hers.

"First, let me say I'm glad to see you're doing better. I was worried when you told me you couldn't present your layout to me last week, knowing it was time to hand it over. Then, Dellen Knox, of all people, sauntered in here and knocked it out of the ballpark. Shocked the hell out of me."

Feeling like he accomplished something even though he hadn't, Dellen's smile reached from ear to ear. "I taught him a few things from time to time. I didn't think he'd do as good as you said, but he was my only alternative."

"He was an outstanding alternate. So outstanding, you booked the job in Texas." She outstretched her arm, giving him a black binder. "Starting next month we will fly out to Texas to meet Mr. Houmadi. He's the man we'll be working for until graduation."

Dellen opened the binder to see a layout of a three-story building and other information he didn't understand. "When exactly are we flying to Texas?"

Professor Winston shuffled through the scattered papers on her desk for a few seconds before finding what she was looking for. "We are scheduled to leave on Monday, November 6." At that moment, Dellen's asshole was beating because that's where his heart dropped to. Neither he nor Capri knew if their lives would be back to normal by then and something as huge and groundbreaking for Capri comes up. Catching the many faces Dellen made, Professor spoke up. "Capri, something's wrong?"

"Uh, no. Not at all. Everything is fine." Dellen closed the binder, smiling tightly at The Professor.

"Are you sure? You seem to be a bit flushed in the face."

"Yeah, I'm just speechless. It's the best news I've gotten aside from graduation." Dellen lied.

"Well, once again, I am proud of you for giving it your all. You are putting in amazing work young lady and as you can see, it's paying off." Her cell phone vibrated on her desk, pulling her attention off of Dellen. "I gotta take this call, but look through that binder when you get the chance. It has everything you need to know about Mr. Houmadi."

"Ok, thanks, Professor Winston." Dellen grabbed the binder and his purse, exiting the room.

In the corridor, he saw Jhaviah, Emory, and Lydia. They were huddled in a tight circle next to the trophy stand, stealing glances at him, more so Emory. Dellen proceeded to walk past the trio until Jhaviah grabbed his arm. "I need to talk to you."

"Is it important?" He sighed, not in the mood for their antics today.

She nodded. "Yes."

"I'm gonna walk away and mind my business." Lydia chimed in, backing away from the girls.

"Alright, see you in class, Dia." Jhaviah waved her off and put her attention on Dellen. "Now, what's this I hear about you going around telling everyone Emory's baby isn't Dellen's?"

"What?" Dellen frowned, staring at Emory who avoided eye contact with him. "I ain't said shit to anybody about her child."

"That's not what I've been told. Everyone has noticed how close you and Dellen have gotten, Capri. And it's okay to feel a certain way about your potential boyfriend's baby but to spread such a nasty rumor is a new low."

"Listen, I haven't started any rumors about her child simply because I give not one fuck about the demon seed. She's pissed because Dellen caught her at the club with her boyfriend right after she told him he was the father. Come to find out it's Karlton's baby. I can assure you that I feel no kind of way about you, bitch." Dellen snapped, taking a step forward, closing the gap between him and Emory.