Extra Credit

Secret Admirer

I pretty much got into the swing of things over the next few days. Mark was so impressed with my progress that he decided to give me the weekend off. Thinking I would have a nice relaxing weekend I got up on Saturday and started cleaning my apartment. When I was down on my hands and knees scrubbing the kitchen floor, I heard a loud knock at my door.

"Just a minute," I said as I got up and grabbed a paper towel to dry my hands.

I walked to the door and glanced through the peephole, upon which I saw my surprise guest.

"Daddy!" I yelled as I opened the door.

He smiled and pulled me in for a big hug. "Hello sweetie, how are you?"

"Good and shocked to see you of course." I told him as he let me go. "Come in, I was just getting my place cleaned up."

He smiled and followed me into my kitchen. "Wow, I don't remember this place being this nice when I first moved you in."

"Well that's what happens when you give me my own space silly." I told him as I got a glass from the cupboard. "So what brings you to town?"

"I've got a fight scheduled in the next town and since I was passing through here I figured I'd stop and see my beautiful daughter." He said as I poured him some lemonade.

I smiled, "Oh please, don't try to suck up now."

"Awe not even a little bit?" he asked.

I handed him the glass of lemonade and then put the pitcher back in the refrigerator. "I guess you can."

He shook his head and took a sip of the lemonade. "Mmm, that's pretty good."

"Thanks."

"So how have you been? I haven't heard from you since I last called." He said.

I sighed, "I've been alright."

"How have your grades been?" he asked. "I hope business management isn't hard for you."

I shook my head, "No it's not that bad. I have pretty nice professors and I love my classes."

"Good. How about Sami and Ally? I haven't heard from Shawn at all." He said.

I tried real hard to keep a straight face at the mention of Sami's name. "Uh, Ally is ok but Sami and I aren't friends anymore she decided to transfer."

He looked at me in shock, "What! I thought she liked it here?"

"She did, but when Shawn came to visit he persuaded her to move closer to home…" I said knowing I was lying through my teeth.

"Awe well I'm sorry to hear that honey. Do you have other friends you can talk to?" he asked.

I shook my head but in my mind I was thinking about the guys from my job. I guess I could consider them to be my friends but telling my father about them would only cause him to investigate.

"You're a nice girl sweetie, I'm sure you can make new friends." He said.

I nodded with a smile, deeply missing my girl Sami. In my mind no one could make me laugh or treat me as good as she did. She was irreplaceable and that's how I felt.

"Anyways, did you want to go out for lunch today? I have a little time before I get back on the road." He asked.

"Sure, let me get dressed first." I said as I looked down at the jean shorts and black beater I was wearing.

"Goodness Aria, just brush your hair get your purse and lets go." He said. "I'm not about to wait 5 hours for you to get yourself ready."

"Daddy I don't take that long!" I said not believing his attitude.

He chuckled, "Please, you're the split image of your mother. Let's go."

I rolled my eyes and did as he said. I swear I would never understand men and their impatience. They want us girls to look presentable but don't want to wait the few minutes for us to achieve that goal.

A few moments later we found ourselves in the finest Italian restaurant having a private lunch. It felt pretty nice being all alone with my father. The two of us hadn't had the chance to do this in a long time since I was so busy with school and he was busy with his fighting career. We talked for a while about my future in business and the different jobs I could take. He actually suggested me becoming his business partner and helping him launch his career.

"Dad I've been attached to you my entire life, I think I should find something that involves working out of state with new people."

He sighed with a soft smile, "To be honest, I never thought I'd hear you say that. Looks like you've learned a lot by being out here."

I nodded, "I have. It was tough at first but I made it."

"Yes you did and because of that, I'm going to go ahead and pay off your last two years of school." He said.

I gasped, "Really dad?"

"Yes ma'am as long as you promise to keep working and keep your grades up." He said. "I don't want to hear that you're failing Aria."

"Oh you won't hear that trust me." I said before getting up and hugging him. "I love you daddy."

"I love you too." He said.

After lunch my father took me home and dropped me off saying his lovely good-bye before leaving. When I went back into my apartment I walked into the living room and was greeted with a huge bouquet of pink roses. The vase was sitting on my coffee table with a white card lying next to it. I looked around the room for a moment wondering how someone got in my apartment. I walked over to the couch and sat down, picking up the card in the process. My name was printed on the front in gold letters and on the back was a poem that red, "Roses are red, violets are blue, I'd do anything in order to have you."

I smiled at the poem wondering who this secret admirer could be and why he felt the need to hide his identity. I took the flowers to the kitchen and sat them on the counter near the sink, wondering if I would receive more presents like this one. Besides getting a visit from my father, this made my day.