Virtual Attraction [COMPLETE]

2| The Guidance Counsellor

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When I got home that evening, I wasn't expecting my mother to be downstairs—or even awake. My mother was like a vampire, only coming alive at nighttime.

But true to form, she was in the kitchen cooking some pizza. The smell of the aroma sent my stomach into a series of painful groans.

The sun hadn't even gone down yet and it was only 4PM, but still, a bright voice pierced through the air, "Blaze?"

"I'm home Mom," I answered. "In the kitchen."

The staccato beat of her eight-inch red heels echoed off the wooden floors the same way my heels had clicked through the auditorium in Dalton. She leaned on the door in the kitchen doorway, her long hair shifting with her hourglass body. She spread her perfectly white teeth into a cheeky smile as she examined the pizza.

"Mm-hmm, doesn't it smells great?" She didn't wait for my reply. "How was school today, Blaze?"

Mom had an unusually low voice for a female, similar to the deep and full baritone tones of Maya Angelou. It was a trait we both shared. But unlike me, she sounded sultry and confident, whereas I sounded monotonous and calculating.

"Terrible."

"Aw, what happened?" she asked, sitting down in a crusty wooden chair.

"I hate everyone."

"You're just beginning," she started. "Things will get better."

I narrowed my eyes.

"This is an amazing opportunity, Blaze. Remember Mr. Philipps has given you a tuition deferral this year? Promise me you'll try?"

I ignored her question.

Mr. Philipps' decision to give me a tuition deferral, had everything to do with Mom and less to do with my grades. How stupid did they think I was—to not have figured out what was going on?

"Are you ready to eat?" she asked.

"Um, I'm not quite ready to eat," I answered, settling down into a seat.

"Are you sure?" she asked, pointedly. "Because I was hoping you'd want to eat now."

So that was why she was up at this time. She was expecting someone.

"Mom," I said, annoyed, rolling my eyes. She was just trying to get me out of the house.

"Blaze," her eyes flashed with warning. "I'm your mother. Listen to me." She didn't care that I knew that he was home. She just wanted me to stay out of sight. Stay hidden. Until they were either upstairs, or outside the apartment. "We're working on a project together for my boss, so could you...disappear?"

"It's evening already, Mom. Where am I supposed to go?"

"Just stay in the lobby, or do some homework in your room. It's just until we're finished. Working."

She hadn't said his name.

I frowned. "Wait, who is he?"

She glanced at the floor.

"Mom," I said, drawing out my syllables. "He's not Mr. Philipps is he?"

She sighed and I knew my answer.

"Mom," I exclaimed. "How are you cheating on a married man with another idiot? Is this new guy married too?"

"I don't want to get into this with you tonight, Blaze. Mr. Phillips is a good man."