"What are you having?" the Barista asked Kristina.
She ordered a medium double espresso shot soy latte and joined her friends at the table they had secured by the coffee shop window. It was late Friday afternoon some time between twilight and when the bar signs along Main Street flickered on. The cafe was bustling with students who had just finished their classes and were making plans to hit the clubs later that night or plans for the weekend.
"I'm so glad midterms are over," her first girl friend said with an anguished sigh of relief.
"Last week was the worst," her second girl friend chimed in. "Two exams on the same day, then another the very next morning. I'll be lucky if I manage to keep my C average."
"I think I like, blew Professor Forsyth's exam," a guy friend said.
The mention of Parker's name made Kristina's heart jump.
"It wasn't that bad," Kristina said. "What section are you in?"
"Tuesdays," the guy friend said. "Anyway doesn't make a difference. Rumor has it that favors go a long way with her if they're packaged in a miniskirt."
"What?" Kristina asked alarmed.
"Don't you know?" the second girl friend asked matter-of-fact.
"Speaking of who...," the first girl friend nudged Kristina and pointed to the other end of the cafe.
In a booth for two, Parker sat alone in a quiet corner of the cafe focused on her iPad. She perused through a slim stack of notes beside her, then started typing. Kristina had already forgotten what she and her friends had been talking about.
"I'll be right back," Kristina said getting up. "Bathroom."
In the restroom, Kristina used the bright white lights to inspect every inch of herself. She finger combed her hair in place, adjusted her blouse, her skirt. She checked her teeth for food remnants, blew her breath into her cupped hands, and reapplied a little lip gloss. She was ready.
Upon leaving the bathroom, Kristina took a detour away from her friends and went around the back of the cafe so that she'd have to walk by Parker.
"Kristina?" she heard Parker say as she walked past the booth.
Yes! Kristina's thoughts did a happy dance.
"Hey," Kristina said to Parker acting surprised to see her. "What are you doing here? This doesn't seem like the type of place I'd think to find you being all 'professory' in."
Kristina kicked herself on the inside for sounding so ridiculous.
"Well, I come here every Friday after class," Parker explained. "Well after faculty meeting, that is. I like to get my finger on the pulse of what's going on with my students. It helps me plan my curriculum, create my reading list. It's also a change of scene. I get tired of feeling like I'm in a 3-walled fish bowl all week. Also they serve really good fair trade coffee her. Why don't I get you a cup. Sit down."
Kristina looked over at her friends across the cafe who were engaged in conversation. They didn't notice who Kristina was talking to. They also didn't notice that Kristina was in no hurry to leave Parker either. But Kristina didn't want her friends to see her with Parker. She didn't want them to see how she looked at Parker or how Parker looked at her. She especially didn't want them to see Parker touch her. It wasn't their seeing teacher-student contact that bothered her, it was how Kristina felt when the contact was made.
"I'm actually with some friends," Kristina answered.
"I see," Parker said. Did Kristina detect a hint of disappointment in Parker's voice?
Kristina turned around to walk back to her friends but something didn't feel right. Something was nagging at her, she had something to say. Kristina faced Parker again and asked, "Can I meet you here next Friday?"
"Of course! Of course you can," Parker said as a smile spread across her face. "Then it's a - "
Kristina gasped on the inside.
"Then it's a coffee," Parker corrected herself.