After Math Read Online Free Page A

people in my attempt to fit into life, the more I realize that people are often driven by their fear. With my mother and her drinking and her many men, it was her fear of being alone. But with Caroline, whose family insisted she was wasting her time with college, her fear was that she’d never escape her trailer park roots. My own fears are too numerous to list.
    I grab my coffee and a banana, and head for the front door, pausing until I hear her padding around in her room.
    The rain has stopped, but heavy gray clouds hang in the sky. My first class is at ten, but I want to get there early. Set and logic is the class that separates the wheat from the chaff in mathematics majors, and I want to make sure I’m doing everything possible to ensure I do well. This includes getting to school early enough so I don’t have a repeat of what happened in Western civ yesterday. I can’t afford to spend ten minutes recovering from the embarrassment of being late. I can’t afford to miss even thirty seconds in this class.
    Some days the lessons are more difficult, but I’m thankful when today’s concepts slip easily into place. When I struggle, all my fears that I can’t do this—that I’m destined to fail—swamp my head. And I need all the confidence I can muster to face this afternoon.
    After my Arabic III class, I head to the coffee shop with a knot in my stomach. I arrive ten minutes early and order my drink and sit at a table by the window, pulling my Arabic homework out to work on while the subject matter is still fresh in my head. I lose myself in verb conjugation, and I’m surprised when I see that it’s already twenty after three. Tucker hasn’t shown. I pull out my phone and double-check his e-mail to verify the time. He said three o’clock, and this is the only coffee shop on campus.
    Tucker enters the shop with two friends as I’m packing up. They are loud and boisterous, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. My anger flares at his lackadaisical attitude as well as his disrespect. But mostly I find myself disappointed with him, although for the life of me, I can’t figure out why. Tucker Price is Tucker Price. The guy I saw yesterday was a figment of my imagination.
    Tucker sees me and wanders over, a lazy smile on his face. “Where are you going?”
    This part I dread. The attention Tucker has drawn follows over to me. My face flames, and I keep my head down as my shaky hand stuffs my books into my bag. It would be so much easier to stay and avoid the eyes of everyone in the room, but the truth is that all these eyes would be on me anyway. Tucker is the center of chaos everywhere he goes. I refuse to be sucked into it. Computer program or not.
    He puts his hand on my bag. “Scarlett, where are you going?”
    I look up into his face. Confusion wrinkles his brow. He really doesn’t get it.
    I dig deep down and find the strength to do this. “You said three o’clock, Tucker. It’s now three twenty-two. You’re late, and my time is valuable.”
    His eyebrows rise in surprise.
    I jerk my bag from his hand and loop the strap over my shoulder.
    He holds his hands out from his sides, his cocky attitude bleeding through his stance. “I’m here now.”
    “Good for you. I’m not.” I head for the door.
    Tucker follows behind, cutting in front of me and blocking the exit. “Scarlett.” My name rolls off his tongue, smooth as silk. I’m sure many a girl has given him much more than their attention when he’s used that voice. Fortunately for me, I’m not one of them. “Let’s just sit back down, and we’ll work during the time I have left.”
    “Tucker, if you don’t get out of my way, I’ll call campus security.”
    All eyes in the shop are on us.  He shakes his head in disbelief. I’m quite certain he’s used to getting what he wants whenever he wants it. He’s not sure how to handle me.
    My throat tightens and my lungs burn for oxygen. My body wants to gasp for air, but I fight the