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“Hey, teach.”
A shiver ran along Violet’s spine. She loved it when Lando called her that, but still, she couldn’t give in to the chaos that rampaged its way through her. She was really mad at Diane, not Lando, and she had to keep that thought strongly in the forefront of her mind. Saying nothing, Violet spun on her toes and walked to the passenger side of the Hummer, sliding into the seat and slamming the door shut. She booted up the computer and let work consume her.
* * *
Lando had never seen Professor Myers that mad. The glare was enough to burn the sun. Clenching her jaw, Lando tried to figure out just exactly where she had gone wrong, what she could have possibly done to warrant that kind of reaction.
Lando looked to Diane for some kind of assistance, but Diane just bristled and said nothing.What the hell was going on?Lando was pretty sure she’d just accidentally ambushed Professor Myers, and it was absolutely clear Diane had not talked to her prior and let her know Lando would be joining them.
Diane told Lando to shove her stuff into the back of the Hummer. Soon enough she was settled into the back seat of the vehicle behind Diane, who was driving. Unfortunately, it gave her the perfect view of Professor Myers—the woman who couldn’t hide her anger worth shit. Steam rolled off her in waves as Diane turned the engine and left the driveway.
They were thirty minutes into the drive after stopping for gas and coffee, and Lando wasn’t sure how long she could take the silent treatment. The tension in the vehicle was through the roof. She eyed Professor Myers, the stark line of her profile with her chiseled jaw, her wide nose that had clearly been broken a time or two, her thin lips that were pressed so tightly together they nearly disappeared.
“P-professor Myers.” Lando tried that at first, hoping to get her attention. Diane shifted slightly in the driver’s seat but didn’t move or encourage the professor to speak. Lando wondered if perhaps she hadn’t been heard. “Professor Myers, I just…I wanted to say that I’m happy to be on the team with you.”
The look Professor Myers shifted to her was slow and tedious. As soon as her gaze landed on Lando, it was filled with smoldering hatred. Whatever the hell had changed between them, it had happened swiftly, and Lando wasn’t sure she would be able to get back to where they once were. Lando leaned forward in her seat, trying to use whatever charm she had left in stock to win Professor Myers over.
“I’m sorry it was such a sudden decision.”
“Don’t mind her,” Diane butted in. “She’s just sore over not getting her way. She’ll get over it, and I think you should call her Violet, since we’re going to be working so closely together. Professor Myers is so long to say.”
Lando didn’t tear her gaze from Professor Myers. She wasn’t going to do anything Diane said unless Professor Myers approved it.
Professor Myers’ scowl deepened. Lando was pretty sure this was supposed to be how it went. Her good luck had immediately turned to bad luck. If she was doomed to live this way for the next six months, so be it, but she needed this internship to get a job in the line of work she wanted. At one time she’d thought Professor Myers would do anything possible to help her with that. But she’d been wrong. Once again, Lando was all on her own.
It wasn’t anything she wasn’t used to, but she’d hoped, perhaps dreamed, that she’d found a friend in Professor Myers, someone who would stand up for her, be nice to her, someone who cared about her. She could see how she’d been wrong. Still, she should try to be nice. Shouldn’t she?
“I’ll call her what she wants me to,” Lando answered stubbornly. “And until she says otherwise, it’ll be Professor Myers. It’s a sign of respect, and I do respect her.”
Professor Myers’ lips twitched. Lando barely caught the move, it was so subtle, but she was glad to see at least that little bit of humanity in her. A sign the woman Lando had come to know over the last few quarters was under a deep layer of anger. Lando could work around that. It might take some digging, but she’d be glad to do it.
“You may call me Violet.” Her voice was so smooth, like whiskey on a humid summer night.
Lando had to work hard to hold back her grin. She had seen a crack, and she’d worked it until it opened just a little. She would have to continue in the same vein until she won Violet over again. No matter how long that took. Inwardly, Lando cursed her inner need to please everyone around her. She’d grown up the kid who never had a place in life, and she’d spent the better part of her twenty-three years on the planet trying to find it by pleasing the adults around her.
“Violet, then.” Lando turned toward Diane. “Where are we going first?”
“Guymon.”
Violet and Diane shared a look, one Lando couldn’t read, but it did hold some surprise in it. Lando pulled in to herself. She needed to take a break from the intensity of the conversation, which she had started, but every day couldn’t be like this, could it? They’d end up arguing the entire time instead of getting anything done.
Another four hours of silence and another pit stop. Lando climbed out of the back seat, stretching her legs and her back. She would be so thankful for the days when they’d be chasing instead of traveling, so she wouldn’t be squished in the back with all the equipment instead of making progress toward their research.
She used the restroom and wandered around the gas station, trying to find something to snack on. Diane still hadn’t talked to her about pay, so she mentally added up how much she had left in her bank account, which was next to nil, and debated if she could purchase the small bag of Twizzlers in her hand or not. If she did, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to make her phone payment, and then Aunt T really might kill her.
She must have stared a little too long, because a hand swiped down and grabbed the bag from her. When Lando looked up, Violet raised an eyebrow, her jawline set and her look hard. “It doesn’t take a genius to buy food.”
She didn’t have a quick comeback for that one. Normally Lando had no problem with speaking her mind, but when it came to Violet, she stuttered nearly every time. Violet was her professor, she was supposed to be someone who was kind, gentle, who cared for her students, and yet, outside of the classroom that was not who this woman was. The stark difference was impossible to deal with.
Lando snatched the Twizzlers back and dropped them onto the shelf. Without a word, she stalked out of the gas station and slid into the back seat of the vehicle. Her heart raced the entire time, but she had no idea what to say to either Diane or Violet. This was a disaster. Coming on this trip, this internship, was an absolute disaster. Day one and it was already done.
The front passenger door opened and slammed shut. Lando huddled into the corner of her seat, trying to be as small and inconspicuous as possible. She wasn’t sure how well it worked, considering she was the only other one in the vehicle. Violet drew in a deep breath and sighed.
“She didn’t tell me she hiredyou.”
“I gathered,” Lando responded, plastering her hands together.
Violet turned in her seat, her gaze falling onto Lando, and behind the look, Lando swore she saw sympathy and kindness, but it was quickly masked. “I didn’t want you on this trip.”
