Compliments Read Online Free PDF Page A

Not to say he doesn’t encourage me to aim high, but he did tell me there is never anything shameful in honest work of any kind.”
    “So you both teach and work a night job?”
    “And tutor high school students a few hours a week when I can fit it in.” He turns his head quickly and gives me a wink. “I’ve developed airs in my old age. I only eat brand name ramen, and it doesn’t come cheap.”
    It’s my turn to let out a laugh. It feels so good in my soul to be happy. I realize as I sit here with Hawk that I haven’t had a conversation with a man, which wasn’t about academics, for far too long.
    “But I admit, I do have some faults.”
    I careen my ear in his direction. “I did notice the bump on the end of your nose, but I bet there’s others, too. Go on, I’m listening.”
    “I don’t like apartments,” Hawk says. “I don’t know, I guess growing up in the Midwest like I did, the thought of shared walls and no yard just doesn’t appeal to me. Seems like apartments are all there are here in town, unless you’ve got enough money to buy one of those mega mansions that never got sliced up into units. I rent a small one-bedroom home out by the lake. The janitor job pays for food. The teaching job pays for rent.”
    “And the tutoring job?”
    He shrugs. “Mostly porn.”
    “Fair enough.”
    Out of the corner of my eye, I see his chest swell and casually fall. “Look, about your presentation today … You’ll get better. I’m not sure why they sent you out to the adult classes right off the bat. You usually have to work your way up to those. Most of your assignments will be upper elementary kids. Though, FYI, I probably wouldn’t use the example of increases in minimum wage for that crowd.”
    “You sound like you know what you’re talking about.”
    He beams with pride. “I should. I did it myself for the last two years. Even got an award last year.”
    “Why did you stop?”
    The gaiety drains away, leaving him looking hollow. “Complications arose.”
    “Oh.”
    I want to ask him more, but really, it’s none of my business. I also remind myself that if he’d done anything truly heinous, he probably would have been kicked out of the university all together. And he certainly wouldn’t have a teaching position. My mind turns traitor on me and I start to picture a situation of Hawk and a nagging girlfriend who was jealous of his time spent working with school kids. While I hate this fictional woman, the tangent of thought reminds me of the complications relationships can bring.
    Nope, not looking to do that again.
    We finally manage to make the lot near Yang. Navigating his car into an empty space, Hawk puts it in to park. We sit there in silence, the cab of the car a petri dish where discomfort multiplies, before he turns to me.
    “I can help you.”
    “With what?” I honestly haven’t a clue what he’s talking about.
    “Preparing your presentation,” he says. “Experience is the best teacher. But in lieu of experience, I’m not half-bad. Plus, I know you only have a few months to snag an advisor. If you get a really good reputation with the Outreach Program, Ferris is sure to invite you either to join her group or highly recommend you to one of the other faculty. I could work with you, help you get down the basics.”
    “Do you have time for that? I mean, between two jobs?”
    “Well, technically, it’s three jobs. But yeah, if you can meet me in the evening, I can. I usually study in the shipping dock before work anyway. It would be nice to have company, or even if you want to just hang out.”
    Relationships. They are bad.
    But help with something I’m so naturally inept at? Can’t hurt, right?
    “What time does your shift start?” I ask.
    “Seven-thirty.”
    I loop my schedule through my head. “I could meet you around six, but since I bike, I really have to leave campus no later than seven to get home before dark.”
    “That should give us enough time. That is, if