Till We Rise Read Online Free PDF

and take a seat," he demands and I nod as I start walking towards the room.
    I take a seat and realize that he has a nice sign at his desk that writes "Joshua L. Abernathy"; that is definitely an interesting name.
    "How is your day going?" he asks politely after taking a seat. He grabs his hands and stares at me with a look of interest. I start to feel less uncomfortable than I was before.
    "Fine, I guess. I am just confused, sir," I speak and take a deep breath. "How are you?"
    "I am brutal, thank you for asking," Joshua smiles at me and I smile him back as if I were trying to say you're welcome . "Why are you confused?" he asks.
    "I don't know what's going on." I try not to get stuck while speaking because I will look like I don't know how to speak in front of adults and that would be embarrassing.
    "I called you for a reason, but this is not a punishment, it's just a call of attention," he states and I stay completely quiet because I am dying to know what I have done.
    "Some people, including students and few teachers, saw you coming out from the men’s bathroom," he comments, takes a short pause and waits for an answer, which I can't give to him because I am absolutely clueless.
    "The guy who was here before was seen with you and—"
    "It was my fault," I interrupt the beginning of his speech.
    "Mrs. Von Steemberg, I appreciate your honesty but I just want you to know that this is not like school anymore." He coughs and changes position silently. "We are not going to put you in detention or suspend you for a week because you are in college and we feel that you are mature enough to learn from your mistakes and try not to repeat them afterwards." He seems so nice and kind that I don't care if he puts me in detention, to be honest.
    "I, um, didn't realize I was in the men’s bathroom until I saw him, I mean, Theodore," I hissed and he laughs a little bit.  I am utterly ashamed about it but if it wasn't for my clumsiness I wouldn’t have gotten into the wrong place, therefore never getting to talk to Theodore or see him.
    "Are you sure?" he asks doubtfully.
    "I am not lying to you."
    "I know, he told me. I was just testing you," he giggles and pulls a little smirk. I don’t really get his point. "I am sorry about my misplaced attitude towards the situation but when something like this happens, we always set our mind with the most dramatic situation for us to be ready to face the worst. For example, when a professor told me that he or she saw two teenagers getting out of the same bathroom, I started looking for some condoms, you know. So when I found out that it was a misunderstood I was relieved. Because under our roofs, you are my responsibility, and I will help you as long as you need my help." He is really into this speech and seems proud of what he has just said. While he waits for me to speak, he is smiling like a little kid, showing his perfect and shiny white teeth.
    The last sentence seemed like a shitty motto he is bounded to say when talking to students, maybe to make them feel a little bit important and to generate trust among them; It works, to be honest, whatever the intention it has, it really does work, because I am feeling special, as if I am the best student and that he cares about me the most, but sadly, I am exactly the same as the other ones, and he probably doesn’t give a shit about me.
    Regarding what the principal has just said, I wish it was; I wish it was sex that we were having in there, I wish it was more than a confusion, I wish it actually was something. But it wasn’t.
    "What’s on your mind? You are very silent," he says, and I blink twice like he has just woken me up from a daydream.
    I am thinking about sex, you know. "Nothing, really," I lie.
    "Okay." We remain in silence for about two minutes and everything about him starts feeling legitimately awkward.
    "It’s everything alright at home?" he asks breaking the silence as if he certainly cares, but he is obviously just trying to get