The Summer of Sunshine and Margot(59)

“Of course you don’t.” Ron stood and walked to the board. “Read me a problem.”

When the woman didn’t say anything, Ron turned to her and pointed. “Open your book to that chapter and read me a problem. Come on, people, this isn’t rocket science or even hard math. Let’s go.”

The woman looked startled. “Um, y = 2x + 6.”

Ron walked through the solution. He explained what he did as he went and Sunshine was able to follow. Before she could figure out if she thought she could do it on her own, he’d moved on to another question.

He repeated his process until the thirty minutes was up. By then, her head was spinning. Yes, she could understand why he did what he did, but there was no chance to practice, no way to know if she understood the concept. Everyone else looked as confused as she felt. Weren’t TA sessions supposed to help?

“That’s it for me,” Ron said, putting down the dry erase marker. “This has been so much fun. I’ll be back next week.” He crossed to Sunshine and waited until she collected her backpack and stood. “Hey, you. I’m Ron.”

“So I heard.”

“Want to go get coffee? I’m free right now. You are a fine-looking woman, you know that? A little older, but hey, more experienced.” He winked. “At least that’s what they say.”

She slung her backpack over her shoulder and let her gaze linger over his shaggy hair, his scraggly beard, a stain on his faded T-shirt and his dirty jeans.

On the inside, she was crushed, not sure if she had the ability to get through what he’d referred to as remedial math, but no way she was going to let him see that. Self-preservation was a powerful motivator and someone had to give Ron a kick in the balls.

“You?” She smiled, then let the smile grow until she was laughing. “God, no.”

With that, she turned and walked out. She heard a couple of people sniggering, which should have made her feel better, but didn’t.

One of the young women from the session caught up with her. “You should report him,” she told Sunshine. “That’s sexual harassment and it’s illegal.”

“Thanks. I’ll think about it.”

“He was just a total jerk, talking down to us like that. He’s supposed to help us. Well, screw him.”

Sunshine offered a tight smile. “See you in class.”

The other student nodded. “See you.”

Sunshine headed for her car. She told herself she was going to figure this out. Obviously not with Ron, but somehow. She might not have been to college before, but she wasn’t an idiot. Other people got through classes—she could, too. She had to. She was determined to be more than she had been before and there was no way she was going to allow herself to get stalled before she’d even started.

  “I’m very excited about this afternoon,” Bianca said as Margot pulled into the high school parking lot. “I’ve never been behind the scenes at a beauty pageant before.”

“I’m hoping you’ll enjoy the experience. We’ll start out in the audience for a while, then move backstage. What we’re going to see is the preliminary round for talent and the interview.”

“Maybe I’d like to be a judge.”

“Let’s see how this morning goes, then we can talk about it.”

“That’s very noncommittal.”

Margot smiled. “Yes, well, there’s a lot more to being a judge than most people think. Every pageant has different rules and different criteria. The winner is far more than the prettiest girl. She has to have a certain quality that is larger than life and often difficult to define.”

“You’re saying I don’t have the attention span?”

“I’m saying we’ll talk after you observe for a while.”

Bianca linked arms with Margot. “Such a diplomat. I should ask Wesley if there’s a rising young star in his social circles and introduce you two.”

“Thank you, but no.”

“Because you’re already interested in someone else?” Bianca’s tone was teasing, but there was a real question in her eyes.

Margot immediately thought of Alec, then pushed the thought away. “Let me explain how the morning is going to go.”

Bianca sighed. “Really? That’s the best you can do for a deflection?”

“Yes.”

“Fine. How is the morning going to go?”

Bianca’s cooperation was surprising, but she’d been that way for the past couple of days. When they’d discussed wardrobe for their outing, Bianca had agreed to a pretty but conservative dress and a little extra makeup. Margot had chosen a floral print fit-and-flare dress. She’d put her hair up in a fancy twist, wrestled herself into pantyhose and wore nude pumps that pinched her toes. Her handbag was a small clutch in the same pale pink as the background of the floral print, her earrings were simple pearl studs and she’d made time for a manicure.

When returning to a foreign land, it was important to fit in with the natives, she thought as they walked toward the auditorium.

“This is a pre–Junior Miss,” she told Bianca. “You don’t have to win here to compete at the Junior Miss level, but it helps. At least, it used to be called Junior Miss when I was growing up. They changed it to Distinguished Young Women. Just competing here gives you a leg up. It’s good experience and if you pay attention, you can learn a lot.”