Commencement

by Lawrence Cherry

Tamiko checked herself in her small compact mirror for what had to have been the 60th time. When she last glanced at her watch it read 10:49. Davis would be here in about 10 minutes, and she wanted to make sure she looked okay. “Just relax.” she told herself. This was a difficult task given the fact that she was tutoring the hottest guy on the planet! Hot and a Christian! No. Hot and a Christian and crazy smart! Tamiko thought she would have gotten over these feelings as she and Davis spent more time with each other. After all, wasn’t familiarity supposed to breed contempt? And yet the opposite happened. The more she got to know Davis, the more she became infatuated with him, and the more infatuated she became the more she thought about him. It had gotten to the point to where Tamiko even thought about him during random moments of the day. Sometimes she’d find herself wondering what he was doing, what he was wearing, whether or not he was thinking about her. Did Davis just like her as a friend, or was he interested in her at all as a girlfriend? Did he even already have a girlfriend? Sometimes the kind courtesies he paid her, or that warm smile he often bestowed on her encouraged her to think that maybe Davis did like her. But he had never asked her out, never ‘made a move’ that would overtly suggest it. But Davis wasn’t a guy who was as transparent with his feelings like Allen, or Tim. Davis was a bit enigmatic, and this made him all the more alluring to Tamiko.

  So Tamiko sat in the library waiting for Davis wearing an outfit she picked out especially to impress him. Her navy blue three-quarter sleeved boat-necked cashmere sweater with the bow on the shoulder, a gray form fitting pencil skirt and long high-heeled boots. Tamiko wore her hair parted to one side and down over her shoulders without any curl at the ends so she would look more mature. She knew Allen would not be here again because he was supposed to be doing research for a special project he was working on. While Tamiko was glad to be able to spend some time alone with Davis, she was still nervous and self-conscious in his presence.

  Just as Tamiko was starting to daydream, in walked the main character of her fantasies. Today he was wearing his goose down parka with a wool Pendleton shirt and jeans, and hiking boots. He beamed his trademark smile her way as their eyes met across the room.

  “Hey. I see Al’s cut out again.”

  “Yeah, he said he’s busy doing research for some project he’s working on.”

  “Oh.”

  “Are you disappointed?”

  “Nah, no way. You’re just as good as he is. Maybe better in some ways. But don’t tell him I told you that”, he winked.

  “I won’t. And thanks for the compliment.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “So, let’s get started.” blushed Tamiko “Where’s your latest assignment?”

  “Righ’ here. It’s the draft though.”

  Tamiko took the paper and began to read it over.

  “It’s pretty good for a draft.”

  “Yeah, I’ve been studyin’ that book you gave me. That Bedford book…and the Style book too.”

  “It shows.”

  When Allen told her about Davis, Tamiko would have to admit that she thought he might be a slow guy with a learning disability, but the more she worked with him the more she understood just how much the opposite was true. Tamiko only had to explain a concept or idea once and Davis would take hold of it and be able to apply it to his writing. At times he would go beyond what she would teach him. He asked intelligent questions, inquired about resources that he could use and took his work very seriously. Each time Davis brought her a paper there would be less and less to correct on it.

  “And I did my own outline for the paper this time. Is it flowin’ like it’s suppost to.”

  “Yeah, it really does, actually.”

  “And you’re not just sayin’ that ‘cause we’re friends, right?”

  “Davis, I think way too much of you to patronize you. Your writing has come such a long way. Really.”

  “But there’s still probably something I could do to make it better right?”

  “I would be reaching, but you might want to work on your punctuation. You’ve got a few comma splices here and there. But I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have trouble with that. It’s tricky even for pro’s.”

  “I’ve been beatin’ myself up about that for the past coupla days, but I just can’t seem to get wit’ it. It’s kinda frustratin’.”

  “It’s okay, Davis. No paper is going to absolutely perfect.”

  “I know, but writin’ and readin’ has always been a big deal for me. See, my family came to this country from Puerto Rico when I was five years old. They put me in school and I didn’t know any kind of English. So I had a hard time learnin’ to read and when I wrote or when I talked stuff didn’t come out right. Like I had trouble communicatin’ and what not. Kids would laugh at me, call me stupid.”

  “But you weren’t dumb. You just didn’t know the language.”

  “Guess they must’ve realized that ‘cause when I went to second grade, they put me in a bilingual class, but I didn’t learn much English. The teacher just spoke Spanish and I did everything in Spanish. My grades got better in the class, but when I took the state tests, which were in English, I would get a low score. So then they had me evaluated and they said I had speech and language learnin’ delay. They put me in a special-ed class. And that just really made me discouraged, like you know when they put you in special-ed, it’s like they sayin’ it’s no hope for you. The teachers in those classes didn’t do much teaching anyway. So I just gave up on school.”

  “I’m so sorry, Davis. You shouldn’t have had to go through all that. The system is so unfair.”

  “I just wish I had a teacher like you when I was younger. Somebody nice and patient. I bet you don’t even yell at the kids in yo’ class.”

  “Oh, I don’t know. I can be pretty stern at times.”

  “And I bet those times is few and far between.”

  “You’re really too kind.”

  “Nah, for real. You’re a really good teacher. Those kids in your class are lucky.”

  “Actually, I’m not a good teacher. But I hope one day I will be.”

  “Why would you say that?”

  “Because, looking back I think I’ve been too preoccupied with myself. I didn’t focus on my students like I should have. I closed myself off to learning and growing.”

  “I still say you’re a good teacher, ‘cause a bad teacher would not be thinking the way you are now. They wouldn’t care less. And if you’re still not convinced, let me show you somethin’.”

  Davis took another paper out of his bag and gave it to Tamiko. It had a B+ on the top of it.

  “Davis, this is wonderful! How come you didn’t show me earlier!”

  “I wanted to surprise you.”

  “Oh, Davis! I am so proud of you!”

  “I couldn’t have done it without you and Allen.”

  “And don’t forget to give yourself some credit.”

  “I think I better not forget to give God the credit. I mean, if it wasn’t for Him I never would have met Allen or you. I feel blessed that God has brought some really good people into my life.”

  “C’mon Davis, we’re just regular people.”

  “Tamiko, I’ve been around a lot of people. Unfortunately for most of my life, the people I was hangin’ wit’ only brought me trouble. Then when I gave God my life, I had to cut a lot of people loose and a lot of the others cut me loose, ‘cause they couldn’t get wit’ what I was about. For a long time I didn’t have nobody to be wit’. I was gettin’ real lonely. Kinda like the prophet Elijah. For a while, I thought I was the only Christian person my age on the face of the earth. Then I met Daniel and Allen and the rest of y’all. Now I know I don’t have to be alone no more. I mean ‘any more’.”

  “Never, not so long as I…I mean, we’re around.” Tamiko was touched by what Davis had said. Tamiko had taken hold of his hand, but upon realizing what she had done, she quickly let go. “Davi
s, are you sure you don’t want to come to Sunday dinner with us. I’m sure my dad would love to get to know you”, offered Tamiko, attempting to be more casual.

  “I don’t know, Miko. I don’t want him to get the wrong idea. I mean I’m kinda new to the church community. I don’t want to seem like too forward…”

  “Oh, no! No one would ever think that. Besides there is no set decorum. It’s not like you’ll be coming to the house on church business. It’s just dinner at a friend’s house. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

  “Aiight. And since I don’t have to spend a lot of time reworking my paper this time. I guess I’ll have some free time to come.”

  “Excellent! Dinner is at 5:00. If you want you can hang out with me and Allen after the service.”

  “Actually, I’m joining Daniel’s Brotherhood Bible Study Group.”

  “Really?!”

  “Yeah, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to hang out.”

  “All right then. That’s probably the better choice anyway.”

  “I guess we done here, right?”

  “I guess. I would stay longer, but I have an afternoon workshop that I’m planning to attend.”

  “Oh”, said Davis looking a little disappointed. “Then I’ma jet back home and edit this and get it ready for school and everythin’.”

  “See you on Sunday.”

  “No doubt.” he smiled.

  Forty-Four