Chapter 9- The Project
" Husband and wife?" I questioned making sure I had heard him correctly.
" That’s what it says." He replied sitting down.
"Cool. So, what else does it say?"
"Erm...it says-"
"Now that you all have your life sheets, you can begin your assignment. Over the next week you and your partner, if you have one, will have to come up with a monthly budget. You’ll have to divide your money amongst bills, entertainment, food, etc. You and your partner will be graded on how well you budgeted your money and how much you have left at the end of the month. I’ll give you the rest of class to start the assignment." Mr. Peterson said interrupting Taylor.
" What were you saying?" I asked, turning back to him.
"Uh...Oh yeah, I was about to tell you what our life sheet says. I’m an engineer at ‘Scientific Atlanta’ and I make $80,000.oo a year. You’re a High School English teacher and your yearly salary is $40,000.oo.
We’re both 33 years old and we have 3 kids. One is a boy who is a year old, a girl who is 3 years old, and another boy who is 5 years old. As far as our assignment, we have to buy a house and a car. Then we write a budget for all of our bills and everything else he mentioned."
"Well, that doesn’t sound too bad. I mean as far as our life situation goes that’s wonderful, so now all we have to do is agree on a car and a house."
Five minutes later class was let out and Taylor and I went back to the dorms.
"Taylor and Amanda, you’re up." With that Taylor and I went towards the front of the class to share our budget and experiences with deciding on a car and house over the past week.
" I’m an Engineer at Scientific Atlanta and Amanda is a High School English teacher. We have a combined salary of $120,000.oo." Taylor said, opening our presentation.
"Deciding on a car was easy. We both wanted a silver Jetta. It was affordable, safe, and something that would accommodate both his height and mine. We spent a little bit longer deciding on a house but eventually chose a two-story Victorian home on West Peachtree." I said concluding our presentation. On our way back to our seats I handed Mr. Peterson our budget report. We sat through another hour of presentations before he released the class.
~*Taylor’s Point Of View*~
It was about a week before Thanksgiving break, Amanda and I were sitting on the couch in the dorm. Ryan and Kendra were out, leaving us alone. She had made us dinner earlier and now we were just laying together enjoying eachother’s warmth. It had started snowing the day before. Nothing major, but it had left about an inch of snow on the ground and it was freezing.
" Manda, what are you doing for Thanksgiving break?" I asked very softly, not wanting to break the peaceful atmosphere.
"I’m not sure." She answered with a sigh. " I hadn’t really thought about it much."
" Come back to Tulsa with me."
" Come back to Tulsa with me." Taylor whispered in my ear. I turned towards him, looking into his eyes.
"Are you sure?"
" Yes, I want you to spend Thanksgiving break with me. Please?" He replied with his best puppy dog look.
"Well, ok. I’ll have to make flight arrangements and tell my parents, but ok.
** A Week Later ~ Tulsa International Airport**
" Taylor! Hi sweetie." His mom said wrapping him in a huge hug. " I’m glad you’re home safe."
" Amanda its great to see you again." Walker said giving me hug.
"Well, its great to see you guys again. It’s been a long time since the last time I saw you two." I said returning his hug.
" Well, you guys have had a long flight. Why don’t we go get your luggage and get you guys home." Diana said a moment later.
" Well, you guys have had a long flight. Why don’t we go get your luggage and get you guys home." Mom said when we were done hugging. I grabbed Amanda’s hand and headed towards baggage claim. We arrived a few minutes later and found that luggage was just starting to circulate. We found our suitcases easily, then went towards the elevators to go up to the parking garage. As soon as I walked out the door I was hit with the icy chill of Tulsa’s winter. It was good to be home.
