i look at her for a moment and shake my head . black , leather , jump boots were tapping nervously against the steel floor . what if they do n't know anything ? `` you can kiss that scholarship good-bye . `` you 're going to throw another pillow at me ? '' `` i may have broken some of his pretty white teeth . '' even back home , she kept him with her at work and only left him with someone else for a few hours if she absolutely had to . well , i learned that lesson the hard way . 