And eat was just what Tina did.. in a pace three times faster than usual. Within a few minutes, she cleared her plate and excused herself from the table.

"Wow." Ken shook his head in amusement as he witnessed the food quickly disappear from the plate and into his daughter’s stomach. "I guess you weren’t kidding when you told me you were hungry, huh?" He laughed as he stabbed a few pieces of peas with his fork.

Tina smiled and shrugged. She pushed her chair back and stood up from the table. "Is it okay if I go on ahead Daddy?" She asked, but it was really just a formality since she was already cleaning her place and bringing her plate to the kitchen sink.

"Go on ahead." Ken waved his hand to dismiss his daughter as he chewed on his food. He frowned as Tina went inside the bathroom and brushed her teeth in lightning speed. "Whoa! Slow down speedy! Your gums are gonna bleed." He shouted, witnessing Tina’s enthusiastic brushing from his place at the table. What is going on with my little girl today? He wrinkled his forehead in confusion. "Where are you going young lady?" He asked when he saw Tina heading towards the front door of their apartment. He thought that his daughter was rushing through dinner because she was exhausted and wanted to crawl into bed early. So he was surprised to find out that Tina was in such a hurry because she was heading out.

"Umm.. I’m just.." Tina furrowed her brows as she pointed her thumb at the door. ".. gonna go down for a few minutes. A.. friend.. is waiting for me downstairs." She almost choked on the last sentence.

"Really? At this time on a school night?" Her dad said, looking at his wristwatch.

Tina shrugged and bit her lower lip. "We’re just gonna talk about the.. uhm.. race and.. uhm stuff.." She prayed that her dad would drop the subject and let her go. The last thing she wanted was for her father to go downstairs with her and meet Bette Porter.

"Oh. I see." He tapped his fingers on the table as he regarded his daughter. "Okay." He said slowly and started eating again.