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12
Austin
Jade takes a bite of her hamburger, smiling. “Oh, yeah,” she says with a mouthful of burger. “That always hits the spot.”
I can’t help but laugh. A rock superstar sitting in front of me, with her hoodie and sunglasses covering her face, chomping away at her lunch like she’s just a regular person. The funny thing is, the more I’m around her, the more I don’t look at her as the Queen of Kings. I just see Kristen.
“You can really put a burger and fries away.”
She nods, taking a sip of her soda. “You should see me with chili cheese fries. OMG. I could sleep in chili cheese fries.”
I choke on my bite, reaching for my napkin to wipe my mouth. “You’re crazy.”
“What can I say? I love food.” She brushes her hands off over the table, then leans back in the chair. “So what do you love, Austin?”
Her question catches me by surprise. My eyes jump around Charley’s, the burger place that at the moment only has a few other customers inside. We’ve been in here for nearly thirty minutes, but we’ve only been talking about her schedule with her previous tour and the kind of music she’s been wanting to record lately. And food. I was fine talking about all of that because I love getting to talk to her like a normal person and not a rock star. But I didn’t think she’d be interested in what I have to say.
“Uh …” I lift my shoulders, grabbing a couple more fries. “Um, I don’t know.”
“Oh, come on.” She taps my hand. “You gotta love something. No hobbies?”
I chuckle. “Well, okay. I love music.”
“That doesn’t count,” she’s quick to reply.
“Why not?”
“You work in music. I would hate to think you not only work in the industry, but you put up with a fleabag like Jimmy Richards for something you don’t love.”
I quickly look away, down at my leftover fries and crumbs of my burger. The spite for my father is still there, so there’s no telling her who I am yet … if ever. I try to offer a chuckle, agreeing with her. “I like Legos.”
“Legos?”
Her face drops, and it’s enough to make me laugh. “No, I know what it sounds like. I don’t have Legos lying around my apartment or anything. I get those big ones, like the Death Star or Batmobile. They’re puzzles to me. I take a night or two and kind of just zone out, putting them together. It’s calming.”
Shawn knows about my Lego collecting, and while he makes jokes, it’s not malicious. I’ve always been into building Legos ever since I was little, so my parents know. My father hates it. He thinks it’s childish. I’m not sure what to expect from Jade. Her initial reaction was to be expected, but after my response, I’m not sure if she’s still going to think it’s childish, or silly, or just immature.
Without giving a reaction, she keeps her eyes on me. “What’s the biggest one you’ve ever put together?”
I chuckle to myself. “Hogwarts. Over six thousand pieces.”
Her eyes widen. “Six thousand?” I nod, feeling a little embarrassed. “Austin, that’s insane.” I’m not sure if she means insane in a good way or bad. “I’d like to see that someday.”
More than anything during this entire interaction—more than any interaction I’ve had with her—I’m completely caught by surprise. She doesn’t say it like it’s a funny little joke. She’s sincere. “Uh … sure. Whenever you want.”
She smiles, then glances down at her wrapper. “Anything else? I feel like I’ve been talking about myself during this whole lunch.”
“You’re fine,” I tell her. “I could listen to you all day.” Her eyes jump up and meet mine, this time forcing me to look away, internally screaming at myself for saying that out loud. Shaking my head, I try to recover. “I mean … um, yeah. Other than those things, I don’t have time for a whole lot. What with work and college.”
She seems to have recovered herself, though I don’t know if she was as surprised by my comment as I was. “That’s right. What are you going to school for?”
“Teaching. I want to be a music teacher.”
Her lips spread in a wide grin. “Austin, that’s amazing. Me and the guys got together in middle school, but I had this music teacher at Karmichael High my freshman year. She was so encouraging; I can totally see you being like that.”
“Thanks.”
“What’s your family think?”
