She bit her lip. “Only test accommodations? But—”
I waved a hand. “It’s fine. It is what it is. But I haven’t told a soul in four years.” I smiled. “You must have a way about you.”
“Sure. A way of harassing you somygrade doesn’t suffer.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry.”
“You didn’t know.”
“Thank you for telling me.” She raised her eyes to mine. “It’s not something you should be ashamed about. You know that, right?”
“I’m not ashamed, necessarily. It’s just difficult.”
“Telling others might make it less difficult.”
I smiled. “I can manage.”
“I see what you did there.” Harper looked like she was going to reach for my hand, but then she tucked hers away in the pocket of my jacket. “But if you need anything from me, I’ll help. I mean, not that youneedhelp. But if you do, I will.”
“Thank you. My brain’s a nightmare with short stuff. Long books? Fine. A paragraph? Forget it.”
“Is that what happened in history the other day?”
“Yes. You gallantly came to my rescue, even if you didn’t know itat the time.”
Harper nodded. “That makes sense. They call it anattentiondeficit, but I heard that if someone is really into an activity, they can focus for a long time. I mean, not to tell you about your own condition. I’m sure you know more about it than I do. Obviously.”
She was so cute when she was flustered, which I suspected was a rare occurrence. I hadn’t had anyone offer help or show concern in years. I’d forgotten what it felt like. I’d gotten so used tomanagingalone, the exhaustion of it became almost background noise. Right now, Harper was with me in this moment of confession, and I wasn’t so alone…
I cleared my throat.
“I should’ve mentioned it earlier, seeing as we’re going to be lab partners for the whole year. I really don’t want you scolding me the whole time.” I itched to brush a stray curl off her cheek. “You’re much prettier when you’re not scolding me.”
It was too dark out to see her blush, but I felt it anyway. The moment grew soft, as if we’d drawn closer together without moving at all.
“You said ADHD explains Wolfe’s tearing into your performance,” she said eventually. “Absolutely not. Your Rachmaninoff was truly beautiful, and I don’t care what he says. You’re not empty. I felt something listening to you play.”
A warmth spread in my chest, and it wanted to wake up something long asleep, down there in the depths.
“Thank you,” I said. “I suppose you’re right. He couldn’t know about my condition, but heisan expert about music. He can hear what most can’t, so he heardsomething. Or nothing. Anyway, we don’t have to talk about it anymore. I just wanted to clear the air.”
Harper was smart enough to know I was done discussing the scene in piano class. “Well, I’m glad Wolfe’s not a doctor,” she said. “His bedside manner leaves a lot to be desired.”
“I’ll bet he knows how to get a good performance out of us,” I saidwith a grin. “By sheer terror alone.”
“Or drive us to nervous breakdowns.” Harper looked up at me; we were so close on the log. Inches apart. “Do you want to do that for a living? Play the piano? You’re more than good enough, anddo notdeflect.”
“No, I’m going into the family business, remember?”
“But why not piano? If I played like you, that’s all I would do, all day long.”
“Nah,” I said. “I think you’re being overly generous.”
“I think you’re being overly modest. You could go to Juilliard or—”
I waved my hands. “I’m not going to Juilliard.”
“No?”
“No, at the end of the year, I’m going back to the UK. To Cambridge.”
