Page 46 of The Sound of Harmony

I don’t know what it means, Kendrick texted back.

“And then,” Gwendolyn said. “To top it off, my boss gives me a student intern for a few hours a week, instead of the full-time secretary he promised me this year.” She threw her pizza crust onto her plate.

Why’d you text it to me? Emma asked.

To see what you’d do.

“At least the student is competent,” Gwendolyn said. “I don’t know what I’d do if I had to work with a flake.”

“Yep.” Emma looked up when the silence became awkward. “I’m listening. Go on.”

“You are not listening.”

“I heard every word you said. Your flaky secretary likes when your boss keeps his promises.”

“You didn’t get one bit of that right. Literally not one word.” Gwendolyn pointed to Emma’s phone. “Who are you texting?”

“Kendrick. What does the sunshine emoji stand for?”

“I thought it just meant sun.”

“Okay, hold on.” Emma held up her phone. “Let me finish this.”

I gotta go, she told Kendrick. Gwendolyn is sharpening her sword.

Good night. See you tomorrow.

See you tomorrow.

He texted her another sun.

Emma put her phone in her bag so she wouldn’t be tempted to reach for it. She focused completely on her sister. “Tell me what’s going on at work. Tell me all about your boss. What dick move did he pull this time? And then try to convince me—again—that it’s bad to work for myself.”

Gwendolyn threw a balled-up napkin at her. “Snotface.”

Emma tossed it back. “Weirdo.”

“Okay,” Gwendolyn said. “You’re lucky and I’m jealous. But only at this particular moment. Because at the end of the day, I like my job.”

“And I like mine.”

“My boss is difficult,” Gwendolyn said. “But my paycheck is predictable.”

“Oh, score.” Emma pretended to stab her own heart. “Direct hit.”

“I’m not trying to hurt you,” Gwendolyn said. “I want you to be happy, is all.”

Emma brushed stray crumbs off her placemat. Gwendolyn wanted her to be secure, which wasn’t the same as being happy.

“I’ve got other jobs lined up besides Kendrick’s,” Emma said. “I’ve got a one-day thing on Sunday, and some other small jobs. And Kendrick’s cousin is going to pass my name around to his real estate clients.”

“That sounds promising,” Gwendolyn said. “When I saw the students moving back to town, I thought that was an untapped market for you. You’ve seen those houses around campus. They need help. I bet the parents would pay big dollars to have you straighten out their children’s lives.”

Emma’s mouth fell open. “That must have sounded better in your head than it did out loud.”

“What?” Gwendolyn asked. “You know how the students are. You’ve seen how some of them live.”

“But they don’t care,” Emma said. “That’s the thing. It’s only temporary. Remember your dorm at Northwestern? And look at how you live now.”