Page 16 of On His Team

Stanley corrects, “I want to establish culture.”

G smiles. “You want them to think a ghost lives upstairs.”

He nods. “I have not ruled that out.”

Blue takes a drink. “Percy and I will still be here.”

Percy looks at him. “Unfortunately.”

Blue glares. Percy keeps eating.

I look at the whiteboard and say, “I might be too.”

Stanley stops uncapping the marker. Benson looks at me. Gianna does too. I can feel it before I actually look at her.

“If I do my master’s,” I add.

Stanley lowers the marker. “You’re staying?”

“Maybe.”

“How long?”

“Year. Maybe two.”

“You have eligibility?”

I nod. “Two years. Redshirt.”

Benson’s fork stops halfway to his mouth. “You’re serious?”

“Yeah.” I say it automatically. Then sit with it.

I have been looking at programs for weeks.

Jobs too.

Detroit. Chicago. Operations. Facilities. Event management.

Tabs open on my laptop until I get sick of looking at them and close all of them.

The master’s tab is the one I keep opening again.

Maybe has started to feel like a word I use because I haven’t decided whether I’m allowed to say I want it.

Benson leans back. “Applications should already be open.”

“They are,” I say.

“You applied?”

I shake my head. “Not yet.”

He gives me the same expression he uses when someone skips film.

I eat my eggs.

Across the table, Gianna is still looking at me. Not staring. Just looking. Then Mara says something to her, and she turns away.