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“Wow, that’s crazy.”
“Actually, now that I think about it, my parents have talked about my attending UNC, just like they both did. Every once in a while, they’ll make a comment like, ‘When you’re a Tar Heel…’” They just assume I’ll want what they wanted.”
“I’m sorry, Emma, that’s rough.” His thumb continues to trace the back of my hand. His warmth seems to give me strength.
“What about you?” I ask. “Where did you apply?”
“I applied a bunch of places, but Yale would be my dream school.”
“Yale?”
“Yeah.”
“LiketheYale?”
Austin grins at me. “The one and only.”
My jaw drops. “Seriously? I knew you were smart but I didn’t realize you were shooting for Ivy League.”
“I know they only accept like six percent of their applicants. I know my chances are slim, but I at least had to try. You can’t get anywhere if you don’t try, right?”
“I don’t know,” I say. “The thought of failing scares me out of trying most of the time.”
“But you’ll always fail if you don’t try,” Austin says.
“You’re awfully smart, Austin Smith.”
“So are you, Emma Carpenter.” He scoots in closer and looks me straight in the eyes. “You know,” he says, glancing down at our hands, “You could apply to Yale too. I know it’s not the west coast, but it’s still far enough away that you wouldn’t be able to drive home on weekends. We could have a lot of fun together there.”
I stare into Austin’s eyes. They start out light brown at the center, then grow darker towards the outer circle. He has specks of green flecks in them, which make his eyes sparkle in the light. Austin’s eyes flick down and look at my lips. Then back into my eyes again. He starts to lean toward me and my heart races.
“Hey Austin, how are you, hon?” Mom says coming into the room. She doesn’t look in our direction as she speaks. She busies herself putting things away in the drawers of her hutch.
Austin and I quickly jump apart. His hand releases mine and the spark is gone. “I’m doing well, Mrs. C. How are you?”
“Oh, I’m wonderful dear. My girls won their cheer competition yesterday and they’re going on to state,” she says excitedly.
Austin clears his throat. “Oh wow, that’s great,” he says.
“Thank you, I’m very proud of them.” Mom bends down to push the bottom drawer closed with both hands. “How’s yourmom?” she asks Austin. “We need to have you guys over for dinner again soon.”
I crinkle my nose. I know when mom invites guests to dinner, she’s really inviting them to eat frozen lasagna. She’s not much of a cook. But I don’t think Austin realizes that. I can feel him watching me from the side as he responds. “Yeah, that would be great. I’m sure Mom would love it.”
I glance down at my hand, where he was touching mine. I’m surprised to see it looks completely normal. I half expect it to be searing red with heat. I rip out a piece of notebook paper and fold it quickly into a fan.
“Is it warm in here?” I ask.
Mom stands up straight and hovers across the table from us. “No, I’m fine,” she says. “Whatcha guys working on?”
“Just studying for the AP tests,” Austin says.
“Yup,” I nod.
“In fact,” Austin says, “There’s a bunch of AP tests in the next couple months. I’m probably going to need to be over here a lot.” He reaches under the table and pats my leg.
Mom looks back and forth between the two of us. “As long as it doesn’t interfere with Emma’s Prom responsibilities,” she says. “She needs to get out a lot so the other students see her socializing.”
Ethan looks at me and his eyes get that sparkle in them again. “I know a great way for Emma to socialize,” he says. “A spot just opened up on the school Academic Decathlon team. I know Emma would be brilliant at it.”
