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“I know, I know. You said you’d only give five scholarships. But these are just recommendations.”
“How many have you reviewed?”
“Eleven.”
“So you’re recommending more than sixty percent of the candidates you’ve reviewed?” Gavin asks. “Like you said, there are nearly a hundred candidates. You’re not going to give me sixty recommendations, are you?”
I sigh because he has a point.
“Well, this is just the first round. I’ll review the list a second time, maybe even a third, until I have maybe twenty-five or thirty.”
“Twelve.”
My eyebrows go up. From a hundred to twelve. That’s some serious sifting.
I touch my nape as I glance at my screen. “Well, the thing is I can only tell so much from the numbers and videos you gave me. I’d like to think you’re not just giving scholarships based on performance but also on personality, attitude, passion.”
“Of course, those will be considered. That’s why the final twelve will be interviewed and then five will be selected for a scholarship,” Gavin says.
I nod. That makes sense. After all, we can’t interview them all.
“By the way, you’ll be handling the interviews as well,” he adds.
I point a finger at my chest. “Me?”
“Someone else can schedule them and you can do them online.”
I shake my head. “If I’m going to do the interviews, I want to do them face to face. I want to meet the candidates, to get to know them. I want to see where they live, how they live. I want to meet their families.”
“But do you think you can move around like that in your condition? We’re talking about going from state to state here, from coast to coast.”
I touch my tummy. “I’ll do them after I’ve given birth.”
That way I’ll have something to look forward to even after I’ve given up my baby.
“Aren’t you supposed to be on vacation then?” Gavin asks.
“I’d rather work,” I answer.
If I’m all by myself on an island, I might just feel more lonely.
“Please?”
Gavin lets out a deep breath. “Fine.”
I smile. “Thanks.”
He strokes his beard. “You know, most people would take the all-expense-paid two-month vacation over working across the country.”
I shrug. “I guess I’m not most people.”
“No, you’re not,” he agrees.
“Besides, this doesn’t feel like work. It feels more like…” I try to come up with the right word but fail. “Like I’m just helping these girls, which I really want to do.”
“Because you see yourself in them?” Gavin asks as he looks into my eyes.
The question takes me by surprise, but I don’t mind it. I nod.
He leans forward on his knees. “Why did you take up gymnastics?”
I grab another sweet potato chip. “My parents were… well, not rich. My mother worked as a housekeeper at the hotel an hour away. My father was a truck driver who was gone for weeks at a time. I became aware of how hard life can be at an early age.”
Gavin falls silent.
I pop the chip inside my mouth, chew on it and continue. “I also knew I didn’t want that kind of life. So I told myself I’d get into college, get a job, all that. I didn’t dream of being rich. I just wanted some money.”
Gavin nods but says nothing. He looks like he understands what I’m talking about, but does he really? Does someone who was born to money understand what it’s like to have none?
“Now, I’m not very bright.”
Gavin snorts. He disagrees?
I hide a smile. “I meant I’m not one of those straight-A kids, the ones who end up scoring 1300 on their SATs and graduating high school with a 3.5 GPA. My grades were decent, but not that good. And let’s face it, you have to be that good if you’re trying to get a scholarship from a top college.”
“So you decided to go the athletic route instead?”
I nod. “Now, I wasn’t good at getting along with other girls, so I didn’t want a team sport. Besides, I didn’t like getting hurt. I was hit with a soccer ball in the face once and I lost a tooth.” I cringe. “The pain was excruciating.”
“I was hit with a soccer ball once, too,” Gavin says. “I won’t tell you where.”
But I can guess. Ouch.
“I tried running, but I wasn’t fast enough. I thought I’d try other track events, like high jump or pole vaulting, but then one of the coaches suggested I try gymnastics. I had a good sense of balance. I was skinny and flexible.”
One of the coaches said I was pretty enough, too, but I don’t mention that.
“And I was hardworking. Once I realized I could do well in gymnastics, I devoted myself to it, and I excelled. It wasn’t easy. I didn’t have the proper gear like the other girls. I landed in the hospital for a sprain once and made my mother very angry. She didn’t want me doing gymnastics, but she realized why I was doing it, so she didn’t stop me. She even came to cheer for me in a few high school tournaments. Unfortunately, she was no longer around when I got the letter regarding my college scholarship.”
