Page 97 of Finding a Melody
“What do you plan to do?” Bryan asked.
“What do you mean?” Did he mean about the Ryders? About my mom? About the rumors at school? Hell, even my bills currently piling up. Bills had never been my thing. Lindie had handled those.
“After school. When you graduate. Admissions is open now.”
“I still have time, don’t I?”
“Spots fill up quickly. It’ll sneak up on you.”
“Oh.” Great. Another thing to think about. “I never thought it was going to be an option for me before. I always thought my life was going to be about continuing to do what I do now, just full time.”
“But that isn’t the case anymore. If you could, do you want to go to college?”
I stared at the sky, enjoying the way the red, orange, and yellows clashed together, making the top of the trees seem like they were about to be lit on fire. “I don’t know. I really don’t know. There had never been any time to consider it before.”
“Fair enough,” Bryan said softly. “Make sure to consider it now though. What you want to do, not what you think you’re expected to do.”
I turned to him, raising my eyebrows. “Same to you, Bryan. Go where you want to go, and learn about what you want to learn. Not what your parents want from you.”
He chuckled. “Fair enough. How about we both figure it out together?”
That actually sounded interesting. “Okay. Deal.”
We talked a little bit more about the different degrees out there. Bryan of course truly believed he had to go to some Ivy League school to learn business. He had resigned himself to that path, but as we talked, he started considering computer science more. He had interest in security systems.
Me. Music seemed like the only choice. But was that all I was now, a music-obsessed girl? For some reason, that didn’t sit well with me. Was my life already defined?
“Are you two having fun?” Seth asked as he slid the back porch door open and stepped out.
“Hey, when did you get back?” Bryan asked.
“For about an hour now. Figured I’d let you guys hang out while I did some course work.”
“I hope we didn’t disturb you,” I said, jumping up to my feet.
Seth chuckled and waved me off. “Don’t worry. You can never bother me. I only came out to ask if you guys were hungry? I can get dinner started.”
“Steak!” Bryan called out.
Seth laughed. “You saw it in the fridge, didn’t you?”
“Of course. Medium please.”
Seth grimaced. “That’s such a waste of a good steak.”
“It’s delicious,” Bryan claimed.
“Uh huh.” Seth turned to go back into the house.
“Medium rare!” I called out.
“I already know, you at least know how to eat steak,” Seth said, making the two of us laugh as he continued to grumble. And when he came back out to light the grill, he was still grumbling, sending small glares at Bryan.
“Are you going to put him out of his misery?” I asked Bryan.
“Nope. He’ll still cook it medium rare anyway.” Bryan’s phone buzzed and he pulled it out. It wasn’t long before he was frowning as his fingers flew across the screen. Whatever conversation he was having wasn’t going well. His eyebrows scrunched together as he kept typing.
I leaned back, giving him privacy as I closed my eyes and relaxed. The sound of Bryan and Seth nearby, of the wind rustling through the cooling air. The smell of the pool only feet away. I relaxed completely and then dozed off.