Page 12 of Hard Rock Love

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“So the point isn’t that he’s in a shit situation?” Seth asked, mouth pursed in confusion.

“That’s right,” I said patiently.

“It’s that he’s living an ordinary life before the adventure starts?” he asked. “Before hiscall to action, like it says in the textbook.”

“Yes!” I said, encouraging. “That’s exactly it.”

“Both Harry Potter and Odysseus have that in common with me. Maybe I’m living the hero's journey.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“My life before music was completely average, you know?” he said. “I did the usual things, getting in trouble at school, partying, that stuff.”

“I don’t think that’s the usual things,” I said. Or at least, it hadn’t be mine.

Seth continued.

“Then I banged on that first drum set andbam. Pun intended,” he grinned. “Right then, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life.”

“You wanted to be a world-famous rock star with hordes of fans?”

“I wanted to make music,” he said. “Even if I didn’t get famous, I wanted to reach people through song.”

That sounded exactly like my sister. I wondered how nice it must be to have found your passion, your purpose.

“I think I’m still on part one of the hero's journey,” I said ruefully. “I don’t have anything like that in my life.”

“You should try to find it,” Seth said. “There’s nothing better than doing what you know you were born to do.”

“If only it was as easy as that,” I said. “I’m good at school. At studying and taking tests. That’s about it. Can I be a professional student my whole life?”

“Why not?” he said with good cheer. “Some people stay in grad school for a decade.”

“Maybe that’s what I’ll do then,” I joked. “Just get PhD after PhD.”

“Is that what you want?” Seth asked. “What you dream of?”

“No,” I said after a few seconds of thought. “I don’t really know what I dream of. Acing my next test, usually.” I looked down at Seth’s textbook, tracing a line along the spine. “I feel like everyone else has these big, important dreams, these goals they’re working toward. I don’t feel passionate about anything like that.”

“You’re young,” Seth said. “You’ve got time.”

I made a face, hating to be reminded of that.

“You’re young, too,” I pointed out. “And you’ve got your life together. At my age you were already on your way to stardom.”

“Yeah, well, I’m a special case,” Seth said, puffing his chest out proudly. “After all, I was born to be the best drummer in the world.”

“You’ve got no lack of ego, hm?”

“None.” He winked at me.

I flushed, unable to help it. Even in his arrogance, Seth was charming.

We went quiet, sharing a smile. Seth’s eyes fell to my lips. I licked them unconsciously. His green eyes went dark, the light-heartedness fading into something heavy.

Heat rose within me.