Page 98 of Hard Rock Love

Seth quirked a smile, eyeing me.

“It was an English class,” he said. “Harry Potter and Comparative Literature.”

“Now Abby’s help makes sense,” Everly laughed. “Are you trying to get your degree or something? Julian never said anything about it. I’m surprised he’s not worried about you, too. There are only so many hours in the day, you know.”

“No, I’m not aiming for a degree.” Seth gave her a pleading look. “Don’t tell him, please?”

“Why not?” she asked.

“It was just the one course, and it’s over with,” Seth said. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“So it was one of those just for fun classes?” Everly shook her head. “You really are a workaholic masochist.”

I fought the urge to jump in.

The course wasn’t over. Seth could still take the exam. He could still achieve his dream.

But I knew he would never do anything to let his friends down. He cared about the happiness of others before his own. That was part of why I loved him. But it was also why I worried about him.

It wasn’t fair that Seth should have to sacrifice something he wanted so badly. Surely there had to be another way.

“Abby!”

A young girl flew across the room in my direction, her long braid trailing behind her. I put a steadying hand on her shoulder to keep her from falling over as she came to an abrupt stop a mere handful of inches away from me.

“Hey, Mary,” I said, recognizing her from one of the after-school tutoring sessions. “What’s up?”

She held up a piece of paper, shoving it into my face. It was too close for the words to be anything but a blur.

“What’s that you’ve got there?” I asked.

Her beaming smile peeked over the top of the paper.

“I got an A on my essay!” she said with joyous laughter.

Her happiness was infectious and I found myself laughing too.

“That’s great,” I told her. “I’m so proud of you.”

“It’s all because of you,” she told me earnestly. “You told me all about five paragraph essays and I followed just what you said and I got an A! I’ve only ever gotten B’s before. My mom was so happy she went and bought me my favorite ice cream.”

I found myself smiling from ear to ear. It was a nice feeling, knowing that I’d helped someone like that. I remembered the anxious atmosphere in the study room as the kids did their work. There was no trace of that stress in the girl’s expression, only pure joy and relief.

Mary threw her arms around me and gave me the kind of whole-hearted hug only kids can give.

“I couldn’t have done it without you,” she said, her face smushed into my stomach.

I patted her on the back.

“Remember, you did all the hard work yourself,” I told her. “I just helped you along.”

“You’re so smart, Abby.” She looked up at me with shining eyes full of something like reverent awe. “I want to be as smart as you some day.”

A little spark of something lit up inside me. Something like pride, or maybe simply the feeling of self-confidence. That was something I felt so rarely, it was like a treat. To be looked at with such appreciation, such gratitude, such delight…

Maybe it wasn’t the fanatical screaming and crying that Everly and Seth experienced with fans.

But to me, the sunny smile on Mary’s face was even better.