Page 49 of Safety Net (Mendell Hawks #3)
Henrik took his time closing the curtains. I could tell from how he was dragging his feet that he was waiting for Eden to take a seat. She found a spot on the recliner, tucking her long legs underneath her, popping open her soda, and squinting at the TV.
"What am I looking at?" she asked.
"It's PowerPoint night," Naomi explained. "We make PowerPoints on things we find interesting, or want to convince others to find interesting."
"Lincoln wanted to convince us to watch the Banner Chronicles last semester," Sam explained as he stretched his arm out over the back of the couch. "So he made us sit through a presentation on its merits."
"It was shockingly convincing," Naomi chimed in. "I felt like I'd be missing out if I didn't watch."
Aderyn leaned into Sam's side. "Doesn't that series have like thirty-five movies and a dozen spin-offs?"
"Two dozen," Finn corrected in a low voice as he pulled up the email I'd sent to Naomi.
"You convinced them to watch over sixty movies?" Aderyn whistled, impressed.
I shrugged, still pleased with the accomplishment. "What can I say, I'm persuasive."
"We're on the twentieth," Naomi said. "Going strong."
"Some of us are still strong," Sam noted. "Others grow weary…"
Celeste continued to massage my cheek, her movements gentler as she listened to everyone go back and forth.
I tilted my head back for a moment to get a good look at her.
She smiled down at me, pride in her eyes.
Making her proud took over the prideful spot of convincing everyone to watch all those movies in a heartbeat.
If I didn't accomplish anything else in life, I'd be happy with knowing I'd made her look at me like that.
However, I would still strive to accomplish more. My hastily made PowerPoint presentation appeared on the scene. I pulled out a red laser light and pointed it at the title.
"Where do you get these things?" Aderyn wondered under her breath.
"The Journey to an Impossibly Bright and Brilliant Future (or a three-year plan that doesn't completely suck)," I read.
"I need one of these," Eden mumbled under her breath.
"Slide, please," I directed Finn.
"It's very minimal," Sam teased, aware of my usual flair.
"I was pressed for time," I defended. "For good reason."
Celeste leaned forward so both hands were on my jawline as I went through my plan with everyone.
"Graduation," I started. "Realistically, it will take a semester and a half longer than projected. But if I want to avoid burnout and still commit the right amount of time to practice, then slow and steady wins the race."
"Words I'd never thought I'd hear from a hare," Henrik said, finding his voice once again as he settled on the floor next to Naomi. He took in each of my bullet points with far more attention to detail than the others.
"What are those?" Naomi pointed at the little drawings.
"My side quest. You two inspired me," I said, referencing Finn and her shared interest in gaming.
"I'm embracing the fact that I should be well-rounded.
And perhaps I can channel my interest in mystery into something post-college.
As I wrote this out, I wondered if it was okay if my end goal wasn't fully figured out yet, or if it would naturally fall into place.
But, trying to improve doesn't come naturally, so I figured, why would my purpose? "
Even naturally gifted, brilliant people had to wake up every day and get to work.
Celeste, with all her talent, kindness, and strength, still worked for it.
Every day, she faced a fear, whether it was editing a lyric, believing she deserved friends, or talking to a stranger.
No matter how large or small, she showed up.
I wanted to take a page out of her book. Be as brave as she was.
"This is impressive, Lincoln." Henrik glanced at me. "You did all this on your own?"
I gave him a look and smiled when he realized how it sounded.
"Sorry," he added quickly. "I didn't mean you weren't capable…I just…"
"You just used the data you had to make an accurate assumption," I said. "That makes perfect sense."
He smiled, grateful for the understanding and the knowledge I wasn't nursing some silly grudge. He wanted what was best for me. And now, I felt daring enough to imagine what that might look like, too.
"I know this is all words on a page," I said. "But it's a start. I'm committed. And…well, I won't try to bite your heads off this time if you have any tips."
It was only quiet for a second before the room came to life with their praises, thoughts, and suggestions.
We spent over an hour carefully reviewing my plan, examining the fine details to make it more fleshed out and manageable.
With their help, my dreams seemed to take on a more solid shape, the abstract fading thanks to deep-rooted care.
"What do you think?" I asked Celeste in a low voice when the others got caught on a tangent about my approach to next semester if Anthony would agree to my request in a few months.
"About Anthony?" she whispered back, her hands on my chest now, thumb absentmindedly drumming a beat.
"About all of it." I looked up at her, taking in her beautiful smile and those wondrous stars.
She traced the edge of my jaw, studying me as if I were as exceptional as she was. "I think you're an incredible dreamer. I think it's amazing how much you're showing up for yourself. I think wherever you end up, it will be wondrous."
"Wherever we end up," I gently corrected.
Her smile lit me up from the inside. She wrinkled her nose, obviously wanting to lean in for a kiss, but was too nervous to do it in front of everyone. I covered my hand over hers, promising her that and so much more whenever we had privacy.
"We," Celeste agreed.