Page 22 of The Reverse Cinderella
“He’s a had a crush on you for a while now. He just got up the courage to talk to you. I told him about the Meier exhibit,” Piaget grabbed some napkins for the dispensers. “He gets stage fright. And apparently has trouble talking to girls that he likes.”
Dix’s shoulders shook and she burst out laughing. “I thought he was gay!”
“What?” Piaget asked in disbelief.
“All this time, I thought he was gay!” she howled, holding onto the broom for support. “Every day he comes in and has a drink or eats something and I thought he was gay. I thought he was into your boyfriend which was funny because he set you two up.”
Piaget really didn’t know what to say to that.
“He’s been checking me out, the whole time and I thought he was gay,” she wiped her eyes. “I really have no ability to judge people. First Gorgio then Adam.”
Piaget put the napkins down and leaned against the counter. “I don’t think you can put Gorgio and Adam in the same category. Gorgio stole from you. Adam actually likes you.”
“He asked me if I liked exhibitionists or if I was one,” Dix said dryly.
“If you’re outgoing?” Piaget shrugged, not seeing the big deal. “You are. Sometimes. Besides, he explained that he mixed the two words of artist and exhibition together accidently.”
“A clinical exhibitionist is a flasher!” Dix mimed flashing with a pretend trench coat.
“No!” Piaget looked at her in some horror. She could feel poor Adam’s pain. “Poor Adam.”
“Poor Adam,” Dix snorted. “Goes to show what’s always on a guy’s mind. That was some Freudian slip.”
“He didn’t mean it though,” Piaget said, defending him. She wondered about her own slip in calling Max by Gary’s name. “He really does like you and he was very nervous to try to ask you out.”
Dix rolled her eyes. “Tell him Thursday at five, here at the café. Tell him not to speak. It’s probably better that way.”
“Thank you, Dix. I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful time,” Piaget smiled happily.
“Are you going to put those napkins in the dispensers? They won’t do it themselves,” Dix resumed sweeping, her version of saying the subject was closed.
Piaget grinned as she grabbed the napkins. She couldn’t help but tease Dix, “Maybe we can go on a double date sometime.”
Mrs. Brown’s social media and broadcasting class felt like it was going so slow. Piaget thought Mrs. Brown was going over the most boring material possible. She didn’t care about how signals ran through electrical currents or how it was all translated through the air and finally came to life in a radio. She didn’t want to take away the magic and know the specifics. It was enough to know that what was said in a broadcasting booth could be listened to miles away. With the internet, even all over the world.
She sighed and dutifully typed a few notes in her laptop. She didn’t fully understand this part of the course and worried it was going to badly affect her grade. It didn’t help that her mind kept wandering to Max. The way he smiled. How good he smelled lately. The fact that he easily carried her from the roof of the apartment to her bed and behaved like a perfect gentleman.
It was like a fairytale and her stomach flipped at the thought. He was so wonderful in so many ways and he seemed to really like her, if his conversation with Adam that she had overheard was anything to go by. What had he said? He was in it for the long term? That she was worth waiting for?
Piaget bit her lip and tried not to blush with pleasure. She found that she had been typing like a silly school girl, Piaget R, Mrs. Piaget R, Mrs. Max R.
She quickly deleted the silliness on her screen. She really did need to learn Max’s last name. Not to doodle it with her own in hearts, of course. Probably.
Mrs. Brown shut off the projector and Piaget realized that she had daydreamed through an entire section of class. As much as she liked Max, she had to start paying attention and stop thinking about him. Piaget shut her laptop and put all her materials in her messenger bag. Class was nearly done.
“If I could have everyone’s attention,” Mrs. Brown clapped her hands. “I’d like to announce the top grade and student who will be starting early in the broadcasting booth. This student will be paired with student producer Melanie Krowtz who is in the senior year of the program.”
Everyone in the class paid close attention. It was a coveted spot and Piaget could feel herself tense. She wanted it badly. She only hoped she had done enough on the test to achieve the opportunity.
“The test was a nice indicator to learn exactly how much you’ve all retained and have studied ahead in the course. It also was extremely important to know what motivated each of you. This meant that the very first question of the test was worth fifty percent of the mark,” she said.
Some students in the class groaned. It was obvious they wished they had spent more time on the first question now that they knew it had been so significant. Piaget was glad Mrs. Brown had given her the tip to pay special attention to the first question. She had done her best to answer it fully before continuing with the rest of the test.
“With a score of ninety-two percent, our new amateur broadcaster is Piaget Williems,” Mrs. Brown announced happily.
Piaget couldn’t believe it. She’d worked so hard and she wanted it, truthfully, she hadn’t expected it. Especially after her rough start that day. This was wonderful. It was going to build her portfolio. This was going to giver her the best chance in her future career.
Adam, Sasha and Mariah came over to congratulate her, as did some of the other students. Piaget received their goodwill in a happy daze. As the class ended, Mrs. Brown approached her and held out a file.