My Rebound (On My Own #2) - Carrie Ann Ryan Page 0,23
too long.”
She snorted. “I’m glad I don’t have to work on what you do.”
“You are the English major,” I said softly. “While I like reading, I don’t see myself ever writing a book.”
“Hey, someone needs to write those math textbooks.”
“And I could get the royalties,” I said. “However, don’t get Dillon started on the textbook racket. He never shuts up about it.”
“You say that, but at least you all have feasible plans. I’m going to end up working at a Pizza Hut,” she grumbled.
“Haven’t Pizza Huts closed?” I asked, only marginally joking.
Nessa dramatically threw her head back and sighed. “I knew it. This is the end. I have no hope.”
I shook my head, laughing. “If that’s what you say. But I’ve heard you mention that you want to change your major. Is that the truth?”
She shrugged and looked down at her hands. “I don’t know. Maybe I could have a future doing something that’s in STEM, or business like Dillon. Something tangible.”
I reached out and gripped her hand, squeezing it. She froze and looked up at me. “Without the arts, we would be nothing. Without books, without film, without something for us to relax with and enjoy and embrace, there is no reason. When we are sick or unable to move around or just want to relax, what do we do? We pick up a book. We put on our favorite show. That’s art. And we need artists to create. If you want to go down your track of being an author, do so. And thrive. If you want to continue on your path to becoming an English professor, do it. You love that arena. You would be an amazing teacher. You could teach others to love it beyond getting their first course out of the way. Do it.”
I leaned back into the couch, a little embarrassed to have gone on as I had. Nessa blinked at me, tears filling her eyes.
“Shit, don’t cry.”
“Don’t curse at me,” Nessa said, the tears freely falling now. She reached into her bag for tissues and wiped at her face. “That’s the most beautiful, heartwarming, and inspiring thing anyone’s ever said to me. And I think I hate you and love you all at the same time.” She blinked suddenly, closing her mouth at her last words. I smiled, taking them at face value. We were friends. I loved her, too.
“Are you guys going to continue crying in here, or are we allowed to come in and actually study?” Tanner drawled as he came in and threw himself into the armchair. “I have a paper I have to write, and I’m contemplating paying someone to do it.”
I looked over at my roommate, grateful for the reprieve. “I never once figured you as the type to pay someone.”
“If I have to, I will,” Tanner muttered, then looked between us and pulled out his laptop. “Don’t mind me. Continue your heart-to-heart. I’m going to study and pretend I enjoy school.”
Nessa settled back into the couch. “You like school. I’ve heard you mention it.”
Tanner narrowed his eyes at her before lowering his gaze and glaring at his books. At least he wasn’t glaring at us.
We went back to studying, none of us talking to each other as we did. We were each in different classes. Oddly enough, however, Mackenzie was the only one I had courses with this semester. We were all headed towards various majors, though my minor was the same as Mackenzie’s primary area of study.
“Are we planning another party in a couple of weeks?” Tanner asked out of the blue, and I pulled myself from my work. I had to solve this equation, and I was already on page six of my graph paper. I had a feeling I had made a mistake around page two.
“Party?” I asked.
“Yes, party. Everyone else seems to be on the schedule already, and one of the guys down the way asked if we were going to do one this semester. He was kind of bitchy about it, so I assumed he thought we weren’t going to join in and try to beat them or some shit.”
I looked at my roommate and rolled my eyes at Nessa. “So, we’re in competition with the brutes at the other end of the street now?”
Tanner sighed. “They think so.”
“Brutes?” Nessa asked.
“They’re the guys who would be on a football team if we actually had one.”
“We have a hockey team. One that does pretty damn well, too,” Nessa argued.