The V- in 403C - Jess Bryant Page 0,62
out in the meantime? Couldn’t he lose his job?”
“I’m working on that.”
“Oh yeah?” She pressed and Reed nervously pushed his hair back off his forehead.
“I haven’t told Jonah yet. I didn’t want him to try and talk me out of it, and I knew he would because he’s a great teacher and he knows how much I enjoy the class.” Reed shrugged, “But I submitted the paperwork to drop Lambert’s class.”
“Oh my God.” Star stared at him with big eyes, “Are you serious?”
“Yeah.”
“You do realize that the drop period ended like two weeks ago right?”
“Yeah, I’m aware.” He kicked at a rock on the path, avoiding Star’s knowing gaze.
“So you’re dropping the class knowing full well that it’ll go on your record as an F?”
“Yep.”
“Reed, that’s crazy.” She shook her head. “That kind of drop has to be approved by Lambert and then it has to go up the chain to the dean himself. You know that right?”
“I already got Lambert’s signature. The paperwork is probably on the dean’s desk as we speak.”
Star continued to eye him skeptically, “What about history? I thought you might decide that’s what you wanted to major in. Dropping this class…”
“I’m not majoring in history.” Reed finally met her gaze. “I like history but I don’t want to teach, so really, what would I do with that major? No, that’s Jonah’s dream and I’m not going to be the one to stand in his way of it.”
“Wow… that’s …” Star gaped, “So have you decided on a major then?”
“Yeah. Being with Jonah, seeing him go after his dreams and work hard to get where he is, it’s made me do a lot of thinking about what it is that I want to do with my life. Dad’s been pressuring me for years to settle down and declare a major. I talked to him about it last night actually and he supports my decision.”
“What decision?”
“I’m going to focus on business management.”
Star’s nose squished up adorably, “But you said you’d never go to business school.”
“I know what I said but, I changed my mind. I’ve taken all the lower level classes already to keep Dad happy, I just hadn’t declared a major. If I declare, all those credits count towards the degree and I’ll still be on track to graduate in five, six years max, which is all Dad said he’d pay for.”
“And what are you going to do with a business management degree?”
Reed snorted, “No idea, but I’ll figure it out. Dad started his own business and has managed to run it successfully for nearly thirty years. I could go to work for him and take over the company someday or I could start a business of my own. I’m not sure exactly where I’ll end up but at least now I know what path I want to be on.”
“Wow.” Star said again and Reed glared at her.
“Can you stop saying wow every time I tell you my plans?”
“I’m sorry. I’m just…. surprised at how much thought you’ve put in to all of this, and without saying a word to me.” Star shook her head, clearly still trying to process everything he’d told her, “This is all because of Jonah, isn’t it?”
“Kind of. Yeah, he’s so smart, Star. Like, a genius. I want to be worthy of being with him.”
“Reed, of course you’re worthy. You don’t have to change yourself for a guy.”
“That’s the thing.” Reed smiled as they neared the 400 Block Apartments and his heart lurched with excitement, knowing that his boyfriend was waiting for him on the third floor. “Jonah doesn’t want me to change, he talks a lot about me accepting him for who he is, but he accepts me the way I am too. Flaws and all, I’m not changing for him. I’m changing because he makes me want to be a better man. Does that make sense?”
Star nodded her head thoughtfully, “Yeah. Yeah it does, Dec says the same thing about Brett, that they make each other better. You really love him, huh?”
“I really do.”
They trudged up the steps to the third floor in silence but when they hit the landing and began to go their separate ways, Star surprised him by pulling him into another hug. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight for a long moment. She didn’t say anything, just stood there, and Reed knew that she needed comfort so he simply held her until she gave a sniffle and pulled away.
She wasn’t crying