“Yes, her professor brought it to my attention. The department was considering purchasing it from her. Not bad for a freshman, wouldn't you say?”
Not bad at all. I study him. “Are you aware that she plans on quitting school?”
He stands up suddenly from his chair. “No… no I should hope not!”
“Yes,” I nod seriously. “The hazing that she received at the hands of Elizabeth Whitmore was so brutally severe that she wanted to withdraw from school. I'm fairly certain I have convinced her otherwise for the moment, but…”
He shakes his head sadly, frowning as he stares out the window. “You know, it's always the really talented ones who have the most to lose. People like Lizzie Whitmore will be fine, no matter what happens. There’s practically nothing anybody could do to her, which is why she's been able to be such a pain in the ass since she's been here. But if she's putting real talent at risk… well, I'm glad you intervened, Mr. Lockwood.”
He thrusts out his hand and I stand, shaking it. I can feel that he really means what he is saying to me and it pleases me, if I'm honest. I certainly wasn't expecting an endorsement.
“Just out of curiosity,” I venture, “how much would it cost to replace that sign on the Sports Pavilion?”
“I'm not sure I understand what you mean, Mr. Lockwood.”
“Five hundred? Does that sound about right?”
“Thousand?” he chokes out. His cheeks get shiny with anticipation. Sounds like half a million dollars just bought me a couple of tennis courts and a soccer field.
“As long as we understand each other?” I nod, waiting to catch his eye.
He smiles grimly, apparently weighing his responsibilities against each other and finding in my favor.
“We do, Mr. Lockwood,” he agrees.
The Lockwood Sports Pavilion. It has a nice ring to it.
Chapter 16
Kita
After yanking on the parking brake, I swipe my books out of the passenger seat and climb down from the Jeep. It gleams darkly in the sun, shiny as a beetle shell. Freddie keeps the cars all waxed and spotlessly clean all the time. It makes me feel like kind of a princess. For the first time in my life.
Automatically I just start walking diagonally across the quad, heading for the computer sciences building. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a flash of fiery red hair sparking in the light. It's Lizzie, about a hundred yards away. She's walking with Claudia and Babs, their heads tipped toward each other as they stare at a cell phone screen.
Instantly my stomach is in knots. I know it's stupid to assume that they are laughing at me again, but that wound is still fresh. My heart starts pounding and my mouth is as dry as sand. I pivot, thinking that maybe I should just walk around the administration building instead. I don't want to walk run into them. All I want to do is finish my finals, finish the semester, and then maybe think about what comes next…
Like quitting school.
But, that's a thought for another time. I quicken my step because going behind the admin building means adding a few minutes to my path, and I don't want to be late for the test. I shift my books to my other arm and cross the long back strap over my neck, lengthening my strides.
It feels kind of nice, almost like running. I have really missed exercise. Yoga is fun but it's not really the same kind of burn as cardio.
While I'm rearranging all my stuff I almost slam completely into a person-shaped obstacle. I dive quickly to my left, but he throws out an arm, catching me under my elbow. As I gasp in surprise, my eyes lock with Daniel’s and my shock turns to a bursting bubble of joy in my chest.
“Daniel!” I smile breathlessly, letting myself just grin at him without trying to hide it like I usually do. But he has caught me by surprise, so I don’t have time to remember to be coy.
“I'm sorry, Kita, I didn’t mean to startle you. You just sort of came out of nowhere.”
His eyes drift down my form, checking me over possessively. It gives me a little thrill, the way he’s not being shy about it. We’re in public where anyone could see us.
“Yeah, I've only got a few minutes,” I stammer, trying to not sound flustered. “But, hey, you're here?”
I let the question hang in the air and search his eyes, trying to make sense of this. Did he just come out of the admin building?
He stands me back upright and I get my feet under me, taking a moment to look him over. He's wearing close cut trousers and a fitted, button-down shirt. It's only slightly more dressed up than his usual outfit, but it does sort of stand out. The fabric hugs so close to his skin that I want to reach out and run my hand across the muscles that show through it. He clearly made an effort to look serious. But why?
“I had a meeting with the Dean,” he explains, though I can hear there's a little bit more to that story than he's letting on right now. “From time to time they come to me with requests. Nothing out of the ordinary.”