She grinned. “Do you have a good answer?”
Gideon cleared his throat with a dramatic flare he knew Megs would appreciate. “Both bit rate and sample rate are essential concepts in digital audio. Sample rate refers to the number of samples (or snapshots) of audio taken per second. A common sample rate is 44.1 kHz, which means 44,100 samples are taken every second. Higher sample rates can reproduce higher frequencies and offer better clarity.”
Megs laughed out loud. “Did you memorize that from a textbook?”
“Let me finish. Bit rate is the amount of data processed per unit of time in the audio file. It determines how much information is used to represent each sample. A higher bit rate usually means more detail is retained and the audio quality is better, but it also results in a larger file size.”
Megs pursed her lips. “Right, so I still have no idea what that means. Explain it to me like I’m a twelve-year-old.”
Gideon pondered for a second, then tried again. “Imagine you're taking a bunch of quick photos of a movie on your phone to try and capture it frame by frame.”
“Okay, I’m with you.”
He looked out the window so he didn’t focus on the way she was biting her lower lip. “Sample rate is how many photos you're taking every second. If you take more photos, which would mean a higher sample rate, you capture more of the movie details.”
Megs’ eyes widened. “That actually makes sense.”
Gideon stifled the sudden urge to puff out his chest. “Bit rate, on the other hand, is like the quality of each photo. A higher bit rate means each of your photos is clearer and shows more detail, but will also take up more space on your phone.”
Megs turned to him as she pulled to a stop at a red light. “That makes sense. You’re a good teacher.”
“But you already knew that. Isn’t that why you decided to stay in my class?” Gideon’s pulse thrummed against the collar of his shirt. Thinking about her showing up to class only made him think about how much he wished she hadn’t. How he’d planned to go to the coffee shop and pick up where they left off at Sammy’s.
Megs shook her head and pressed on the gas as the light turned green. Gideon’s smile was smug as he leaned back in his seat. He shouldn’t have been enjoying how impressed she looked or that warmth in his chest that scorched his insides when her eyes lit up because of something he said.
Megs’ smile became more pensive. “I have a confession to make.”
Gideon’s heart stumbled over itself as warning sirens blared in his head. The inside of the car suddenly felt like a vacuum. “Megs—”
“I looked you up on YouTube.”
Gideon blinked. “What?”
“I looked you up. Your band. I heard Oscar saying something about it to Alli. She mentioned the name, ‘Worn Out Welcome.’ It’s catchy, by the way.”
Gideon didn’t know which sentence to dissect first. “That’s your confession?”
Megs turned, her brow furrowed. “Yeah, what did you think I was going to say?”
Gideon swallowed hard. In those brief seconds, possibilities had branched out in all directions. His favorite of which was theI can’t stop thinking about youadmission. How messed up was it that his brain gonethere? “I don’t know, but not . . . that.”
“Are you mad?”
Gideon leaned his head back on the headrest. So much for professional. “No, I’m not mad. Deeply ashamed? Absolutely.”
Megs looked affronted, and her hands slipped on the wheel. “Why? You were good!”
He barked a laugh. “We weren’t good.”
“Okay, so you get to tell me whether I’m talented or not, but you won’t let me do the same? And, reminder, I’m talking about your nineteen-year-old self. I think it was Fractured Daydream where—”
“You found a video of Fractured Daydream? Where?” Gideon gaped at her. That was one of the first songs he and Matt played live, and he didn’t even have a video of it.
“Here.” Megs pulled her phone from the cupholder and opened the screen, then handed it to him. “Check the account. It’s in my recently played.”
Gideon gave her a skeptical look. “I’m not going to find something I don’t want to see on here?”
“Only if you hate baby animal videos.”
