“That sounds wonderful, Brevan.”
Again, my cheeks heat, and I glance down. “Thanks. That’s my plan for after football. My first goal is to play professional football. At least for a couple years. Then I’ll work on my library castle.”
“I like that plan a lot.”
“Thanks,” I say, feeling a wave of shyness settle over my chest. Has anyone ever actually liked my idea? I’ve always felt like I’m the only one who ever got excited about my castle library passion.
“What about you?” I ask, needing to turn the conversation away from myself. “Did you always want to be a provost?”
“Mm,” Kendrick hums. “I went to school for economics. I think I shared with the group before we left campus that I attended RDU.”
I nod. “You did.”
“RDU was a place of peace like I’d never felt before, but it was still struggling to gain traction in the world, fighting against prejudice. While I graduated with my intended undergraduate degree, I abandoned the idea of the career I was pursuing, and my focus became making RDU the campus it was struggling to become, which in turn became my new passion. I began in marketing and relations, slowly clawing my way up the ranks with my ideas on a vision I had while I worked onmy postgraduate degree. I think the administration shared my views, and therefore, paved a path for me so that by the time I gained my PhD, I was already knocking on the provost’s proverbial door.”
“It wasn’t the job you were after then. It was the goal of recreating RDU?” I ask.
“Mm. Yes, more or less. They shared my vision, though while they were content to stop at gaining acceptance, my vision expanded onward and outward. I didn’t care about acceptance. We don’t need permission to exist, learn, and succeed. I wanted safety, peace, and top-tier opportunities. I want to change minds, expand understanding—not just of our students, but of the communities surrounding the school and beyond. My methods had already proven successful up to that point, so everyone was willing to take a chance on me.”
“And you succeeded.” I feel a little awed. Okay, a lot awed. “You succeeded in making RDU the shining beacon of love and education that it is today. That was all you, wasn’t it?”
“Not all me. I have a wonderful team around me, and together, we have strived to reach the goals I set for this school.”
“Wow,” I say, looking at the mountains again. “That’s remarkable. You’ve accomplished so much.”
“Thank you.”
There’s a lull in our conversation while I wonder if I’ll ever accomplish even a quarter of the good that Kendrick has. His ideas were all to help others. Mine are only for myself. Football is for me. While my castle library idea is definitely open to the public, it’s also mostly for me. I want to live in a castle with all the cool rooms and hidden passages. I want to be surrounded by books, which admittedly is a little funny since I don’t read a lot.
I listen to audiobooks plenty, but I struggle with reading books. Even digital books. Maybe I think being surrounded by them will encourage me to read.
“Hey, guys.”
Kendrick and I turn as a handful of the other students approach the patio. At first, a wave of panic settles over me, and I think I did something wrong. But then I realize I’ve been out here a while, and the sun is setting. My stomach growls as if confirming where my mind was just about to touch. I’m hungry. It’s dinnertime.
Anna and Philomena are in the small group stepping onto the patio. More of our group are straggling over as they join us. I look away so I don’t have to see the disdain of those two girls.
“Ready for dinner?” Byndley asks.
I’m not sure where she came from, but she’s suddenly standing to my right. I swear, she appeared out of nowhere!
I nod as others answer verbally. I’m starving. I haven’t eaten since the plane this morning, when we were given breakfast.
There’s a large building where Byndley checked us in, and the person who owns it or runs it or whatever came out to give us a tour. It looks like a big cabin. I’m not at all surprised that the décor inside supports the appearance of the outside.
We’re led to a big dining room with multiple tables. A couple have been pushed together to accommodate our group of fourteen. I’m still walking close to Kendrick. He’s in front of me. Our group splits to sit on either side of the table, and when we reach the end of the line on this side, Kendrick pulls out a chair for me before taking his seat.
I grin. That was really kind. He meets my eye and smiles in return.
The sound of everyone stripping off arctic gear and hanging jackets on the backs of the chairs dominates the space before we’re all taking seats. Glasses of water are already there, and I down the entire glass. Wow, I’m thirsty.
I’m used to drinkinga lotbecause staying hydrated in football is important. I usually try to keep my water intake prettyhigh so I don’t get out of the habit of hydrating. A full day’s worth of travel really challenges that.
Kendrick slides his glass of water to me, and I bow my head, trying to hide my smile while still happily accepting it. I empty his glass too.
Thankfully, refills come right away, and Kendrick has them leave a full pitcher with us.
“Did you guys see the hot tubs?” Sarabeth asks. “I had no idea we were getting private hot tubs.”
