Jasper nodded. “Typically, one doesn’t see such drastic chromatic differences. Intriguing.”
“Right.” I rubbed the back of my neck. Aside from the reminder of my mother staring at me in the mirror every morning, the color differential was one more thing to attract too much attention when I just wanted to blend in.
I caught Harper’s gaze lingering before she looked away.
“What are your plans after graduation, Xander?” Kevin asked. “MIT? Caltech?”
I wondered if it was okay to tell them MIT was holding a place for me. When I was a kid, my genius was something of a novelty. Now that I was among friendly people my own age, I feared it would seem more like arrogance.
“Yes, MIT,” I said carefully. “I’m going to pursue a career in astrophysics.”
“Oh!” Jasper exclaimed, brushing a lock of coppery-red hair off his face. Also, not a Bender, judging by the fact he wore an actual suit, including jacket, slacks, and a tie. “An interesting realm. What drew you to that field?”
Just answer honestly. Be yourself. That’s how to make friends.
“Well, if we’re hoping to uncover a unified theory of quantum gravity, I feel black holes are the best places to look,” I said. “Specifically, I’d like to join the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration observatory team to confirm the existence of Hawking radiation and use interferometry to image direct evidence of a black hole singularity, though I’m acutely aware of how difficult those discoveries might be in my lifetime.”
Silent, stunned faces stared at me. So much for being myself.
But then Jasper nodded, seemingly impressed, and Kevin gave a low whistle. Harper smiled but said nothing, still watching me as if she hadn’t decided what to make of me.
Dean laughed loud and long. “What did I tell you? This guy’s the real deal. Like father, like son.”
I instantly tensed up. “You know my dad?”
“The Math & Physics Club religiously studies every edition ofScientific American.Last year, we read your father’s article on laboratory spectrography and its implications for aquatic pollution monitoring.” Kevin beamed. “Fascinating stuff.”
Jasper was shaking his head in awe. “The son of Russell Ford in our very own club.”
I stared, sure that they were toying with me. “I thought certain rumors had preceded us.”
“It’s not uncommon for great minds to become overwhelmed and need a break from the pressures of the scientific community,” Jasper said. “Quite understandable.”
Dean nodded. “In other words, we don’t listen to gossipy bullshit.”
“Not to be forward but…” Kevin leaned in. “Do you think we could meet him sometime?”
Suddenly, my eyes stung, and my throat felt tight. By all accounts, my father had come to the end of the line, reputationally and professionally. Even in my own mind. To know that his achievements hadn’t been wiped away by the wide brush of stigma touched me more than I could say.
“You want to meet my dad?”
“Only if you think he’d be up to it,” Dean said quickly, shooting Kevin a stern look. “If he wants his privacy, we understand.”
I cleared the emotion out of my throat. “No, I think he would like that. I think he would like that a lot.”
The guys seemed thrilled by the idea as we all faced forward to listen to Vice President Newman give a welcoming speech. Harper’s gaze lingered on me a moment more, and then she faced forward too.
Mr. Newman spoke at length about the excellence expected of us as Lions on every Royal Pride team and how the Academy prepped its students for bright futures at prestigious universities. Every sentence was met with wild enthusiasm.
Dean read my tight expression and laughed. “Loud enough for ya? School spirit is a big deal here.”
“I noticed.”
“In a normal school, it would lead up to homecoming, with a football game and a dance,” Dean said. “But we don’t have a football team. Instead, we have this pep rally to promote the different sports teams and get out the word for tryouts. The ‘big game’ is our crew’s first regatta in about a month, because we’re astronomically bougie like that.”
“Bougie…?”
“There’s a big bonfire party Saturday night at the lighthouse,” Dean continued. “But the first dance isn’t until the end of October.”
