Aiden smiled. “That’s right, you like to take pictures of architecture. Art and history are very similar.”
With the face of a smug cat, Javier leaned forward and placed a heavy hand on Aiden’s shoulders. “You understand me.” He wiped a nonexistent tear away.
“Anyway.” Christina pulled Javier back into his seat. “I’m majoring in marketing right now, but I really just chose business on a whim. I have no idea what I actually want.”
The uncertainty in Christina’s future made Aiden’s own heartbeat spike. His hand clenched the side of the car seat. “What if it’s not what you want?”
“I’ve got four years to figure it out. I’ll get to the right place eventually.”
“Aren’t you scared?”
She didn’t even consider his question. “Nope. I’ll figure things out when I figure things out.”
“Well,I’mwith Aiden. I’d be freaking terrified if I didn’t know what I wanted,” Javier interrupted.
“Aiden, tell them what you’re studying to be,” Brendan said.
Aiden blinked. He fiddled with his fingers. “A schoolteacher. I’m majoring in education.”It’s okay if they think it’s stupid. I’ve already gone through hundreds of the worst responses.His stepmother scornfully looking down at him with a scowl. His stepmother casually dropping facts about the lack of financial support he would find in the career. Sometimes, his stepmother would lead him to answer her about his passion for teaching, and He Bao did the laughing out loud for her.
Christina whistled. “That’s not gonna be easy. I’m impressed. I cannot handle children. Or even my younger siblings.”
“Do you know what year you want to teach?” Javier leaned forward again in his seat.
“Actually, why did you choose that to be your dream job? I didn’t ask you last time we talked.” Brendan’s eyes constantly switched from him to the road.
Suddenly, words easily rolled from his tongue. His brother’s lessons, pounded into his soul through lectures and trainings, dissolved from his memories. He didn’t bother to look or hear or dissect the way they reacted. He answered the first thing he thought of. Christina reacted in blunt yet kind ways, Javier always responded back in eager encouragement, and Brendan almost missed more lights while continuously watching him from the corner of his blue eyes. All enraptured by his boring, story-less answers.
It made little sense to Aiden, but he didn’t care to make sense of it. The car rolled along, and by the time they arrived at the garden, he had already forgotten his initial fear of entering the last thing his brother sat in before dying in an explosion.
• • •
“All right, everyone, let’s just take photos of whatever we want today, and then we can reconvene to figure what we want for lunch.” Brendan clapped his hands, and the club members dispersed. Aiden looked at the map while one pair headed in the direction of the rose bushes. Javier dashed off for the hanging plants, and a larger group made their way toward a statue collection.
Beside him, Brendan lowered himself to his knees and snapped a photograph of the first flower greeting them by the entrance. He shuffled his way over, took a picture of the next flower, and continued down the line. One by one, Aiden followed and watched. For the brighter flowers, Brendan zoomed out to capture more of the cooler hues to offset the glow. For the smaller flowers, he zoomed in and focused on the center. His eyes brightened at the sight of a butterfly landing gently on the flower beside him, and he moved at glacial pace in fear of disrupting the insect. As the butterfly opened its wings, Brendan captured the second before it flew off for its next conquest.
He stood up and smiled at the picture. Aiden peeked over his shoulder, heart fluttering at the vibrant yellow and red captured on the wings of a fragile butterfly that suddenly looked so strong. “You’re really good at this.”
“Thanks. I love taking photos of animals.”
Smiling, Aiden watched Brendan flip through the photos in his camera. “Can I guess?”
Brendan turned with those clear, blue eyes. “Guess what?”
“Guess your major? You never shared yours.”
“Oh!” Brendan hung the camera back around his neck. “Sure.”
He could only think of one thing with Brendan’s attention to living things—in both animals and people. “Are you majoring in something related to taking care of people or animals? Like a vet?”
Brendan blinked. A smile brighter than the sun crawled onto his face, and he laughed loudly. “Good job! You’re kind of there, but not quite. Not a vet, but I’m studying pre-med right now. I want to become a doctor.”
Aiden’s heart continued to flutter. He walked beside Brendan, watching the president take another photo. “What kind?”
“Haven’t decided yet.”
“I bet your parents are super pleased you picked such a prestigious dream job.”
“Mmmm.” Brendan shook his head, much to Aiden’s surprise. “They said that as long as I don’t do stupid things in college, they’re okay with whatever I end up choosing.”
