“Now you’re pushing it.” I narrow my gaze at him.
“Then tell me,” he says, sounding genuinely interested.
My arms lay flat on the edge of the table as I adjust in my seat. “Well, I just finished my second year of university.”
“What do you study?”
“Biomedical science.”
JJ blinks once and then twice. “Shit.” He sighs. “You must be super smart.”
I bite down on my straw. “When I want to be. What do you do?”
“Just finished my third year in engineering.” He nods. “Still got another year to go, unfortunately.”
I hum with approval. “And you think I’m super smart.”
He shrugs it off. “You can attempt to wing some stuff, that’s for sure. Other parts you have to get your head down, but what degree isn’t going to be hard?”
“True.” I sip my drink. “So, is that what you want to be… an engineer?”
“No.” He barks out an unexpected laugh. “Absolutely not.”
I tilt my head in confusion. “Then why are you studying it if you don’t want to do it?”
“It’s a long story.” He waves a hand.
“I wanna know,” I say, shuffling forward.
JJ eyes me hesitantly for a moment before grazing a hand over his jaw. “My dad said I had to go to university. I didn’t want to, but he said that’s how people get jobs. He helped me pick what to study.”
My face scrunches up at the thought. I couldn’t imagine my dad trying to tell me what to do, he’s always said I should follow my dreams and no one else’s.
“What is it that you want to do?”
“Video production,” he says before beckoning over the waitress to order another drink, and one for me, too. “It’s always been my first love. I remember getting my first camera when I was ten, I took it everywhere with me.”
“But couldn’t you have done that at university?” I frown.
JJ snorts quietly. “Yeah, but it wasn’t in my dad’s brochure for degrees, unfortunately.”
“That’s shit,” I state. “He shouldn’t rule your life.”
“You’re right.” He sighs. “But he can be very persuasive, and I don’t want to let him down.”
Something tells me that might be one of his biggest fears.
“So are you still doing video production?”
He nods eagerly. “Yeah, when I have the time. University takes up a lot of it, and everything with my mum. My dad would have a heart attack if he saw that I’m not doing well in my course.”
“Are you?” I ask curiously.
“Yes.” He winks. “Top of my class.”
I shake my head. “Of course you are.”
“Let’s stop talking about me,” he dismisses himself. “I wanna talk about you.”
