She stopped and gawked at us. “I’m so sorry. Did I assume incorrectly? You just seem so comfortable with the other. I apologize. I’m always making a fool of myself with you young folks.”
“Oh, it’s okay. I was just curious as to what gave us away,” Callum said, poking me in the ribs with his elbow.
Oh good gracious, I think I’m in like with Callum Tate. Sylvia smiled and opened her office door.
“Take a seat,” she said.
We sat side by side and Callum playfully dragged my chair closer to his, with me in it, as if I weighed nothing, his muscles bunched as he pulled and I had to fight myself to prevent a bite to his forearm. Get a hold of yourself, Harper.
“Alright, let me just gather a few files,” she said, diving into a file cabinet, her back toward us.
I stare at Callum and he sticks his tongue out at me which makes me burst out laughing. Sylvia turned around. “What?” She asked.
“Oh, I was just teasing her,” Callum admitted, but his cheeks pink, revealing an even more adorable him, as if that’s possible.
Sylvia returned to her files only to pull out a stack and sits at her desk. She stares at the stack while music pumps through a speaker above. I bit my bottom lip and sarcastically bumped my head to the cheesy ballad. Callum grinned and slid an air guitar he supposedly kept strapped to his back into his hands. Totally immersed in our pretend jam, we finally emerged when Sylvia yelled Callum’s name.
“Sorry,” we said in unison.
“That’s okay, you were obviously in your own little world but as adorable as the two of you are, I need Mister Tate to sign a few forms for me.” She slid the papers over to him. “I’ve marked all the spots you need to sign for me, Callum.” She handed him a pen and turned her body towards me. Callum smirked at me and dove in. “Now,” Sylvia said, turning slightly towards me, “did you have any questions about NYU, Harper?”
“Uh, not really. Callum dragged me here against my will. He’s actually holding me hostage.”
“I am not!” He exclaimed before realizing I was joking and rolled his eyes.
Sylvia smiled. “Listen, Harper. Obviously you have reservations about attending school here but that’s why I’m here. I can smooth out all your worries, all you have to do is talk.”
I sighed in resignation.
“Okay, just remember, you asked for it.”
“Go on,” she said. I noticed Callum’s pen stilled as he feigned interest in the top paragraph of the paper he just signed the bottom of.
“I’m an orphan. My parents abandoned me to a system that failed me. I’ve been kicked from my foster home. I have no money, no job, no home, no hope. College is a pipe dream. Just because I got in does not mean I have the capability of attending. I can barely survive, Sylvia. I’m not college material.”
I let the words spill from my mouth in a blur. Both Callum and Sylvia paused, barely breathing.
“That’s ridiculous,” Sylvia said suddenly.
“Excuse me?” I said, offended.
She grabbed my hand. “I’m not saying your life isn’t tough. I can only imagine what you’re going through but you can do anything you want to, Harper. Stop letting your past effect your future. You’re in charge. Now, listen to me. I want you to fill out this half-sheet,” she said pulling out a piece of paper from a side drawer. “It’s everything I need to look you up in our system and find ways to get you attending classes, whether that’s with tuition, books, food, or shelter. I can find it. Are you willing to do that?”
I hesitantly looked at the sheet of paper, twirling it in a circle on her desk when Callum slid his pen over to me. I looked up at him and his encouraging eyes plead with mine. I simply nodded and took the pen.
Chapter Four
Dream On
Callum
Harper and I left my appointment with Sylvia with yet another set for the both of us the day after the concert.
“First things first,” I said to a stunning Harper. Her eyes were bright with hope and shone with speckled bits of glittery gold.
“What’s that?” She asked.
“We figure out how we’re going to survive the night.”
“Tell me what to do, Callum. I feel like I’m taking advantage of you.”
“Hush, Harper. Now, listen.” I looked around for the time. The clock on the building’s face read eleven thirty in the morning. “Crap, it’s too late to get work at the docks.” An idea crept in and I snapped my fingers. “Okay, I got it. I know a guy in the Village who owns a restaurant. He lets me bus tables for cash under the table but you have to get there early. Up for hauling butt for a few blocks?”
“Anything,” she said, stopping my heart. A fighter.
I smiled at her and grabbed her hand. We started weaving our way through people on their way to lunch. I can only hope that we’ll make my guy’s place before it’s too late and he turned us away.
Martin’s cool. His place always has people lined up around the door for lunch rushes and he can never seem to keep his bussers. I’m banking on the fact that he’ll be just as desperate for help as we’re in a desperate way for cash.
By the time we reach his restaurant, people are already lined up, a good sign. Harper makes her way to the front door but I stop her short.
“No, through the back,” I whispered in her ear.
We rounded the exterior of the building and entered through the back. Martin’s Italian and loud and amazing.