Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 97846 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97846 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
“I wish I could go to places like that,” she whispered.
“Who says you can’t?” Derek countered.
She shrugged. “You’ve got to be a genius to go to those schools. And you’ve got to be rich.”
I would normally join the conversation, but I thought it was better to stay quiet and let the two of them talk.
“You’re incorrect on both,” Derek said. “Admissions cares more about uniqueness and dedication to community, what sets you apart from other people. It’s not just about grades. And in terms of financing, there’re always scholarships, and if you graduate from those kinds of institutions, you’ll be able to pay back student loans easily, so I wouldn’t worry too much about financing.”
“Did you get scholarships?” Lizzie asked.
He nodded. “I did. And as a graduate student, your tuition is often free, and you even get a stipend—depending on what you’re studying.”
“Whoa, I didn’t know that.” Lizzie was fascinated by Derek. I hadn’t anticipated her being so inspired by him.
“Your mother has a graduate degree also,” Derek said.
“Yeah, but it’s not in rocket science,” Lizzie said with a laugh.
“It doesn’t matter,” he said quickly. “She has an undergraduate degree and a master’s degree. Very few people have advanced degrees like that. Your mom is a successful professional who can support a family on a single income in Manhattan. That’s pretty impressive.”
I smiled at his compliment.
Lizzie turned to me. “I never thought about it that way before.”
I gave her a nudge in the side. “So maybe you should be a little nicer to me.”
She scrunched up her nose. “That’s just unnatural.”
I chuckled because I knew she was joking.
They brought out the pizza, and Derek let us go first before he grabbed a slice and put it on his plate.
Lizzie blurted out her next question. “Do you have a girlfriend?”
Derek stilled in mid-bite, covering up his hesitation quickly as if nothing had happened. He took his time chewing like he was stalling for an answer.
“Lizzie,” I said. “That was rude. Don’t ask personal questions.”
“I was just curious.” She picked up her pizza and took a big bite.
Derek never answered the question, probably because he didn’t want to lie, but also because he didn’t want to say yes and have her ask him more questions, which would force him to lie. It was better not to say anything at all. “Are your other teachers like Mr. Franklin?”
“Um, a couple.” She shrugged as she kept eating. “But my English teacher is cool. Some of the other teachers are stuffy and sometimes just like whatever, but none of them are nearly as bad as Mr. Franklin. I feel like all he wants to do is fail us. He just teaches on the whiteboard and hands out worksheets. He doesn’t take questions. He’s…weird. People in my class say he’s tenured so he doesn’t care.”
Derek gave a slight nod like that didn’t surprise him. “The tenure idea was established to protect teachers. It’s a good idea. Educators are the people forming new adults to go out into the world. But some people take advantage of that system and basically stop doing their jobs because they know they can’t get fired. Even if a teacher does something really terrible, they can’t be let go. They can be on permanent sabbatical and get an early retirement, basically. They should implement another policy that gives them a reason to keep working hard, like pay raises.” Derek spoke to Lizzie like she was an adult rather than a kid, and I wondered if that was why she liked him so much. He had no experience with kids, so he didn’t know how to treat her in a different capacity.
Lizzie nodded like she agreed and kept eating. “What’s it like to go to private school?”
He shrugged. “It’s all the same subjects—just taught differently. When you don’t receive state or city funding, it allows education to adapt and grow, which is something I like about it. Public education is constrained by federal and state guidelines, so it’s prevented from evolving. But it’s still the same subjects, the same hours, stuff like that.”
She continued to eat.
I wished I could put Lizzie in private school, but it was just too expensive. I would have to choose—for her to go to private school or to have money for college. I chose college because that would be a huge financial burden for her, and I didn’t have many assets to leave her when I was gone someday. Her education was the only gift I could give her.
Lizzie ate more than either of us, scarfing down slice after slice.
Derek stared at her, clearly amused.
When we were finished, Derek paid the tab, and we walked outside.
Ronnie was there, and he started the engine.
“Can I give you guys a ride home?” Derek asked, sliding his hands into his pockets and keeping several feet between us, like he was overcompensating for his real affection for me.