“ Wow…I can’t believe this.”, Simone says.

Reese smiles. “ It’s one of my secret hideouts.”

“ So, this is where you disappear to when you’re not with the group.”

“ One of the places.”

Simone takes alook around. It’s at the Harmony Observatory. It’s a two story room that Reesehas turned into the ultimate studying place. The views are terrific, with a two story window, showing a panaoramic view of Harmony and beyond.

“ How did you get this?”

“ I’ve been voluneteering her since I was around 6. My father loves astronomy,and he knew the guy who ran it. For the longest time they uses this place asjust a storage room.”

“ NO!”

“ Yeah. Well, they actually had this ugly plastic over at the window. Youcouldn’t see out of it. But, a few years ago, I wrote up a grant, and got theobservatory brand new state of the art windows. I included this room on thegrant, and they did it. Once that happened, I told them that I would redo this place totally on my own, and they told me that if I did, I could use it whenever I wanted.”

“ So, the interior design is all you?”

“ Yep.”

“ I’m impressed. This looks like something out of a magazine.”

“ Actually, it is. My mom helped me with the furniture covers. And, my Dad’sbeen making furniture as a hobby for years. I told him what I wanted, and wedid it together.”

“ I bet you’vespent a lot of evenings watching the sunset from up there.”, Simone says,pointing to the loft.

“Yeah. If you want to…”

“ We’ll see. “ After an awkward silence, Simone says, “ Well, I guess we betterget started. I just  haven’t been in themood for physics. But, I guess I could use the tutoring.”

“ Ok.”

They sat down atthe custom made desk, and Reese turned on his laptop, opening up to the physicsprograms. After they had been going for about an hour, Reese spoke up.

“ Why don’t we take a break. There’s drinks upstairs. “

Simone climbedthe steps to the loft and sat down on one of the most comfortable futons she’sever seen. Reese goes over to the fridge, and brings back two glasses of icedtea.

“ Thanks.”, Simone says, sipping her tea.

They sit there,in silence, until Simone speaks up.

“ I saw you talking to Miguel today. It seemed pretty intense.”

“ I told him that I knew the truth about him and Kay.”

“ How did he take it?”

“ He had excuses.”

“ It’s not Miguel’s fault. He’s told her plenty of times how much he lovesCharity.”

“ That maybe true, but, I believe that Kay’s more perceptive than anyone givesher credit for.”

“ You….you can’t possibly believe that Miguel has feelings for Kay…do you?”

“ I’m just saying that it’s not out of the realm of possibility.”

Simone shook her head. “ I can’t believe it.”

“ But, you knew that Kay didn’t love me, didn’t you?”

“ Yes….I did.I’m sorry, I know it was cruel.”

“ Why didn’t you think of telling me?”

“ Well, 1  - I didn’t think it was mybusiness. 2- I didn’t think you’d believe me. After all, I never believed anyof the hints that Kay dropped to my face about Chad and Whitney. We onlybelieve the truth, when we have no other choice.”

Reese thoughtabout it, and nodded quietly.

“ And, 3…..”

“ Third?”

“ Maybe a part of me actually WANTED Kay to wake up and decide that she DIDlove you. I thought it would be better for her to have someone that actuallythought she hung the moon. That’s another reason why I stayed quiet. “

“ I’m sorry.You’re right. It wasn’t your place to tell. That was Kay or Miguel’s place, andneither one of them saw fit to clue me in. I’m glad I found out, though.”

“ Wouldn’t it be better?…”

“ NO! I know I got a lot of bad news at once, but, at least you can deal withthe truth once it’s out.”

“ I wouldn’tknow anything about that. The only way I’ve been able to deal with Chad andWhitney is by not talking to either one of them. “

“ Not healthy.”

“ Don’t care. It’s the only way to remotely deal with it. I was the one who wasHONEST all the time about my feelings for Chad. And, neither one of themrespected my feelings in the least. How could they respect them, if they continuouslylied to my face about things? I doubt I’ll soon get over that. So…so, I guess Iunderstand part of what makes you sad lately. The M.I.T. thing, I don’t get.I’ve never set my heart on any school. I’ve always thought I’d get into thebest school possible, and then go. I am sorry that you didn’t get in.”

“ Thanks. Outside of my parents, I haven’t talked to anyone else about it. Myfather won’t admit it, but, he’s glad I didn’t get in. He’s hoping that I’llconsider going to his alma mater now. “

“ Which is?”

“ Cornell.”

“ Oh.”

“ Have you thought of any schools?”

“ I have…a little. The first wave of my college search has pretty much focusedon HBCU’s.”

“ HBCU’s?”

“ Historically Black Colleges and Universities.”

“ Oh.”

“ My dad went to Morehouse, in Atlanta. It’s an all-male school.  He and my Mom haven’t been pressuring memuch about it, but, I thought I’d look at some.”

“ Why would you want to go to a predominantly Black College? After living inHarmony..”

“ That would be one of the reasons why I’d go. I’ve never been around a lot ofBlack people in my life, and my father talks so highly of the four years thathe spent at Morehouse. He, my grandfather, and great-grandfather all are  Morehouse men. “

“ But, Morehouse isn’t open to women.”

“ Spelman is. It’s right across the street. My grandmother andgreat-grandmother were Spelman women. That’s where they met their mates, duringtheir college years. I went to visit it when my parents took Whitney on a tourof HBCU’s. I really liked it.”

“ Anywhere else?”

“ Yes, Howard in Washington, D.C.; FAMU-Florida A&M in Tallahassee- theyhave an excellent business program; Hampton in Virginia, and Tuskegee inAlabama.”

“ The home ofGeorge Washington Carver.”

“ You know about him?”

“ Of course. He all but revolutionized farming in the South. Without his  discoveries about peanuts, and subsequentsoil restoration, farming in the South would have ceased for the most part. Hehad patents on all sorts of inventions and products.”

“ They have amuseum on the campus for him. He was a brilliant man. “

“ What about non-HBCU’s?”

“ Well, I’ve thought a little about all-female schools. Not that I don’t likeguys. But, I’ve been reading about the support that all-female institutions cangive you. Plus, a number of these colleges are located in college towns, wherethere is no short supply of men to find. And, then, I’ve been thinking abouttrying to get as far away from Hamony as possible, and I’ve been looking intoCalifornia schools.”

“ California…oooh.”

“ Can you see me there?”

“ I can see you anywhere, Simone. You’ll do fine wherever you go.”

“ Thanks. I needed to hear that. It’s very tough for out-of-state people to getinto the University of California system, and I don’t have the grades forStanford. I was looking at Pepperdine.”

“ In Malibu?”

“ Reese Durke…what do YOU know about Pepperdine being in Malibu?”, she teases.

“ You’re not the only one thinking about getting as far away from Harmony aspossible. But, then…I..”

Reese stopshimself, and tries to change the subject. “ Want something more to drink?”

Simone shakesher head. “ No. I want you to finish your last thought.”

“ Oh…how I think about getting away from Harmony?”

“ Yes.”

“ I do. But, then I think about my Mom. And, how would she feel if I went sofar.”

Simone knew thatsomething was wrong with Reese’s mom. No one ever saw her.

As if Reese were reading her mind, “ My mom has MS.”

“ I knew it was something bad.”

“ Yeah. Something bad. She first began to get sick when I was eight. There areonly two times in my life: before and after her illness. I love her Simone,but,  it’s so tiring, you know? I’m theoldest. My dad works and works hard. We have to make things work around thehouse in order to give him a break. But, I can’t help it sometimes. Sometimes Iwish I had a Mom like yours or Mrs. Bennett. I wish I could get tired, and notsee to it that the laundry’s done on the assigned day, or that the shopping hasto be done on Saturday mornings. And, think of the entire week’s worth of menusso  that all the food will be in thehouse. I want my brother and sister to have a ‘normal’ life, so, I don’t pushas much off on them as I could. Sometimes when I think about going away tocollege, I wonder what will happen to my family? Who will step up and fill thevoid? And, then, the other times, I almost dream about living in my own place;partying on any day of the week that I want, even if the party consists of meeating cold pizza and waking up late. Then, I feel..”

“ Ashamed that those thoughts enter your mind.”

“ Exactly.”

“ Reese. You aren’t a grown man with a family. We’re teenagers. We’re supposed to think like that. I doubt that your mother would want you to take her illness into consideration at all, when thinking about a college. She would want you to go where you would be happiest.”

“ You think?”

“ Yeah. I think most parents are into seeing their kids be happy. She lovesyou. She wants you to live these college years and begin your life.”

“ I don’t mind taking care of my mother. I love her!”

“ I know it. And, she does to.”

“ Well….here it comes. “

“ What?”, Simone asked.

“ That sunset you asked about.”

Simone checked her watch. “ Oh, shit! I’m SO late.” She looked out the window. “ So, I guess afew minutes more won’t make a difference. “

She turned over on her stomach, and put her face in her hands, and just watched as the sun set over the horizon.

After it was done, she turned to Reese and said, “ Wow…that was beautiful.”

“ Yes, it was. Only thing that made it better was watching it in your face.Sharing it with you. Thanks,  Simone.I’ll take you home.”

They left the Observatory without saying a word.