Page 72 of The Fake Out Flex

"I know so. You're good."

He stops himself from taking a bite. "Just good?"

"If I tell you what I really think, you might get a big head and rest on your laurels. I will not be responsible for you peaking at juniors."

"Fair enough."

A patch of silence follows.

"You won't mind all the travel?" I ask.

"Nope."

"But that means…"

"I won't be here."

"Exactly."

"I cannot wait."

"Do you really hate it here that much?"

He finishes his burger and wipes his hands clean. "I don't hate it here, but Comfort Bay is a bubble. A sheltered, privileged bubble. I want to see what else is out there. Visit different parts of the country. Figure out who I really am. Hockey is my ticket out."

"That makes sense."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"You're smart. You've got to be thinking about college."

"If by thinking about college you mean Mom already deciding that I'll be going to UCLA, then yes, I've been thinking about it a lot."

"She's kind of scary, your mom."

I hide my smile behind my burger.

I know from Levi that Fraser is low-key petrified of Mom. Smart guy. Even though he has no reason to worry. She likes him. Guess she's got a soft spot for hockey players. She did marry one, after all.

I chew on a few fries before saying, "They say that nature abhors a vacuum. Well, nature ain't got nothing on Meredith Freeman. As soon as she sniffed out that I was wavering on where to study, she pounced. She's always wanted one of us to go to UCLA, and since none of her other kids went there, she's determined that I will."

"See? Scary."

I giggle. "She is. I think she means well, but it must come from a place deep, deep, deep inside."

"That sounds pretty deep," Fraser says, chuckling. "What will you study, or has she decided that for you, too?"

"Thankfully, no, even though I haven't decided myself yet. Just please don't tell her or she'll pounce."

"I won't tell a soul."

"I'm tossing up between journalism and education."

"Good options. Leaning more in one direction than the other?"

"No. Not yet. You're right, though, what you said about us having grown up in a privileged bubble. I recognize that, too. That's why I've always wanted to do something with my life that makes a positive difference in some way. Is that…dumb?"

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