Page 5 of Star Pupil

I gestured towards the booth at the dining nook for her to sit down. She almost yelped in surprise when I slid in next to her. “This way we can both see the screen on my laptop,” I offered as an excuse for why I’d chosen to sit next to her, quickly moving back to our previous topic of conversation before she could question my motives. “I couldn’t agree more. My mom’s a great actress. She loves it so much, she had me on set before I could even walk. I didn’t attend a regular school until I started seventh grade and finally made her understand I didn’t share her love for acting.”

“You’re practically Hollywood royalty. How did you ever get into teaching of all things?”

“My dad was a teacher.”

“Was?” she asked.

“Yeah, he was my mom’s first husband. The great love of her life, she calls him.” I’d always been skeptical of how she described when she met him as love at first sight, right up until the moment I’d laid eyes on Avery. That’s when I finally understood what my mom had meant about knowing my dad was the one for her, even though the existence of husbands number two through five made me doubt her claim. “He was the exact opposite of my mom, wanted a simple life teaching kids. When she landed her first big role, she wanted him to quit, but he refused. Told her he’d do just about anything to make her happy except for that, because being a teacher was in his soul.”

“It really sounds like he loved it.”

“Yeah, well, my mom hates it,” I sighed. “She doesn’t understand how I could possibly want to have anything to do with the profession since my dad was killed while he was teaching at an inner city school in LA when I was only a couple months old.”

“Oh my gosh,” she breathed out, reaching for my hand. “I’m so sorry.”

“One of the hardest things I’ve ever done is tell my mom I wanted to follow in his footsteps, that I felt the same pull towards education he had. She was completely against the idea until husband number four suggested I become a set teacher. It meant I’d be able to do what I love, but in an environment she was comfortable with.”

She squeezed my hand tightly. “I’m not sure how it happened since I’d expected to be told I wasn’t going to get any more education hours during filming since I’m not considered a minor, even though I haven’t graduated yet. I already felt lucky when Mrs. Stanton told me to meet you here, but now I feel even more fortunate to have such a dedicated teacher helping me.”

She was wrong, I was the lucky one, because conceding to my mom’s wishes is what had led me to Avery. Everything I’d done since the moment I’d seen her was done with this end result in mind—her at my side. What she didn’t know was that I was the one who’d insisted she be allowed to continue her studies after her birthday because it was my opportunity to have her all to myself before she was done filming. By the time she was done, the last thing she would want was to get away from me. I’d see to it.

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