The Carnivore [boyxboy]

Chapter 21

“Can I borrow your computer for a minute?” Deacon asked, popping his head into Rory’s room.

Rory looked up from a magazine and nodded. He didn’t think he’d ever really seen Deacon using the computer, unless it was for school, and he usually said that much. “What are you looking up?” Rory asked curiously.

“Checking my e-mail,” Deacon answered as he typed in a password. “I sent in some college applications the other day from the library and want to make sure they were received.”

“Oh.” Rory started hovering over his shoulder then. “Where did you apply to?”

“A couple in state places. I get extra funding since I was declared independent before I was eighteen, so the cost shouldn’t be as bad as I thought,” Deacon explained, skimming threw a few new e-mails. “Most of them aren’t more than two hours away.”

“Shouldn’t you be focusing on finals too?” Rory tried. “They start next week.”

“I’ve got some study groups set up during my off hours this week, or am visiting with some of my teachers,” Deacon said, closing out of his e-mail and spinning the chair towards Rory. “The only one I’m worried about is maybe Econ, but the teacher is has been working with me on that, so… are you worried about any of yours?”

“Art,” Rory admitted. “I never really do the right project. I like to paint and she keeps trying to get me to do other things.”

Deacon snorted. “Well find some way to make it work. If you pass drawing, you can get into the painting class and then you’ll be awesome at the class.”

“I’ve just been doing my projects enough to get a good grade and then painting what I want after, it’s been working out, I just don’t know if my grade is going to be any good from how badly I was doing at the start of the semester.”

“But I figure your science class is going to be your best, right? I didn’t even take a science class this year because I didn’t need it,” Deacon said. “but I don’t see you skipping science your senior year.”

“I could major in it for college,” Rory said. “What are you thinking of?” Somehow he was the one to bring it back to that, but he wanted to know more about what Deacon was planning.

“I have no idea. I want to say business, but I feel like everyone goes business. I don’t really know what I like that much, the more that I think about it,” Deacon admitted, frowning deeply. “Maybe I’ll take just the intro classes or get my basic credits out of the way.”

“Science,” Rory suggested.

“Did you miss where I said I didn’t want to take a science class this year, much less major in it for college?” Deacon laughed. “Besides, that’s your thing. Like I said, I’ll figure it out when I get there I guess.”

Rory nodded silently, not even sure how to ask his question. What was his question even? What was Deacon going to do while he was at college, and Rory was still in high school?