Seth eyed me and exhaled noisily though his nose.
“You’re thinking about that audition thing, aren’t you?” he asked.
“I’ve been thinking about it a lot,” I said. “Surely there must be something you can do.”
He turned his head away, pressing his lips together until they turned white.
“I asked the professor,” he said, his voice tight. “He won’t let me take the test on another day. It’s a one-shot deal. And if Cherry Lips can’t make that audition, they’ll just pick one of the other bands.”
My hands twisted together, the injustice of it all getting to me.
“I hate that you’re going to miss out on something that means so much to you,” I told him.
“The band means more,” he replied.
“You spend so much time trying to make everyone else happy,” I said. “It just makes me wonder what else you’ve missed out on, what else you’ve given up, because of that.”
“You make it sound like a burden,” he said.
“Isn’t it?”
“Not at all,” he said. “It makes me feel good to make others feel good. Technically, I’m the one being selfish, if you really think about it.”
“That’s not how I see it.”
“Abby, they rely on me,” he said patiently. “I can’t let them down.”
“It’s not fair that you have to make that choice.”
He cracked a smile and nudged me with his shoulder.
“Life isn’t fair, didn’t you know that?” He shrugged carelessly. “Oh well. Maybe in a year or two, I can try again.”
He tried to sound blasé about it, but I could tell how much it still upset him. He was so close to achieving his goal, and now he had to quit.
For someone as determined and dedicated as Seth, I knew how painful that had to be.
