Total pages in book: 177
Estimated words: 163209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 816(@200wpm)___ 653(@250wpm)___ 544(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 163209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 816(@200wpm)___ 653(@250wpm)___ 544(@300wpm)
Adrian treated their lack of progress with an easygoing patience. Now and then he’d settle down and crank out a vase or plate like it was nothing, but he spent most of his time floating from station to station. He could tell in a glance what had gone wrong with each attempt, and he had a half-dozen easy ways to explain how to improve on the next go. Jeremy considered his latest collapsed mess in some consternation and sat back to wait on Adrian’s arrival. There was no point calling him over when he was only two students down, so Jeremy glanced over at Jean instead.
Jean was every bit as messy as Jeremy was, with a few streaks on his cheek where he’d unthinkingly tried to get his hair out of his face, but for the first time this class his expression was calm. His foot was off the pedal as he gazed down at his wheel, his hands sitting relaxed and limp a safe distance from his clay. Afraid to mess with his piece any further, perhaps, because Jean had somehow gotten a three-inch cup to hold together.
“Oh, hey,” Jeremy said, pleased. “Nice!”
“It is a lot of mess for a little thing.”
It lacked the annoyance Jeremy expected to hear. Jeremy idly wondered if he was secretly pleased with his progress or if he was just relieved to have finally pulled it off; Jean’s face was too guarded to give the game away. Jean turned his hands out so he could consider his palms, and he tried in vain to scrape them on the edge of his bucket. Adrian was in front of him in a heartbeat, offering distracted apologies to Elias and Jeremy as they were temporarily passed over, and he leaned over to inspect Jean’s cup.
“Nice,” Adrian said. “Sides look thick enough to hold up in a kiln. Have you checked the base?” Jean obediently pricked the bottom of his cup and held up his needle for the teacher’s inspection. Adrian was satisfied with the results, and he scooped up Jean’s wire for a quick demonstration in the air. “Like so, easy does it.”
Jean’s wire went through the base of his cup smooth as floss, and Adrian stepped back with a proud smile. “Great! Go ahead and drop that off on the shelves so it can dry. On the bat,” he quickly added when Jean reached for his cup. “Good. Find your name tag on the shelves and, if you’re feeling up for going again, there are fresh bats in the cabinet right beside it. Good, good. Where was I?”
“Here,” Elias said, waving him over, and Adrian hurried to his side.
Jean lifted his bat from the wheel and considered his cup at eye level. Jeremy thought he heard a quiet, considering “Hmm” before Jean got up and carried the cup to its designated shelf. Jeremy turned a wry look on his own disaster, but Adrian was by a moment later to help him salvage it. He managed to end the class with one unsteady cup-like object, and he put it with his classmates’ creations to dry. Maybe it’d be funnier at the end of the semester than it was now, when he—hopefully—could judge his progress by it.
Cleanup took longer than Jeremy thought it would, and there was only so much he could do to tidy himself. Jean picked at the spots on his own shirt with an agitated scowl as he followed Jeremy back to Hoffman. Cody was waiting for them out front, and they looked from one to the other with obvious amusement.
“I see we had fun.”
“I think I made negative progress, but yeah, it was great!” Jeremy scratched idly at one of his new stains and checked his watch. “I’m done with classes for the day, so I’m going to find a sunny spot to nap for a half-hour or so. I’ll kidnap Jean when you’re done with him.”
“Nah, we’re good,” Cody said, waving him off. “I’ll get Jean fed and see him down to the stadium on time, so don’t rush back. Right?” They made finger guns at Jean, who only gave a serious nod. Jeremy was heartened by Jean’s easy acceptance of Cody’s company, and he returned Cody’s grin with a grateful smile. Cody motioned for Jean to get a move on and said, “All right, let’s get in there before we’re late. I’ve heard horror stories about this man, and I don’t want to start the year off on his bad side.”
They headed inside, so Jeremy turned away and considered his options. He really did want to sleep, whether it was on the lawns here or on a bench at the Gold Court, but this morning’s run-in with the press meant he should deal with his car first. He walked back to Laila’s place alone, went in long enough to grab his travel mug, and drove his car over to the stadium. With that done, he let himself into the locker room and lay down on the strikers’ bench to nap. It was probably the least comfortable thing he’d attempted, but he slept until his teammates arrived.