“Don’t you ever take the summer off?” That was how I greeted Tyler on Monday morning.
Dad and I had arrived half an hour before class and while he reviewed his notes for the course and prepared his work area, I walked around and chatted with the students as they came in.
“Abby! It’s good to see you.” He came over and gave me a hug in greeting. I was taken by surprise and only just managed to hug him back. That was more physical contact than we’d ever had and it felt like he’d just upgraded our relationship from acquaintance to…to…something more than acquaintance. Just like that. I didn’t mind the improvement, but I wondered at its source.
“I was planning on taking this second summer semester off, but I couldn’t get into your father’s courses for this fall. It was either take this one or wait until Spring. I also knew that there was a chance that you’d be assisting your father this semester, so I had to sign up for it.”
A hug and telling me that I was part of the reason that he was taking another summer course? Was he hitting on me? I wished Eva were here. She’s better at seeing this kind of thing. I truly suck at it. It had taken eavesdropping on Bobby to find out that he liked me.
I was saved from having to come up with a response as dad called the class to order. As this wasn’t an intro course, dad quickly reviewed the safety procedures with the class and I handed out the course project list to each student. Every student had to choose two projects from the list to complete before the end of the course. The skills required for each object were listed next to it, as well as the evaluation criteria that would be used by dad to grade it.
The five-week course, Advanced Blacksmith Designs, was a 301 course and dad explained that he would start off every class with a half hour of instruction in a new technique. The students would then have two and a half hours to practice it. Dad and I would roam around and offer advice and answer any questions the students had.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Assisting dad this year was way better than last year, where I felt like I was babysitting the students and making sure they that didn’t burn themselves. Not only were the students fully aware of all the safety issues, these students had all taken a least two other courses in blacksmithing and they were actively interested in what they were doing. They wanted to learn and that made a huge difference.
“Watch your heat, Tyler. You’ve got it closer to welding temperature. Try to keep it at around 1900 degrees Fahrenheit for this material. If the steel gets too hot, then it’ll start throwing off sparks and you’ll burn the metal.”
“Thank, Abby.” Tyler said and proceeded to make the necessary adjustments. “Starting over at this point would have sucked. Can I repay you with a coffee after class?”
“It’s nice of you to offer, but I have to run after class. I have a few appointments this afternoon.” I had replied without taking his earlier behavior into account and was therefor caught off-guard by his follow up question.
“Tomorrow then?”
The guy was nothing if not persistent. What the heck had changed over the past year? Honestly, if he had asked me a few months ago, I’d have probably accepted his offer. Now though, I wanted to give whatever I might have with Bobby a chance.
“Besides the fact that as a teaching assistance my employment contract forbids me from accepting your generous offer, I’m actually busy all week.” Tyler’s curious look caused me to explain, “I’m looking for office space to set up my foundation and my realtor has set up a full schedule for me.” My realtor was actually Shauna, but the rest was the truth. Of course, my explanation only led to more questions about the foundation.
“You’re not even a Senior in high school yet and you’re already starting a foundation to help the survivors of human trafficking. That’s incredible. At your age, I couldn’t see past my own issues. I think that what you’re doing is great. If you ever need a volunteer to help out with anything, please call me.”
Volunteers! How had I missed that? I’d been so focused on who I needed to hire, that I’d completely forgotten that charities and foundations were powered by amazing people who gave of their time to help others. Not only that, but Galt University had a community involvement program that required all of its students to volunteer a certain amount of hours every semester. I wasn’t sure how many hours were required of them, but I knew a certain dean who might know and who might help me get on the list of approved organizations. He was on my board of directors after all. I’d be giving Harry a call between some of my viewings this afternoon.