“I had a feeling that might be the case.”

They locked eyes for a few seconds, and Heather could feel the sparkle in his baby blue’s all the way down to her core. She blushed and had to look away.

Seth gestured toward a group of people Heather hadn’t noticed standing by the half-broken bike rack in front of the school. “I really couldn’t have done any of this without Urban Arts. They loved my idea of doing a school visit and they jumped on my suggestion to arrange for some of the stars to come.”

Heather held her hands over her eyes to block out the sun and spotted a few board members she recognized from Urban Arts in the group, as well as Matt Shone.

“I only cared about getting one star in particular here,” Seth said behind her, “but I didn’t want it to turn into media fodder. That’s why Matt and some of the UA board are here too.”

Her heart buoyed, disappointed that she’d have to share her day with Seth, but grateful for his thoughtfulness at the same time. “Smart thinking.”

They walked together, not outright touching but close enough that their hands brushed as they climbed the few steps toward the others waiting at the school entrance.

“Interesting choice for a first date,” she said as they walked. “Tool boy.”

“Oh, this is only the beginning of the date. There’s some things I think you’ll learn here that might make the rest of the date easier.”

She halted. “Because the kids are poor? I get poor, Seth. You haven’t figured that out yet?” Her words weren’t harsh, but they weren’t gentle either. She trusted him more than she trusted most people, but if he had some grand plan to make her accept her past, he needed to understand it wasn’t happening.

“No, I’ve figured that out. What you haven’t figured out is that I get poor.”

She wanted to remark on his statement, but Janice, one of the Urban Arts Directors chose that moment to step toward them.

“Heather! Seth!” Janice shook their hands. “I’m delighted you could both be here. They’re expecting us inside so if you don’t mind, let’s get going.”

The next hour passed quickly and with little chance for Heather to interact with Seth. She tried to stay as close to him as possible as the principal gave them a tour of the school’s art, music and theater rooms, pointing out how their programs had been benefitted by donations and support of Urban Arts and the 24-Hour Plays. The school certainly had more equipment and resources than the one Heather had attended. The evidence that the principal presented—statistics that showed that the arts program had increased the likelihood of students matriculating and moving on to high school—those were stats Heather was thrilled to hear. Her chest warmed at the knowledge that she’d been a small part of giving these needy children access to the arts.

The highlight of the tour came when the principal led the group to the small auditorium where the art students had gathered to hear from the celebrities. Before Heather, Seth and the others took their turns talking, a few select students performed pieces they’d prepared. Seth took a seat next to Heather who tried to display as much indifference as she could muster, secretly delighted to be able to casually knock her leg against his.

First, a trio sang for them, followed by a painter who showed off some of his best work. Finally, a spunky Latino girl named Clara delivered a monologue that she had written herself. It was funny and spirited and completely amazing.

“What did you think?” Seth whispered as the crowd applauded Clara’s finish.

“She’s adorable.”

“I doubt she’d like being called adorable. She’s eleven.”

“Awesome then,” Heather corrected herself. “Brilliant, amazing. Bound to go places.”

“Definitely.” Seth’s eyes clouded as if he had a difficult point to make. “She’s also from a very bad neighborhood. A bad school too. Does that mean she can never rise above?”

For half a second, Heather considered getting irritated at Seth’s obvious comparison of Clara’s life to her own. Then she recognized he was only trying to connect with her. It was sweet, actually.

“I get what you’re doing,” she said. “But, it’s…it’s not that simple, Seth.” The honest answer was that she didn’t know if Clara could rise above. Clara might never get all the places she wanted to simply because of where she came from. And if she did, she might never be able to put her past behind her. It was a sad truth. That was why Heather invested so much in the Urban Arts. So that maybe, maybe it would be different for girls like Clara than it had been for her.

Seth tilted his head. “I’m not saying that it’s easy. I’m not even trying to prove a point or change your mind. I just wanted to know what you thought.”

“I don’t know what I think.” She considered for a moment how tied she still was to the person she’d been half a lifetime ago. “Actually, I think it’s crap. A whole bunch of crap.”

One of the things Heather admired most about Urban Art’s celebrity days, such as this one, was the format. Instead of forcing the actors to stand on the stage, lights shining in their eyes as they talked with the audience, Janice invited the kids to join the actors on stage in a large circle. It allowed them to talk face-to-face and heart-to-heart.

Heather, being the old pro, began the discussion. She gave her basic spiel, encouraging kids to go after their dreams, telling them that dedication and hard work were what got her where she was today. As she always did, she felt a pang of regret that she wouldn’t allow herself to share all of it—that she wouldn’t tell them about the poverty she came from. She knew it could inspire them. And there wasn’t any media in the room with them. She could share her story without fear of it spreading.

But to speak the words aloud, to claim Dean and that life…she just couldn’t do it.

Matt followed her with a similar speech. Seth was the last to talk. He surprised everyone right away by getting off his chair and sitting on the hard stage with the kids.

Heather sat forward, not knowing what to expect from her date.

“When I was growing up,” Seth began. “I went to a school very much like this one. Except we had trailers outside for a lot of our classes. They had no heat in the winter and no cooler in the warm months. It’s funny how the cold seems so much worse when you go to school hungry. And I went to school hungry a lot. Because my family didn’t always have money for food. I bet some of you know what that’s like.”