CHAPTER 11
brEVAN
Idon’t think I’ve ever been complimented on my name. That was a compliment, wasn’t it? It’s not like I chose my name. Wait, that makes it sound like I don’t like it. I like it fine. And I do like that I haven’t experienced being surrounded by people with the same name.
“My brother’s name is Cody,” I volunteer. “My parents went from a kind-of-common name to one they might have made up.”
Wow. Am I really wasting the provost’s time by talking about names?! What is wrong with me?
“My siblings’ names are Kyrie, Kip, Kalix, and Kona.”
My eyes widen. “All K? And none of them, like, Kevin or Karen.”
He chuckles. “Nope. Interestingly enough, there was another Kalix in my brother’s grade. That made my parents laugh.”
“There weren’t a lot of Cody’s in school. Actually, I don’t think there were any. I wonder why we think it’s a common name, then?”
“Because it’s familiar in a way yours and mine aren’t.”
I nod and look back out at the mountains. “It’s so beautiful here. I’m not sure I’d ever have come to Iceland if it weren’t for this trip.”
“Because you haven’t traveled much or…?”
“I’m not sure.” My shoulders rise in a shrug. “I guess it’s one of those places that you know about but you don’t really think about when you’re considering places to travel, you know? I think I have the usual on my bucket list—France, England, Antigua.”
“Let me see—Eiffel Tower, King Arthur… sun?”
I grin and look in his direction. “Yeah. Though not just King Arthur but all the history. It’s just cool.
We’re lucky if we have buildings from the start of the United States, right?
Two hundred and fifty years. But there are buildings and structures there that are four hundred years old.
A thousand. They have sites there that date back before the Common Era. It’s so wild to think about.”
“It is. Do you enjoy history?”
“Kind of, yeah. I like stories that come from history. In my courses, I like to read the old poems and whatever before the ‘modern’ introduction to see if I agree with their assessment.”
“Do you?”
“I’d say about half the time. You can sometimes recognize the person making the introduction as someone very religious or really black and white.
Those who try to shove in a Christian ideology or are truly convinced of one for a poem from before Christianity are ignorant, you know?
Christianity is just over two thousand years old.
It didn’t exist before Christ since it’s literally the practice of worship of this one individual and therefore, adding a Christian argument to a poem that dates back twenty-six hundred years is just dumb. ”
“I agree.”
I smile and bow my head. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to rant.”
“Not at all. I can’t say I’m well-versed in historical poetry, but I can imagine how frustrating it is.
And I understand what you’re saying. I helped erect all the statues and monuments around campus, so I understand completely what you’re saying about historians refusing to acknowledge something that they may not believe or support. ”
“Like Alexander the Great being queer,” I say, grinning.
“Yes. The exact same wording he uses to describe the relationship between him and his partner, who historians insist is just his good friend, would be interpreted as his wife if that friend were female. It’s hypocritical at best.”
“Right? That’s what I’m saying. You can’t just inject your own views into history because you want them to be there when history itself doesn’t support them.”
Kendrick is looking at me with a smile. He doesn’t answer, but his smile remains. Something about it makes my cheeks flush, and I drop my eyes to my gloved hands.
“If I remember correctly, you’re a Bachelor of Science in Library Science student, correct?”
I nod. Wow. He remembers that? “Yes.”
“What do you plan to do with that degree?”
“Well… I’d like to build a library. One that has every single banned book and a copy of all the queer books in the world.
But also with a concentrated section on historical truths not clouded by the person’s own religious or whatever beliefs, you know?
But not just any library.” I hesitate. I’ve been told I can go on forever about this subject.
“What makes yours special?” Kendrick asks. “Besides the banned and queer books. That’s already super special.”
I take a breath. “Well… my dream is to have an old mansion or castle someday and turn it all into a library. But maybe like a bed-and-breakfast too. All the bedrooms are filled with books. There will be little secret nooks and hidden rooms. One of the hidden rooms will be a coffee bar with the best coffee anywhere. And there will be a speakeasy kind of place, but instead of hiding something like banned books, we’re hiding something that already gets lots of attention, like the classics, but maybe to make it extra fun, they’re first edition classics?
I don’t know. I’ve also dreamed that I can convert an old Catholic church with the tall spires and stained glass.
I think it would be fun to turn one of those into a library. ”
My voice trails off when I look at Kendrick again. He’s smiling. Not the kind of polite smile that means they’d stopped listening ten minutes ago. His is almost… admiring? That can’t be right.
“That sounds wonderful, Brevan.”
Again, my cheeks heat, and I glance down. “Thanks. That’s my plan for after football. My first goal is to play professional football. At least for a couple years. Then I’ll work on my library castle.”
“I like that plan a lot.”
“Thanks,” I say, feeling a wave of shyness settle over my chest. Has anyone ever actually liked my idea? I’ve always felt like I’m the only one who ever got excited about my castle library passion.
“What about you?” I ask, needing to turn the conversation away from myself. “Did you always want to be a provost?”
“Mm,” Kendrick hums. “I went to school for economics. I think I shared with the group before we left campus that I attended RDU.”
I nod. “You did.”
“RDU was a place of peace like I’d never felt before, but it was still struggling to gain traction in the world, fighting against prejudice.
While I graduated with my intended undergraduate degree, I abandoned the idea of the career I was pursuing, and my focus became making RDU the campus it was struggling to become, which in turn became my new passion.
I began in marketing and relations, slowly clawing my way up the ranks with my ideas on a vision I had while I worked on my postgraduate degree.
I think the administration shared my views, and therefore, paved a path for me so that by the time I gained my PhD, I was already knocking on the provost’s proverbial door. ”
“It wasn’t the job you were after then. It was the goal of recreating RDU?” I ask.
“Mm. Yes, more or less. They shared my vision, though while they were content to stop at gaining acceptance, my vision expanded onward and outward. I didn’t care about acceptance.
We don’t need permission to exist, learn, and succeed.
I wanted safety, peace, and top-tier opportunities.
I want to change minds, expand understanding—not just of our students, but of the communities surrounding the school and beyond.
My methods had already proven successful up to that point, so everyone was willing to take a chance on me. ”
“And you succeeded.” I feel a little awed. Okay, a lot awed. “You succeeded in making RDU the shining beacon of love and education that it is today. That was all you, wasn’t it?”
“Not all me. I have a wonderful team around me, and together, we have strived to reach the goals I set for this school.”
“Wow,” I say, looking at the mountains again. “That’s remarkable. You’ve accomplished so much.”
“Thank you.”
There’s a lull in our conversation while I wonder if I’ll ever accomplish even a quarter of the good that Kendrick has.
His ideas were all to help others. Mine are only for myself.
Football is for me. While my castle library idea is definitely open to the public, it’s also mostly for me.
I want to live in a castle with all the cool rooms and hidden passages.
I want to be surrounded by books, which admittedly is a little funny since I don’t read a lot.
I listen to audiobooks plenty, but I struggle with reading books. Even digital books. Maybe I think being surrounded by them will encourage me to read.
“Hey, guys.”
Kendrick and I turn as a handful of the other students approach the patio.
At first, a wave of panic settles over me, and I think I did something wrong.
But then I realize I’ve been out here a while, and the sun is setting.
My stomach growls as if confirming where my mind was just about to touch. I’m hungry. It’s dinnertime.
Anna and Philomena are in the small group stepping onto the patio. More of our group are straggling over as they join us. I look away so I don’t have to see the disdain of those two girls.
“Ready for dinner?” Byndley asks.
I’m not sure where she came from, but she’s suddenly standing to my right. I swear, she appeared out of nowhere!
I nod as others answer verbally. I’m starving. I haven’t eaten since the plane this morning, when we were given breakfast.
There’s a large building where Byndley checked us in, and the person who owns it or runs it or whatever came out to give us a tour. It looks like a big cabin. I’m not at all surprised that the décor inside supports the appearance of the outside.
We’re led to a big dining room with multiple tables.
A couple have been pushed together to accommodate our group of fourteen.
I’m still walking close to Kendrick. He’s in front of me.
Our group splits to sit on either side of the table, and when we reach the end of the line on this side, Kendrick pulls out a chair for me before taking his seat.
I grin. That was really kind. He meets my eye and smiles in return.
The sound of everyone stripping off arctic gear and hanging jackets on the backs of the chairs dominates the space before we’re all taking seats. Glasses of water are already there, and I down the entire glass. Wow, I’m thirsty.
I’m used to drinking a lot because staying hydrated in football is important. I usually try to keep my water intake pretty high so I don’t get out of the habit of hydrating. A full day’s worth of travel really challenges that.
Kendrick slides his glass of water to me, and I bow my head, trying to hide my smile while still happily accepting it. I empty his glass too.
Thankfully, refills come right away, and Kendrick has them leave a full pitcher with us.
“Did you guys see the hot tubs?” Sarabeth asks. “I had no idea we were getting private hot tubs.”
“This must be how the Icelandic live,” Wendy teases. “Something has to melt the cold.”
“I’m so excited about tomorrow,” Mercy says. “I can’t wait to see this school. Have you visited it before, Dr. Keller?”
Kendrick shakes his head. “I have not. I’ve seen about as much as you have of the school. Only what’s available online.”
“It looks like a typical college campus,” Corwin says. “From what I can tell, anyway.”
“That’s my impression too,” Samuel agrees.
They begin talking about tomorrow and visiting the campus, meeting the students.
Kendrick pulls me into the conversation sometimes, though I’m content just to listen.
I haven’t given the campus much thought, honestly.
I guess I’m a little excited, too. I’ve never seen a college campus outside of RDU.
It’s the only place I applied, so I’m fortunate I even made it to college.
It was meant to be. RDU is where I belong.