The streets were unusually quiet as they walked back toward campus, illuminated only by scattered streetlights and the occasional passing car.
Neither of them spoke immediately because, for once, the silence between them didn’t feel awkward.
It felt comfortable.
Carter walked beside Maya with his hands tucked into the pockets of his jacket, matching her pace without saying a word.
After several minutes, he finally glanced at her.
“Can I ask you something?” Carter asked while keeping his eyes on the sidewalk ahead.
Maya looked at him briefly before giving a small nod.
“You’ve got classes, you’re the cheer captain, you spend hours in the library, and then you volunteer at the hospital almost every night,” Carter said while shaking his head in disbelief.
“Why do you keep adding more work to your schedule?”
Maya was quiet for a moment.
“I don’t really have a choice,” Maya replied while adjusting the strap of her backpack.
“I want to get into medical school, and good grades alone aren’t enough anymore.”
Carter listened without interrupting.
“My family isn’t rich like yours,” Maya continued with a calm smile.
“Nobody is going to write a donation check or open doors for me. If I want to become a doctor, I have to earn every opportunity myself.”
She looked up at the night sky before continuing.
“That’s why I study so much,” Maya said softly.
“That’s why I volunteer, why I joined cheerleading, and why I worked so hard to become captain. Medical schools look at everything, not just your GPA. They want leadership, community service, and people who are willing to work for others.”
Carter nodded slowly.
“So that’s why you never come to parties?” Carter asked while glancing toward her.
Maya laughed quietly.
“I honestly don’t have time,” Maya admitted with a small shrug.
“Every hour matters, and every decision goes on my résumé somehow.”
She smiled faintly.
“My friends think I’m boring.”
“I never thought you were boring,” Carter said before realizing how honest that sounded.
Maya looked at him with mild surprise.
“You’re… intense,” Carter corrected with an awkward laugh.
“There’s a difference.”
A small smile appeared on Maya’s face.
It disappeared almost as quickly as it came.
“What about you?” Maya asked while turning the conversation back toward him.
“Why are you suddenly so determined to pass physics?”
Carter shrugged.
“Because I need to.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“You said hockey is your dream,” Maya continued while watching him carefully.
“Everyone on campus talks about how talented you are. Your future already seems planned out.”
Carter laughed quietly.
“That’s the funny part,” Carter replied while looking straight ahead.
“It isn’t actually my dream.”
Maya stopped walking.
Carter noticed and stopped beside her.
“What do you mean?” Maya asked with genuine curiosity.
Carter released a slow breath.
“My dad’s dream was hockey,” Carter answered quietly.
“William Vance was one of the best players anyone around here had ever seen.”
“I’ve heard the name,” Maya admitted.
“Most people have.”
A faint smile crossed Carter’s face before fading again.
“My dad was supposed to have this huge professional career,” Carter continued while kicking a loose pebble across the sidewalk.
“Then he got injured before everything really took off.”
“I’m sorry.”
“He never stopped loving the game,” Carter said with a shrug.
“He just couldn’t play anymore.”
Maya listened silently.
“So when I started skating…” Carter continued, “…it stopped being my choice.”
He laughed without any real humor.
“My dad decided I was going to finish the career he never got to have.”
Maya frowned slightly.
“He never actually asked what I wanted.”
The words hung heavily in the cool night air.
“The reason I wanted your help wasn’t because I’m afraid I won’t make the hockey team,” Carter admitted while looking down at the sidewalk.
“I’m afraid of what happens if one day I decide I don’t want hockey anymore.”
Maya didn’t interrupt.
“I’ve spent my whole life being William Vance’s son,” Carter said quietly.
“Every game I play, someone compares me to my dad. If I score three goals, people say my dad would’ve scored four. If I make one mistake, everyone says I’m not living up to the family name.”
He smiled bitterly.
“It’s exhausting.”
For the first time since they had met, Maya saw something in Carter she had never expected.
Not arrogance.
Pressure.
“I know hockey has opened a lot of doors for me,” Carter continued.
“My dad’s name and my grandfather’s reputation gave me opportunities most people never get.”
He looked over at Maya.
“But wouldn’t it be nice to have something that’s actually mine?”
Maya met his eyes.
“Something people don’t judge before I even get there,” Carter said quietly.
“Something I earned because I worked for it, not because of the last name on my jersey.”
The two of them stood in silence.
Maya had spent weeks believing Carter didn’t care about his future.
Now she realized the truth was much more complicated.
He cared.
He just wasn’t sure whose future he was chasing.
“I think,” Maya said softly while beginning to walk again, “there’s nothing wrong with wanting a dream that’s your own.”
Carter looked at her.
“You do?”
She nodded.
“I’ve spent my whole life trying to build a future nobody can take away from me,” Maya replied.
“Maybe it’s time you started building one nobody else can choose for you.”
For the first time that night, Carter smiled.
It wasn’t the confident smile everyone on campus knew.
It wasn’t the cocky grin he wore after every hockey game.
It was quieter.
More genuine.
“Thanks,” Carter said while scratching the back of his neck.
Maya looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“For what?”
“For listening,” Carter answered honestly.
“Most people hear ‘William Vance’s son’ before they hear me.”
Maya smiled faintly.
“I heard Carter.”
Neither of them noticed that the campus gates were already in sight.
For the first time since they had met…
They weren’t walking as a tutor and her student.
They were simply two people trying to figure out who they wanted to become.