The conversation shifted to education, Abigail Katz took the lead, and Lucy tuned out.

*   *   *

After the discussion ended, Lucy sprang out of her seat. She had her weekly mentor meeting with Ryan Thompson and she wouldn’t be late. But Delia and Maddie flanked her, expecting to meet her mother. She was stuck.

Abigail stepped down from the stage with Nishi, while the other panelists spoke with a few students, including Emma. It was the first time Lucy had seen Emma engaged in anything other than her guitar.

Lucy’s mother had donned a pair of black kitten heels for the event, as if she needed the extra height. Both of Lucy’s parents were tall, as was everyone in this grouping, save for Delia, though even she had a few inches on Lucy.

Lucy straightened her spine as awkward introductions were made. Awkward because Lucy refused to be the one making them. She listened, waiting for an indication from her mom that this invitation was last minute, a fill-in for someone else perhaps, but it didn’t come.

Fine, it’s all fine.

Nishi was the one to explain the premise behind their app, saying how impressed she was with the ideas they’d come up with so far.

Not impressed enough to rank us higher than tenth though, right?

While Delia delved into the technical portion and the bug she’d been unable to fix, Abigail listened with interest, and Lucy tapped her Pick Me! Purple nails against her notebook.

Maddie shot her a look, and Lucy stopped, instead saying, “I’ve got a meeting.” She made sure to catch her mother’s gaze. “With Ryan Thompson.”

“Of course,” her mom said. “Important things await us all. But a moment, Lucy, before you go?”

Lucy just managed to stop her eye roll and stepped to the side with Maddie and Delia.

Her mother thanked Nishi, who seemed to go in for a hug—twice. Lucy could have warned her that her mother was an expert at deflecting. Nishi’s awe perplexed Lucy. Nishi was way more successful. Apple was a feather for sure, even Lucy could admit that, but it must have been a nanosecond in her mom’s career.

“CIO?” Delia said with the same excitement she’d displayed with Eric. “And the iMac team? Your mom’s amazing, Lucy.”

“Uh-huh.” Shocked by the hot prick behind her eyes, she pulled in her lower lip and averted her eyes—but not before Maddie’s face softened.

“Come on, Delia,” Maddie said. “I’ve been thinking about upping the amount of white space and could use your help.”