Page 72 of The Beach Shack Artists 3
“Well,” Margo said, “you’re all still here. And you’re talking about doing it together instead of running away screaming. So yes.”
“Part of,” Meg repeated with relief. “Because I’m not giving up my marketing work entirely.”
“And I still want to teach,” Anna added.
“And my photography business is finally taking off,” Tyler said.
“Exactly,” Margo nodded. “The Shack needs to fit into your lives, not consume them.”
Meg dabbed at her eyes with her napkin while Anna looked down at her hands and Tyler cleared his throat.
“So,” Margo said, “I’ll call Rick tomorrow. Have him draw up the legal papers. Make it official.”
“You know what we should do?” Tyler said. “We should make a whole, official business plan and map out?—”
“Gravy spatula,” Anna and Meg said together.
Tyler stopped and laughed. “Right. Sorry.”
Bea, Joey, and Stella stared at the three siblings.
“Okay, what is happening with the gravy spatula thing?” Bea demanded. “You guys keep saying it and then acting like it means something.”
“Family inside joke,” Meg said innocently.
“Weird family,” Joey announced, but he was grinning.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Tyler had invited Anna and Bea over for dinner, to let Meg and Luke have a night on their own, for a change. Now, his kitchen smelled like takeout Thai food and the kind of comfortable chaos of four people eating while dealing with paperwork
Bea had commandeered most of the table with course catalogs, registration forms, and what appeared to be a color-coded schedule planning system that would make Meg proud. She held a pencil between her teeth while studying two different elective options.
“AP Art History or Photography?” she asked the table at large. “I can’t take both because they’re the same period, but I want both.”
“Photography,” Tyler said immediately, refilling everyone’s water glasses. “Art history you can learn from books. Photography you need to practice.”
“But AP Art History looks good for college applications,” Anna pointed out, stealing a spring roll from Bea’s plate. “And the teacher, Mrs. Melbon, is supposed to be amazing.”
Stella looked up from her pad thai, curious. “What’s AP Art History?”
“Advanced Placement,” Bea explained. “College-level course for high school students. You take a big exam at the end and if you pass, you can get college credit.”
“That sounds brilliant,” Stella said. “We don’t have anything like that back home. Just regular classes and then you sit for your HSC at the end.”
“HSC?” Anna asked.
“Higher School Certificate. Like your final exams, but everything depends on them. Your whole university admission.” Stella twirled noodles around her fork. “Your system sounds way more fun. More choices, more ways to explore things.”
"Joey's been doing his own planning too," Tyler said. "Getting ready for his technical school transition this year."
"Right, his scholarship program," Bea said. "He's so excited about it."
Tyler turned to Stella. “You could probably test into some advanced classes yourself,” he said. “When you get back to?—”
He stopped mid-sentence, the words hanging there.
Stella looked up, meeting his eyes with sudden awareness. “When I get back to Australia,” she said quietly.
