“I guess I just feel a difference,” Maya said with a shrug. “Romance is about love, and porn is just… just sex.”

“So, what's wrong with writing romance?” Professor Reardon asked again.

“Nothing, if you want to be mediocre,” Joseph replied with a snort.

“And make a million dollars,” Betsy retorted. “Look at Danielle Steele.”

“Yeah, well,” Joseph went on. “No matter how good you are in the genre, you'll never win a Pulitzer Prize, will you?”

“No,” Professor Reardon replied. “That's very true.”

“It just seems like a waste of talent to me,” Joseph replied.

Maya's face was on fire and she felt tears stinging her eyes. She blinked them back, biting at the inside of her cheek.

“So what about the story itself, then?” Professor Reardon went on. Under the table, Maya felt a hand on hers, a brief squeeze, and then it was gone. She was so used to Connor touching her, that at first it didn't register that it had come from her other side. She stared at Professor Reardon for a moment, incredulous. The discussion was still going on.

“Ok, but this is about a pirate abducting some young girl,” Joseph was saying. “Shouldn't he be dangerous? He sounds like a big pussy to me.”

“Girls like bad boys,” Connor agreed.

Maya tuned them out. For the rest of the discussion, all she could think about was the brief touch of Professor Reardon's hand on hers. It stayed with her, like a brand.

After class, she stayed and asked him if she could have her story. They were supposed to pick them up at his office (to keep the air of anonymity.) He handed it over to her, though, and she saw through the cover page that it was full of red marks.

“You said it was good!” She sighed, flipping to the end to see the grade. “B-". She had never earned less than an “A” on any piece of writing in her life. At least it was better than the “C” she got last time.