the next friday she had asked him to stay a minute after class. she said he was "unusually talented," and she hoped he wouldn't let anything discourage him, but would "keep it up." that meant, jess believed, that she thought he was the best. it was not the kind of best that counted either at school or at home, but it was a genuine kind of best. he kept the knowledge of it buried inside himself like a pirate treasure. he was rich, very rich, but no one could know about it for now. -bridge to teribithia