Series: Cobalt Empire Series by Krista Ritchie
Total pages in book: 234
Estimated words: 226965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1135(@200wpm)___ 908(@250wpm)___ 757(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 226965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1135(@200wpm)___ 908(@250wpm)___ 757(@300wpm)
Dishes clink as Eden sets a daisy-embellished plate in the cupboard. “I’m actually so glad you answered me on the Valley Boards,” she says. “For a second, I thought I wouldn’t have any takers this semester.”
Valley Boards are ways for MVU students to connect with each other. Locating study partners, announcing new intramural sports, and even posting for roommates. I’d been quick to contact Eden as soon as my transfer to MVU was accepted.
Her ad was simple: Pull-out couch, shared bathroom, and parking spot all yours for just $700 a month! (Ten blocks from campus.)
The parking spot was the real get for me. My car has been my lifeline since I was sixteen, and trying to decide what to do with it when I moved here had been the biggest thorn in my side.
It’s also startlingly cheaper than the price of on-campus dorms. That luxury would cost an arm, leg, kidney, and possibly the spleen of my firstborn.
The coffee machine rumbles to life. “So you’re pre-med?” Her eyes narrow disbelievingly, and they sink down to my combat boots as I pry each one off. “I don’t know any doctors who wear Doc Martens, no offense.”
I’m a little surprised she thinks my TJ Maxx boots are actual Doc Martens. “I know of a doctor who’s covered in tattoos and piercings,” I say. “Believe me, the boots won’t make a difference.” Though I won’t be wearing them to my med school interview. I didn’t put in much effort for this bartending job today because I didn’t think the manager would care.
Physicians will care if I show up in a crop top and jeans. That’s even if I get an interview. There are about a hundred thousand moves I need to make before I can reach that hurdle.
Eden eyes me for another solid beat. “Med school is really difficult. Besides accounting, pre-med is the hardest path at MVU. You have to be a brainiac.”
I nod slowly and place my shoes on a checkered mat beneath a coat hook. “I know it’s hard.”
She smiles stiffly. “Just making sure. It’s easier changing majors as a sophomore than it is as a senior.” She checks on the pot of coffee. “Where’d you say you transferred from? NYU?”
I never actually told her my previous school—and now saying it will make me look like an overachieving dick. There were so many times growing up that I’d get the side-eye for setting a curve on tests, for winning academic awards, for being “the teacher’s pet” in sixth grade. Just because I cared about my grades. Took them seriously. I enjoyed school.
Big shock, right? So there’s always this sudden urge to shrink back when people ask me about myself. To downplay. Just so I can avoid the narrowed looks.
But Eden is my roommate, and I shouldn’t hide basic shit from her. So what if she thinks I’m an overachieving dick? So fucking what.
“Penn,” I say tightly.
She pours coffee into a vintage diner mug. “Penn State is a good school, but MVU is way harder.”
I wince. “Actually, it was the University of Pennsylvania.”
She grimaces at the slip-up. We’re both basically in full grimaces at this awkward miscommunication, and I am completely the one to blame.
“Oh…” she breathes out.
“Yeah,” I say into a long nod.
“That’s an Ivy League,” she says like she’s having a light bulb moment. “It must have been so rigorous. Is that why you’re transferring?”
I don’t mention my straight As at Penn. I do tell her the truth. “They don’t have an Honors House like MVU does.”
Eden’s brows jump. “You’re applying for the Honors House?”
“Yeaaaah,” I say slowly. “Is that okay? If I get in, I might only be here for a few months.” I’ve had my sights on the Honors House from the very first moment I transferred here. It’s a prestigious academic society on campus that provides free on-campus housing to undergrads.
Basically the equivalent of a co-ed sorority/fraternity.
Only downside, it’s extremely exclusive. It might be easier discovering a new planet in the Milky Way than be accepted, but joining the Honors House is number one on my master plan to becoming a doctor. I need a place to live that won’t put a meteor-sized crater into my bank account, and it’ll be a highlight on my med school applications.
Eden nods. “That’s totally cool.” She looks me over. “So you’re like really smart then?”
No, I’m delusional. The sarcasm in my head doesn’t help the scowl on my face, I’m sure.
I refrain from rolling my eyes, and I’m definitely not telling her I skipped the fifth grade. “I’m all right,” I say, downplaying it unfortunately.
She motions to the living room. We can see the lumpy lime-green sofa directly from the kitchen. “How has the pull-out been? I know the mattress is kind of…springy. If you’d rather just sleep on the cushions, I won’t judge.”