Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 40546 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 203(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40546 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 203(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
"Excuse me," I say, getting up from the table on unsteady legs. "I need to take this."
I step out onto Colt's back porch and call my advisor back, my hands shaking as I dial.
"Marley!" Professor Harrison's voice is sharp with irritation. "Where have you been? I've been trying to reach you for hours."
"I'm sorry, I was at dinner. Reception is spotty here. What's wrong?"
"Your parents called me this afternoon. They're driving up for your defense on Friday."
The world tilts sideways. "They're what?"
"They want to be there to support you, which I think is wonderful. Your mother mentioned that she's looking forward to discussing your Harvard placement with the committee afterward."
My mouth goes dry. “I have someone else coming as well,” I say as quickly as I can, ripping off the band-aid.
“Marley. That’s not going to happen. Defenses are closed to all but—”
"Then my parents can’t be there either, can they?"
"Oh, don’t be ridiculous. Your family includes two distinguished academics who've made significant contributions to the field."
“Either I can bring someone, or defenses are closed, it can’t be both.”
“Marley, I’ve never… Fine, bring someone for support.” Harrison's tone suggests I'm being unreasonable. "Your father is quite excited to hear about your methodology. He's been telling colleagues about your innovative approach to ethnographic research."
"Professor Harrison, about my thesis—"
"Yes, I'll need your final draft by Wednesday so I can review it before the defense. I trust you've been working on incorporating the feedback from our last discussion?"
"Actually, I've been taking a different approach—"
"Excellent! Innovation is what sets Michigan apart. Well, I'll let you get back to your work. See you Wednesday with the finished product. I know you’ll exceed everyone’s expectations as you always do."
The line goes dead, and I stare at my phone like it's a bomb that just went off.
My parents are coming to my defense. My parents, who think they've raised the perfect academic daughter. Who've already told their colleagues about my "innovative methodology." Who are expecting me to present the kind of research that will make them proud and secure my place at Harvard.
I have no idea how they’ll react to the thesis I now have planned. It goes against everything they ever taught me. It rebels. I’ve never rebelled in my life.
"Everything okay?" Cade's voice makes me look up. He's standing in the doorway, concern tightening his brow.
"My parents are coming to my thesis defense."
"That's... good?"
"No." I stand up on shaky legs. "That's catastrophic."
"Why?"
“Because the thesis I plan to present takes every teaching method they ever used with me and uses it to light a fire. Because when they hear what I say they’re going to know I’m not their little girl anymore. That I’ve chosen to walk a path of my own.”
He places his hands on my shoulders, centering me. Then he smiles. “Baby, sometimes you gotta burn things down for new things to grow. You’re just blazing your trail for new things and I’m going to standing there right beside you fanning the flames.”
Eleven
Marley
The conference room in the Academic Affairs building smells like coffee and fear. My fear, specifically.
I'm sitting at this mahogany table with my thesis bound in pristine white covers, forty-seven pages of academic rebellion that's either going to liberate me or destroy everything my parents have built their lives around. Maybe both. Probably both.
"Experiential Learning Through Authority-Based Educational Frameworks: A Phenomenological Study of Transformative Pedagogy in Non-Traditional Settings."
Even the title is a masterpiece of academic bullshit designed to hide what I really did.
Professor Harrison shuffles through his notes, clearly uncomfortable with whatever he read in my preliminary draft. Dr. Martinez from sociology looks intrigued. Dr. Chen from education wears her usual expression of scholarly skepticism. And Dr. Brooks, the external examiner from Northwestern's journalism program, sits with the focused attention of someone who recognizes truth when she hears it.
My parents sit in the gallery behind me, my mother's Hermès bag positioned like armor, my father's tenure-track posture radiating confidence in their intellectual investment. Nineteen years of careful cultivation about to be revealed as a beautiful disaster.
And in the very back row, taking up far too much space in the suit I never believed I'd see him wear, sits Cade. Our eyes meet for a moment, and his slight nod gives me all the permission I need.
Time to burn it all down.
"Ms. Voss," Harrison clears his throat, "please present your findings."
I stand, smooth my conservative blouse—the kind of academic uniform I've worn like armor my entire life—and begin the most honest presentation of my career.
"Traditional educational models assume learning occurs through information transfer within formal frameworks. My research challenges this through an intensive case study of alternative pedagogical approaches."
My mother nods approvingly. Maybe a little rebellion is allowed when it includes innovation?
"I embedded myself in a wilderness survival program led by a subject with extensive environmental education expertise. The methodology involved complete immersion in unfamiliar circumstances, requiring absolute trust in the instructor's authority."