Prerequisites For Love (Sample Chapters Only)

Chapter 2-0

The first thing I do on Monday morning is go straight to the Student Life office before speech class to request a new apartment. But there are no student apartments left, and I'm not going to commute, so I'm left with one option. The dorms. If I call Dad, he'll call the Dean of Student Life and magically make it happen. Any apartment would be better than the one-room dorms with shared bathrooms.

But I want to earn my way through college. And I can't tell Dad the reasons I can't live with Stacy anymore. Thanks to the rumors my mom spreads in the bubble community, everyone believes I'll be marrying the boy-next-door. Such a happy life. "Who would be so lucky to find their husband living next door?" my mom said last time I saw her. I frown at the memory.

The front desk lady hands me the key to my new torment, and I give her one of my perfected fake smiles. This sucks.

I leave the office and my feet face the direction of speech class. Technically I could still make it on time.... No. I shake my head. There's no way I can face the traitors, and it's not like I'll be passing the course anyway. Last week, when each student had to briefly introduce themselves and state their major, my mouth got so dry when my turn came that the professor demanded I repeat myself three times. I was so embarrassed, and I thought I was going to faint while everyone's eyes were on me. Thinking about this makes my throat close off. I try to swallow the negative thoughts.

I'm going to visit Gramps. That's what I'll do. Better use of my time anyway. I hop back in my car without unpacking it and drive to Oakcrest Village. My grades from high school are not the best, so I'm grateful I got accepted at Bastien University. My parents don't expect amazing things from me these days beyond marrying Brad, so I think I just stopped trying.

Thinking back now, it makes a lot more sense why Stacy chose this university as well. She was accepted in two other ones in Northern California, but she told me she couldn't imagine leaving me behind and having a long-distance friendship. Ugh. My blood boils, and I want to throw another bonsai tree at the wall. Now I know she wanted to be close to Brad, not me. Had that always been her plan?

I squeeze the steering wheel hard, reliving yesterday's moments. I need to pretend everything is okay, so I don't worry Gramps. He may demand one of the nurses to drive him to Brad's frat house and attempt to beat the daylights out of him, even at the age of eighty-nine.

I park in the empty lot. Such a pity. For such a big community, there aren't many visitors. My phone beeps and vibrates in my purse. I slide my hand in the Tamara Mellon leather purse, which I've kept for four years despite the constant push from Stacy to go shopping for a new one. She'd say something like, "It's not like you can't afford it." But this purse is the last item that my mom purchased for me on our last shopping trip. Online shopping, which involves me and a computer or my phone is all I do nowadays. I finally fish out the phone and glance at the screen. Mom. My stomach drops.

It's not possible she's already learned about the breakup, is it? I haven't come up with my side of the story. No way I'm telling her Brad thought I wasn't committed. She'd blame me for the breakup and try to either force me to get back together with him or set me up with another of her friends' sons. A dull pain forms in my chest. All I want is to be left alone to breathe. I don't need a boyfriend. I want to be on my own for a while.

I bring the vibrating phone to my chest and look up at the car ceiling. Maybe she's calling to say happy birthday and apologize for forgetting it yesterday. Regardless, she'll find out about the breakup, and it's better if it's from me instead of—gasp!—someone from the tennis club. I sigh, roll my eyes, and finally pick up on the fifth ring.

"Mom?"

"Kara, honey, can you make it home for a late lunch today?" Her voice trembles at the end.