••••• "Don't don't you want me? / You know I can't believe it when you say that you don't need me" •••••
"This might be the stupidest thing I've ever gotten myself involved in, but I'm in."
In which Steve Harrington and Kimberly Henderson go from be...
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Robin ungracefully stumbled out of the car, tripping in her heels. "I can't breathe in this thing and I'm itchy. I'm itching all over," she complained.
"It's not all about comfort, okay?" Nancy said in an annoyed tone.
"We're academics," Kim reminded her, straightening her blazer with a cigarette dangling between her lips.
"Who are evidently coming straight from Easter brunch," Robin continued to grumble. "Also, this bra that you gave me is really pinching my boobs."
Nancy was getting so sick of this. "Okay, could you just let me do the talking? If that's even possible?"
"It's not only possible, it's inevitable," Robin groaned, pulling at her collar. "Because shortly, I'll be dead from strangulation."
Nancy rolled her eyes again, glaring at her two companions. There wasn't much she could do about Robin's incessant talking, but she could fix Kim's chain smoker appearance before they went inside. She plucked the cigarette out of her best friend's mouth, crushing it under her heel.
"Hey!" Kim protested. "I was still smoking that!"
"Not anymore," Nancy shrugged. "A scholar wouldn't smoke. They'd know it's bad for you."
Kim rolled her eyes and groaned dramatically as they continued towards the front door. "Whatever, Mom."
After the trio was led to the director's office and introductions were made, he took a look at their fake transcripts.
"3.9 GPAs. Both of you," Dr. Hatch nodded approvingly. "Impressive."
Nancy politely smiled. "And this is a recommendation from Professor Brantley," she handed him another piece of forged paper.
"Yeah, I know Larry. Quite well, actually. Eh, you know what they say: 'those who can't do, teach.'"
The girls laughed politely, hoping he wouldn't ask them any questions about their professor.
Nancy thought quickly. "Uh, yes. Yes, that's actually why we're here. I mean, we can only learn so much in a classroom."
"Mmmh," he nodded. "And I'm sympathetic to your struggle, truly. But there is a protocol to visiting a patient like Victor. You have to put in a request and then you have to undergo a screening process, at which point the board will make a decision." He pushed the files back towards them. "I can see you're disappointed. But I'm more than happy to give you a tour of our facilities. Perhaps you can even speak to some patients in our low-security wing."
"And we'd love that," Nancy smiled sweetly, but she looked at Kimmy for help.
"It's just that, um, our thesis is due next month," Kim lied, attempting to look sheepish
"And you're out of time. Whose fault is that?" he asked harshly.
"Ours," Nancy said, apologetically. "Absolutely. And I do apologize–"
"Don't apologize, Ruth," Robin interrupted. Kim and Nancy shared a panicked look. "Screw that. The fact of the matter is, we did put in a request months ago and were denied. And then we reapplied and were denied again. And coming here was our last-ditch effort to save our thesis. And I really, I can't breathe in this thing!" she said, continuing to pull at her collar.
