Valerie
"Valerie, wake up! VALERIE!" said Marie.
"What, Mom?" said Valerie, groaning.
"Did you forget? You're meeting Julien's parents."
"Who's Julien?" asked Valerie, rubbing her eyes.
"Your fiancé! Are you that clueless, Val?" said Marie.
"Mom, I really don't want to marry him," Valerie replied, exasperated.
"Well, too bad, honey. You're 21. You should start taking care of yourself, and you can't do that all alone. I won't be here your whole life," said Marie firmly.
"Fine, just give me five minutes," said Valerie.
"Okay then," said Marie.
One hour passes
"Shit!" said Valerie, jumping up. "How did I not hear the alarm?!" She rushed to change clothes and get ready. "Okay, I'm done changing," she called out.
"VALERIE! WHERE ARE YOU? IT'S BEEN 2 HOURS!" shouted Marie.
"Coming!" Valerie replied as she hurried downstairs.
"Hello there," said Julien, greeting her as she arrived.
"Hi," said Valerie, trying to sound polite.
"How are you?" Julien asked, smiling.
"I'm good. How about you?" asked Valerie.
"I'm good too," said Julien.
"Okay, enough talking to Julien. This is his mother, Elizabeth," said Marie, stepping in.
"Hello," said Elizabeth kindly.
"Hi," said Valerie, trying to hide her awkwardness.
After Julien and Elizabeth leave
"Okay, Mom, I have to go to class now. I'm already an hour late," said Valerie, grabbing her bag.
"Okay, honey, have fun," Marie called after her.
At Princeton
"Omg, HIIII, Em!" said Valerie excitedly when she saw her friend.
"HIIII, Val!" Em responded, just as enthusiastic.
"What class are you going to?" asked Valerie.
"Oh, I'm going to Biochem," said Em.
"Same! Let's go together," said Valerie.
"Sure," Em agreed as they headed to class.
In class
"Okay, let's sit here," said Valerie, pointing to a spot.
"K," said Em, settling in.
"Hi," said Liam with an annoyed look on his face as he walked past.
"Hi to you too," said Valerie, rolling her eyes at his attitude.
"Okay, class, today we are going to do a project, and you need to pair up with someone," announced Ms. Walternetucks from the front of the room.
"Sorry, Val, but I want to pair up with my boyfriend," said Em apologetically.
"Okay, that's fine," said Valerie, trying to hide her disappointment as she scanned the room for another partner.
"Does anyone not have a partner? If you don't, raise your hand," Ms. Walternetucks instructed.
Valerie raised her hand hesitantly, and to her horror, Liam did too. Oh, fuck. Liam doesn't have a partner, Valerie thought to herself.
"Okay, perfect. Liam and Valerie, you two are now a pair," said Ms. Walternetucks.
"Great!" said Liam sarcastically, glaring slightly in Valerie's direction.
Class ends
