Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 167204 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 557(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 167204 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 557(@300wpm)
“I totally get that.”
“I never wanted to take a dime from him, but since my biological dad’s a loser and my mom had the hookup, she begged me to let Chris pay for my education.”
I guess that explains the fancy apartment and the nice car. Hell, even tuition at Calhoun. This is an expensive school. I’d never be able to attend if my parental income didn’t fall well below the income threshold to qualify for financial aid. Between that and my grades, I was able to qualify for close to a free ride.
Finally, being poor paid off.
I crack a smile at my own dark humor, then I look back at Killian. “I’m glad you have a mom who cares. Some women in her situation wouldn’t.” Stacking the last of Toast’s cat food in a vacant spot in a lower cabinet, I ask, “Were you considering other Ivy League schools? I applied to all the ones in New England, but this was my first choice.”
He hesitates, then looks over at me. “I was pretty set on this one.”
I nod my agreement. “I love Calhoun’s biology program. It’s hard, but it’s worth it. They offer a broad range of study with opportunities to overlap wherever it makes sense—and even if they don’t already think it makes sense, if you can convince your advisor it makes sense, you can do it, which gives you a lot more freedom to pick your own path. The advisors work with you to make sure you’re getting a well-rounded education, which was really important to me since I have a wide range of interests and I believe a wide range of education is what helps you think outside the box. The school’s obviously really well-funded, so you can get invited on research trips and get to travel and study somewhere you’d never get to otherwise—and it’s free. It’s built into the price of admission, which, for those of us who can only be here because of scholarships, is really awesome. They have free seminars every week from visiting speakers, and they’re all brilliant. It just makes my brain happy to go here.”
“You like traveling?”
“I love traveling… hypothetically, because traveling here for school is honestly the most I’ve traveled. But I’m an optimist so I got my passport just in case I get picked for any of the research opportunities and have to travel abroad. I want to go to so many places and take so many classes. I’m just sad I won’t have enough time to take advantage of everything this university has to offer, honestly. There’s this synthetic biology research opportunity in January that I’m dying to get into. Obviously, the demand is high because it’s really exciting so I probably won’t make the cut, but I would get hands-on experience with genetic engineering. How crazy would that be?”
He smirks, and I can feel him wanting to call me a nerd. “So crazy,” he mocks lightly.
I roll my eyes. “It would be. I wouldn’t travel for that one, it’s here in Boston, but there’s a summer session in Paris I’m hoping to do next year. Partially for the class, but mostly just to see Paris.”
“Yeah, I can see why this place would have so much to offer someone like you. Just don’t forget to make friends. In my opinion, the appeal of going to a place like this isn’t so much the coursework, but the people you meet. The networking.”
I put away the last box on the counter and walk over to the island counter where he’s working. “Is that why you wanted to go here? The networking opportunities.”
He nods slowly, seeming to consider something. It doesn’t take him long to make up his mind. “Chris was a Blue Blood,” he states, looking over at me.
My eyebrows rise because I thought that was something he didn’t want to talk directly about. “Oh.”
“He wasn’t born rich, either. Most of the Blue Bloods have family money, but…” He smiles faintly. “Maybe it’s a stupid comparison, but it’s like your scholarship program. Because there’s plenty of money between them all, sometimes they see someone with promise who doesn’t have the money and connections by virtue of birth, and they can afford to bring him into the fold. To give him the opportunity to be one of them.”
I watch him. “That’s not a stupid comparison at all. I’d say it’s an apt one. I’m assuming they have access to a powerful network? Probably some kind of perks for being a member?”
“An immensely powerful network. Lots of perks,” he says dryly. “Lots of responsibilities, too, especially for those ‘scholarship’ students. But they’re not assholes about it. Once you’re in, that’s it. You’re in. You’re one of them. They’ll find you the opportunities you need to get on their level, and then you’re all equals. It’s mutually advantageous because you’ll all build your own thing, sure, but at the end of the day, you’re brothers. You’ll get whatever support you need when you need it, so you invest in each other.”