Kiss My Sass [Books 1 & 2]

[book 1] chapter twenty-five: field trip to penbrooke

WEEKS HAD PASSED since I saw my father and just like the cliché saying, time really did heal all wounds. Sure I was still pretty heartbroken about the whole ordeal but I was only focused on looking toward the future. We were nearing the beginning of spring, and summer would soon follow meaning only a few more months until I graduated and was out of here. 

    The beginning of spring also meant college application time. Stone Creek was a backward ass town that made us apply for colleges at the end of winter instead of the beginning like normal schools. Our school board argued we'd be making more informed decisions if we were able to complete three quarters of the school year before we applied, as opposed to half. I didn't really see the logic considering I was set on the same three schools I had my eyes on since freshman year. 

   Penbrooke, Cortland and North State had some of the best social work programs and I was perfectly fine with attending any of the three. The perks of Penbrooke was that Niko was there though which also counteracted as a downside, Cortland was the furthest of the three meaning fewer visits home, and North State had the highest acceptance cutoff meaning I wouldn't be surrounded by idiots. All three schools were far enough that I'd only be coming back to Stone Creek on the occasional weekend which I was more than okay with.

    I was currently at the library with James to work on our biology assignment. It was coming along fairly nicely — I noticed we had become a lot more productive after we started dating — and we were nearing completion. 

   "Have you looked into any schools?" I asked as I formatted the brochure on my laptop.

    James shook his head. "I don't think college is the path for me."

    I couldn't help but snort at that, prompting him to roll his eyes. "You're the smartest person I know, why wouldn't you be interested in college?"

    He didn't look up from the textbook he was reading. "Affordability for starters."

    "I forgot about that." 

    James was a genius who was guaranteed admission wherever he applied and it wasn't fair that tuition cost was the factor hindering him from continuing his education. He deserved to go to the best damn school in the country, but despite the money factor it didn't make sense for him to not even apply. 

    "There's a ton of scholarships and loans you can apply for." I turned my laptop to him, showing a series of different bursaries I found from a quick online search.

    He chuckled lightly. "I'd have to get all of them to cover the next four years."

    "You should at least apply," I urged.

    James closed his book. "I'm sorry, Dani, but no." He leaned over and kissed my cheek before packing his stuff and leaving.

~*~