"Fine. Five points."
"Now you're talking."
PART TWO
Chapter 13
Julie stood on her tiptoes, desperately trying to retrieve the duffel bag from the top of the closet shelf. She finally looped a finger around the strap and pulled it down, causing it to land on her head. She hated traveling, and if the packing situation was any indicator of her trip's success, she was not headed for a smooth flight. As if navigating an airport wasn't enough of a hassle on the day before Thanksgiving, she was desperately trying to condense her belongings so that she wouldn't have to check any luggage.She would definitely be checking bags when she went to California with her father, that's for sure. He'd sent her their itinerary a few days ago.
Or rather, his secretary had forwarded it to her. Still, he was showing a huge effort by taking her on this trip. Julie could only imagine the hassle it'd been for him to take off three weeks from work for this whirlwind trip. L.A., Huntington Beach, San Diego, Santa Barbara ... Julie couldn't even remember where else! She couldn't wait to tell her dad all about school and how well she was doing in her classes.For this trip, she didn't need too many outfits, but hauling her laptop and books home was a drag. How Julie was supposed to celebrate the holiday, visit with relatives and friends, finish a research paper, and study for her calculus exam was beyond her. Colleges clearly saw Thanksgiving as a working holiday."Knock, knock." Erin stepped into the bedroom, and Julie again admired how poised and together she always looked. The gray tweed pencil skirt and coordinating cardigan were so streamlined and... well, classy. That was it; Erin was classy. Professional and classy. "You must be itching to get home and see your family, I imagine.""A little bit," Julie agreed, as she tossed the duffel bag onto the bed.
"I just have so much work to do that it's hard to feel excited about going back to Ohio."Erin waved her hand. "You'll get it done. There will be time in the airport, on the plane, and while you're recovering from turkey overload.""I guess."
Julie grabbed a handful of clean socks and tossed them into the bag. "Although maybe I should have just taken a long weekend earlier in the month instead and avoided the crowds. Oh, I mean, not that I would want to infringe on your family's holiday plans. I just meant - "
"You'd be welcome here for Thanksgiving, Julie. But I can't imagine a day of Chinese food and Scrabble is what you're used to. It'll just be Matthew, Celeste, and I sitting around eating spicy tofu and debating the validity of Matthew's plays.
He tends to make up words, but we usually give him partial credit for creativity.""That actually sounds better than eating sweet potatoes with marshmallows and listening to my uncle retell what went down on Comedy Central the night before.""It does not!" Erin protested. "There's nothing wrong with a traditional Thanksgiving. Family warts and all. I'm sure it will be lovely.""Is it strange not to have Roger here for the holiday?"
"Not at all. Roger takes month-long trips several times a year, so this longer trip is not surprising." Erin crossed her arms. "And your friend Seth? What's he doing over break?""He and his parents are going to Vermont to see his aunt and uncle. He left yesterday to try and avoid the traffic, and they're coming home on Saturday for the same reason.""You've spoken highly of him. A political science major at BU, I believe, right? I'm glad you've made some nice connections this fall. You and your friend Dana seem to be getting close, too. It's important to have social opportunities that get you out of the house sometimes.
"Julie smiled. Dana had become a good friend, and even though both of them were busy, they had a standing coffee date on Tuesdays that they never missed. Dana was still absolutely bewitched by Jamie, and Julie had spent many hours over the semester listening to play-by-play accounts of the progress of their rollercoaster relationship. Of course Julie talked about Seth, too, to some degree, but their status was more of the casual-dating variety than Dana and Jamie's - which at this point was highlighted by frequent dramatic arguments followed by early morning walks of shame. Julie felt that, for a psych major, Dana could us a bit of self-examination.
Maybe Julie and Seth weren't full of passion and mega-sparks, but there was something to be said for slow and steady."Goodness, Julie, are you planning on bringing all those books with you?" Erin asked."I have to. I need to do a paper on Carl Jung for my psychology class, and I need those as references."Erin squinted at the stack of books. "Those are adequate, I suppose. Julie, you should have better sources.""I have some online articles, too, but not enough.""That's ridiculous. I can take care of that." Erin moved to the desk and began writing on a notepad. "This is my user name and ID so that you can access Harvard's article database. This should give you more than you need for your paper, and you'll be able to review critical examinations of Jung's work by others highly regarded in the field.""Really?"
Julie walked to the desk and looked at the paper. Erin had just opened up an entire world for her. "Are you sure you don't mind? I mean, this is a big deal. The only thing I can do through school is get into the library's listings and reserve books."Erin tucked the pen behind her ear and put her hands on her hips. "Of course not. There's no reason you shouldn't have the best resources accessible to you. I'm surprised Whitney doesn't have more available to you online. You might not want to thank me, though, because I guarantee that you'll quickly get sucked into the system, going from one recommended article to another. So if your mother throws a fit because you're glued to the computer this weekend, don't blame me."Julie impulsively threw her arms around Erin and hugged her bony frame. "I will take all the blame. I cannot thank you enough."Erin, clearly not the hugging type, stiffened a bit, but laughed softly with surprise and patted Julie's arm with one hand. "No need to thank me. You're the one doing all the hard work. I admire your enthusiasm about your studies."
She stepped back, holding Julie at arm's length. "But if you'd like to return the favor, you can convince Matt to start pushing himself the way you push yourself. Then I wouldn't have to nag him so much.""He seems to work all the time, from what I've seen. We end up studying together a lot, and if he's not at school then he's on the computer working.""I'm not saying that he doesn't spend a lot of time working. I'm talking about the quality of his work and his drive." Erin narrowed her eyes. "He's spreading himself across the board in terms of his coursework and academic interest, and it's getting to a point in his education where he needs to narrow his focus so that he's not floundering when he graduates. That's how he's going to get published one day. He's got one chance to get this right, and I expect more from him than what I'm seeing.