My Rebound (On My Own #2) - Carrie Ann Ryan Page 0,13
said, and I raised my brows at her.
“Because girls can’t be good at math?” I asked dryly.
Nessa rolled her eyes. “You know I don’t think that. It’s more that you’re hot, funny, popular, and I never knew that girls like that could be in the math program.”
I rolled my eyes because I knew she was joking with me, especially if the laughter in her eyes was any indication. “Well, it’s thoughts like those that make my schooling years not so much fun. The number of guys in our class is ten to one at this point. And there’s only twenty of us in some of these classes,” I said dryly.
“That’s a little ridiculous,” Elise said.
I nodded. “Some aren’t as bad because there are great STEM programs for people who aren’t part of the stereotype when you think of a mathematician. But it’s still a boys’ game, and I hate it sometimes.” My professors were all men, which was odd to me since I knew there were female professors on campus in my program. But this semester, it was all men. And now we were at a point in my classes where I was mostly with those sharing my major, or some whose minors were in math, like Pacey. Gone was the time when we had more women in class because they had all moved into their majors, like physics, chemistry, and biology. There weren’t many math majors out there. And I had applied mathematics, not full theory, so the scope was even narrower. I loved what I did. I loved figuring out problems and playing with numbers. Because there was an answer for all things. You could go down a path—you just needed to find it. And that’s how I planned my life. To find that path.
I hated that I sometimes fell off, though.
Once again, I pushed those thoughts from my mind.
“And this program?” Nessa said. “I don’t understand it.”
“Me, either,” Elise added. “We don’t have a full thesis or anything for my senior year. You just get your credits as long as it reaches your major, and then you graduate with that degree.”
I shrugged. “Not all majors are like this. And not all universities are like this one. But mine has a final senior thesis for your undergrad that leads you to your master’s classes that you can take at this campus. But a lot of times, they want you to be at another campus before you go on to your doctorate. It’s a whole long, complicated mess. And that means I’ll be writing thesis after thesis until I decide to retire.” I shrugged. “I don’t mind it. It’s math. It makes sense.”
“To you,” Nessa said dryly.
“To me,” I said with a smile. “But this is the semester where everything starts to settle into place for your senior year. And then, after that, you’re an adult, not just playing adult, like I feel most of us are doing in college.”
“Nothing you have ever said has been so true,” Nessa said with a laugh.
“Are you going to have time for any extracurriculars?” Natalie asked.
I frowned, shaking my head. “I’m taking an extra three-credit-hours class. I wasn’t planning to this semester, but they moved it from the fall to the spring. I needed to add it so I wouldn’t miss out and have to take another year.” I sighed. “I can’t even get the part-time job I wanted to apply for so I’d have some extra spending money.”
“But your parents are helping you out?” Nessa asked.
I cringed. “Yes, and no. They saved for college and are paying for every other semester. My loans pay for the rest. I had to get an additional loan for spending money, but that’s fine,” I added as the girls sighed. “I’m not insane when it comes to spending and rent, and everything will be paid for. It’s just not something I planned on, which is the theme of this semester.”
“You can’t plan everything, Mackenzie, but you can do your best,” Elise said, then sighed. “I guess the only fun you’ll have is with us and when we hang out with the guys.”
I pressed my lips together and nodded. “Are we hanging out with the guys a lot?”
“Of course, we are,” Nessa said. “They’re our friends. And you-know-who doesn’t live there anymore, so it’ll be easier for you, right?”
I sighed. “Maybe.” I let out a breath, knowing that I needed to talk this big thing out, even if it wasn’t easy.