then reminded them of his office hours. He encouraged the new partners to plan out a work schedule, and he assured everyone that it was going to be a lot of fun – he did this every year, and he'd yet to see any of his students have issues.
Once the class was dismissed, Valentine followed Harper out of the room. They shuffled down the hall, then stepped into a small alcove. Harper was blatantly judging Val's outfit – ripped black skinny jeans, Doc Martens, dark brown tank top, all paired with a bulky black cardigan. Harper was wearing wearing belted slacks with a cropped shirt, and very expensive looking ballet flats. Her blonde hair was highlighted and flat ironed to perfection. Val's dark brown hair was raked up into a messy ponytail.
This is gonna be greeeeaaat.
“So I guess we're stuck together,” Harper said, tapping away at her phone as she spoke. “The outline said we should meet twice a week.”
“Twice a week?” Val double checked. Harper glared at her.
“Got a problem with hard work?”
“Okay. Twice a week, as often as I can.”
“Do you have a job?”
“Uh ...” Valentine tried to think of how best to answer. “Yes. I work nights, mainly.”
“We can meet in the late afternoon, or after dinner?” Harper suggested.
“After dinner. I help take care of my grandmother after classes, so it'll have to be after seven, at least. And I'll have to check with her other caretaker.”
“Oh,” Harper seemed surprised. “Okay. So how about ... eight o'clock, Thursdays for sure, Tuesdays when we can. We'll say it's for an hour, but better set aside two, just in case. I want to get this over with quickly.”
Jesus, this project was going to be like a second fucking job. Valentine wondered if their professor realized most of them had other classes, not to mention lives and jobs and families.
She also wondered how her boss would feel about her coming in late on Thursdays ...
“Okay, let's start with that schedule,” she reluctantly agreed. “Where do you want to meet? The library?”
“Ug, no, it's always full of freshmen and gross people. I have a fabulous apartment downtown, we can just meet there. I have the evenings to myself mostly, so that time is perfect for me.”
“Okay. Roommate works nights, too?”
“Boyfriend,” Harper corrected her. “And no, he doesn't, he's just a super busy guy. Okay, so tonight, eight o'clock, meet here. I'll buzz you in.”
She scribbled her address on a piece of paper, then handed it over. Valentine glanced at it, but it didn't mean anything to her. She hadn't been living in Chicago long enough to know all the neighborhoods very well.
“I'll be there. And Harper?”
The blonde had already started to walk away, but she stopped at the sound of her name and turned around.
“What?”
“Relax, okay? I'm a good partner. We'll kick ass at this,” Valentine assured her.
There was a long, awkward pause. The hesitation in Harper's eyes was clear. For a moment, Val thought maybe she'd won the other girl over and she'd smile. But then the hesitation devolved into a sneer.
“Whatever. Just be there on time, got it?”
And then Harper disappeared around the corner, the heels of her flats clacking on the linoleum. Valentine groaned before turning and heading for the nearest exit. She couldn't waste time worrying about this, she had to get home and get shit done before going anywhere that night.
Fan-fucking-tastic, Life, what else you gonna pile on for me?
VALENTINE HAD WONDERFUL memories of her grandmother from when she'd been growing up. She'd spent her summers on her grandparents' farm, not too far outside of Chicago. Big country breakfasts, boat trips down the river, chasing fireflies. Valentine had been born and raised in New York, so being in the country had always felt exotic to her. Different. Like a dream. In her memories, it was permanently twilight, there was always pie cooling on the window sill, and her grandmother was always waiting at the door with a hug.
At the age of seventeen, Valentine's parents had died in an awful car accident. Her grandmother had offered to take her in, but Val had opted to live with her older sister so she could finish high school in the city. After graduation, she took a year off to fully recover from her parents' death, then she won a two year scholarship to her favorite design school. Despite the tragedy, life had been good.
Then it had all come crashing down. Unbeknownst to Valentine, her sister had started taking money