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The plain green salad looks safe, and I take a buttered roll for breakfast tomorrow. I’ve gotten into the habit of putting food in my bookbag just like every other student. I casually watch one person take Tupperware out of his bookbag and load it with pasta salad. I’m not quite there yet.
“Are you going to any of the Halloween parties?” Wren asks Raine.
She shrugs, looking less than thrilled. “I might go to the one at the local bar.”
“You should go to Alpha,” Wren’s voice climbs with excitement. “We’re going there.”
“Don’t you need an invite for that?” Raine asks.
“We have one.” Wren pauses a beat as her mouth catches up with her brain. “Oh, you can come with us, but you have to wear a costume.”
Raine laughs as if Wren is crazy. “I’m not dressing up in a miniskirt with a low neckline and telling people I’m a sexy grim reaper.”
I laugh. “Or a sexy avocado.”
“Oh, my favorite is the sexy professional—doctor, lawyer. I went to med school to dress like a slut.” Raine laughs so hard her tray shakes when she places it down on the table. “When I think of doctors, I don’t think about sex. I want my meds, and that’s it. Thanks, but no, Wren. I’m going to the bar, and if they want to say I’m a lumberjack because I wear flannel, I’m okay with that.”
“Sounds like fun,” I add.
Wren turns on me like a swarm of killer bees. “You have to go to Alpha, Charlotte.” Wren’s voice wavers on a whine. “Kurt Ashford has been asking about you.”
I shrug. “Who the fuck is Kurt Ashford, and why should I care?”
Raine peals with laughter while Wren scowls at me like I’m being purposefully difficult.
“Kurt Ashford is husband material,” states Wren, sitting down at our table.
Raine laughs harder. “Oh, you’re here for that. Gotta get an MRS.”
“Yes, I am,” replies Wren, her face flushing with irritation, “I have no career goals. I’ll get a job if I have to, but I want to be a wife and a mother. And I’m not ashamed about it.”
Raine shakes her head. “News flash—raising kids is harder than working a job. I know; I had three younger siblings.”
Wren continues, “If I had some great plan in life, I would pursue it. But if I discover the cure for cancer, it would be by accident while I was doing something else. I’m not wired to cure the world. And I’m not going to feel bad about wanting to get married.”
Raine holds up her hands. “I’m not putting you down for doing what you want to do. I don’t want to get married because I’m tired of taking care of other people. And if I have a kid, I’m screwed. I’ve always wanted to travel. Different people want different things. But I think Charlotte would rather hang with her biker than husband material.”
I shrink down in my seat as Wren glares at me, waiting for an answer she thinks is acceptable. Or rather a confirmation that I’m on the marriage track and not the career.
I sit up straight and plunge in headfirst. “I’m looking into getting my MBA.”
Raine claps her hands in joy while Wren looks like she wants to shake some sense into me.
“An MBA?” Wren repeats the word as if it’s a foul curse. “Why do you want to get an MBA? You don’t have to go to grad school to meet a quality man. You can find one in undergrad. Don’t you want a husband?” She glances down at my boots bought on sale. “Don’t you need financial security?”
I stare at Wren for a moment. I’ve been a fool to think I could hide my low budget from her.
Wren picks up on the room and changes her tune. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t be an MBA, but Charlotte, you have to think about your future. The big plan. Where do you want to end up financially? Even if marriage is a bust, you’ll come out ahead if you don’t sign a prenup.”
“Holy fuck.” Raine blinks her eyes in amazement. “I wish my major was psychology because this is rich research material.”
Wren gives Raine a look that would’ve made our Stonehaven crowd burst into tears. Raine laughs instead with her whole heart in it. Wren will probably not take Raine to the Alpha party, but I’m not off the hook yet.
I wade through my thoughts while Raine and Wren ignore me and debate life choices with and without men. I don’t know who keeps sending me messages, but I’m not a fighter like Astrid. Even after Astrid was assaulted, she kept fighting. I remind myself that I helped her.
But I don’t have a chance unless I confide in someone who can watch my back. I’m ashamed to think it, but I do need a man for now. At least an Alpha boyfriend would keep the others away. And if I never marry, being a Theta will help me make connections when pursuing my legit business. That settles it. I need to learn how to deal with the Alphas if I’m going to become a Theta. I need old Charlotte back again to help me grab hold of my future.
Wren grabs her tray off the table. “Charlotte,” she glares at me, “I said are you coming with me?”
