AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her mouth dropped open. “What? Why?”
“I didn’t get enough to cover the entire semester, and I can’t afford to pay for the rest out of pocket. It’s impossible, actually. I think I’m just going to have to work for a while, and then maybe once I’ve saved up enough, I can go back to school.”
“No…” Mom’s face fell, and it gutted me. “No, I don’t want you to have to put it off. That’s how you’ll get the raise—and make enough to live on your own.”
“Yeah, but it’s just not feasible right now. I can find another teaching job now that I have my certificate, and working for another school full-time will really help. With a roommate, I should be able to put some of it away. It’ll take a while, but there isn’t much else for me to do. Loans won’t even cover the entire cost.”
“Well, let me talk to your father and see what we can do to help you.” She reached for her phone, swiping at the screen. “I’m sure we can figure something out.”
My stomach knotted up. “No,” I said. “I don’t want you to.”
Her shoulders slumped. “It’s not that big of a deal. We’re serious about your education, Lena. We want you to finish your education.”
“Okay, but I don’t want you to have to be put under all that stress like you did before. Dad picked up a second job, and I don’t want that. He’s getting too old to work all the time. You guys need to just focus on your retirement.”
She waved me off. “Oh, we don’t mind. We’re still a good twenty years from retirement, anyway.”
“I don’t want your help,” I said through gritted teeth. “I just don’t. I’m tired of relying on you to foot the bill—and it’s not that I’m not grateful, because I am—but I just…I want to figure this out on my own. And if I can’t afford it, then I just can’t afford it.”
“But we want to help you.” Her voice was small, and the defeat on her face rattled my heart. “We really don’t mind.”
“I know you don’t,” I reassured her. “Which is why I just…I just need to be honest about all this. I need to find a roommate too. It just might not be the right time for me to start my master’s.”
Mom was quieter after that, and it only made me feel that much more guilty for even talking about it at all. I never wanted to burden her with my schooling, and I knew the lengths they’d gone through to put me through my undergrad—and I was so incredibly thankful for that—but I couldn’t ask them for any more. In fact, I refused to.
So, I just had to deal with it.
“Well, I guess you have to get back to work then?” Mom said as we stepped out of the café into the early afternoon Los Angeles bustle. “Is Melissa treating you well?”
“Better than she used to,” I snorted, thinking of the way she’d changed after Jackson showed favor toward me. “I actually think they might be offering me a full-time teaching position for this fall,” I added. “I put in my resume last week.”
“Oh.” Mom nodded and smiled, but I could tell it was forced. “Are you…are you sure you don’t want us to help you with school?”
“Yes.” I put my hand on her shoulder. “I’m sure. I’ll try to make it out of the city to visit sometime soon.”
She nodded as we hovered between our two cars. “That would be nice. I’m sure your dad would appreciate not having to come right into the city. You know how he can be about that.” Mom rolled her eyes but laughed.
“Yeah, I know,” I chuckled with her, finally reaching for the driver’s side door. “I’ll call you later. Love you.”
“Love you, Lena Loo.” She gave me a wave and we parted ways, my mind still feeling heavy from the lunch conversation.
Not everyone can be filthy rich like Jackson.
“Ugh.” I started my car, hating the fact that my mind even threw that comparison at me. It wasn’t like I cared. I wasn’t bitter about how I was raised. I was loved more thoroughly than a lot of kids—and that made me feel rich.
It was just too bad that it didn’t translate to paying for my school.
Or paying for the house I lived in.
I really need to make a post about a new roommate. The thought had been hanging at the back of my mind since Maeve told me she was moving out, but I still hadn’t brought myself to start interviewing strangers. Honestly, I was almost leaning toward moving myself. I could maybe find a studio apartment closer to the school.
And that would potentially save some money.
Maybe.
I made my way back to the school lost in a mixture of thoughts, my endless list of things to do growing longer. Not to mention, I now had to throw a wedding for Maeve and Tyson into the mix.
Yuck.
