“You’re being nominated for the Graduate Enrichment Cohort.”
Her heart started pounding. “The fifth-year program?”
“Correct. So far, you’re ranked twenty-one out of three hundred in Economics and Finance.”
“Don’t I need faculty endorsement as well?”
“That’s why I’m talking to you,” he said, with the ghost of a smile. “Your endorser stands before you.”
They reached his office and he ducked inside briefly while she waited by the door.
Tried to tamp down her excitement. Pride. Possibility.
When he returned, he handed her a folder. Matte navy, crisp edges. Her name was printed in silver serif across the front.
NOMINEE: BEATRIZ CRUZ
GRADUATE ENRICHMENT COHORT
He closed the door, and they retraced their steps back down the hallway. “You’re still with Monaghan and Stowe?”
She nodded.
“They can partner with you on your capstone project. Or you can find another company if you prefer.”
Bea nodded again, her mind racing. She ran her thumb along the edge of the folder as they descended the stairs.
“What happens if I can’t do it?”
Like if I was…I don’t know, seventeen hours ahead and in the wrong hemisphere.
He glanced at her, eyebrows raised. “As long as you didn’t just flunk what you handed in, you’re on track.”
“Hypothetically speaking,” she added quickly.
His mouth twitched. “Then someone else gets very lucky.”
She nodded. “Okay. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. You earned it. And not because of your boyfriend. Just so we’re clear.”
Her head snapped up in surprise. His smile was small but not unkind.
They stopped where the path diverged. “Just remember not to coast through the rest of the year. Nominations can be pulled,” he said, before turning left.
She watched him go.
“But yours won’t be,” he added over his shoulder.
Bea and Gage were tucked inside a bubble tea bar off the main strip of St. Ives town. Pale walls, steamed windows, soft pop music overhead. Two uni students were playing cards at a corner table. A couple sat pressed together by the window. She and Gage had claimed the high-top against the wall.
She stirred the pearls slowly, watching them swirl like ink.
“So…my tutor told me I got nominated,” she said, “for the Graduate Enrichment Program.”
“You didn’t tell me you’re in the top ten percent.”
“I try not to look. If I track it too closely, I’ll spiral.”
