“I’m a journalist, impatience is both a gift and a curse for us.” She chuckle, ready for Bertram to comment on it. Denna knew how both he and Rhiannon felt about journalism, and how he thought she was wasting her talents as a writer pursuing this path. The perfectly formed colour scheme of his stationery distracted her momentarily, and she took a couple of seconds to answer his question. “More like Arlington level.” She rolled her eyes. “Darling, I can’t code talk to you if you don’t check your social media enough.” She needed him to make the assumption first, otherwise it felt too weird to just go ahead and tell him she’s seeing Heath Arlington themself. She frowned at his next comment. “No, I’m not, and you know you don’t need those things, right? You’re brilliant without them.” The smile returned to her face as fast as it had disappeared, when the conversation was back on track. “At least the science department is taken seriously. The budget of humanities is ridiculous. Though I suppose the majority goes to Law and Med, since they’re the family jewels.” She sighed. “I love it here, and working for the journal and everything, but sometimes I miss school in Spain. You know what I don’t miss though? Spanish.”
Denna didn’t know much about Rhiannon’s family, realistically. They had always been good to her, and to her mother, mainly because of their involvement with the Baileys. Being under the mayor’s family’s wing had its perks, and even though she herself didn’t care for them, it had been important for her mother after the divorce. “You’re probably right. They seem nice, a little scary in a mafia kind of way, but nice. And they always invite me and my mom to their parties, so there’s that. I would hate to miss the opportunity to wear a fancy dress.” She beamed at her friend’s enthusiasm. She just loved it when people were willing to help in any way with her projects. “I’m actually researching charities, so if you know about some in particular, I’m all ears. Noah and I were thinking something that has to do with art programs, though. I think encourage creativity from a young age is a great cause and often overlooked.” She tilted her head. “I was thinking masquerade, does that count as costume? It’s basically high formal with a mask.” Denna snorted. “No, no, no sex addiction, and no way I would ever marry Zac. It would be a disaster. I’m glad you think that, I asked Zac before and he told me she was going to ask for my head. Though now that I think about it, he’s probably not the best source.”
Bertram side eyes her for a moment, examining her before sipping his coffee. “I hate to be this person, honestly, but I gotta point out; doesn’t anybody practicing have, like, seven years on you? I know everybody’s parents tell them to date a doctor, but isn’t your father going to lose it over the age gap? Not to mention I’ve never seen such a vast age difference work out well.” He’s talking out of his ass, he’s dated once, they were the same age, and lasted maybe five months. Huffing, he harmlessly rolls his eyes to her. “Well what the hell do I have to lurk on social media for? To enjoy everybody else’s nights out and ‘hot people’ adventures? Besides, it’s distracting. I log on, post on my study page, leave, continue studying. Social media’s a disease to the world of social interaction. If I wanted to look at hot people take ever hotter photos, I’d just got drop two bucks on a fashion magazine. Pass.” Always a gem, Bertram. He gives a short snort to her compliment, and shoots her an endearing smile. “Be more endearing, please.” Typing formulas from his notes into his computer, he gives a passive shrug. “Well of course it does, it’s the sciences. I get it, creatives are important. God knows I could never do what they do. I just think, realistically, Med and Sciences should be the most heavily funded. God knows they must be the most expensive to supply, y’know? We all make the world go ‘round, some things are just more crucial than others.” He lectures with the best of intentions, offering her a tight lipped smile to her next comment. “I’m surprised you’re at this school, honestly. Surely you have the grades and fiances for big Ivy, yeah?”
“They’re good to the individual at least. When I was fifteen Rhiannon’s dad gave me full access to the school’s archives to see my father’s work, and released all his old office things to me. Plus, like you said, their academic networking parties are crucial to my career.” Chin not perched in hand, he blows a raspberry to the idea. “You’re gonna try to fund arts in a university town? I dunno. Seems like a stretch.” He admits, his tone shifting to enthusiasm as he throws his idea into the ring. “So, there’s a program I volunteer for that’s basically like, a ‘career fair’ but instead each major has a booth and students of the program talk to secondary and junior high kids about different programs! They’re trying to build teams across the country right now and it’s pretty small, but I think it’s important to get kids excited about a career path and really know their options before senior year! No more of this ‘I wanna be a vet or a firemen’ or whatever generic job you think of when you have such a limited spectrum of career knowledge. And I guess there could be a ‘fine arts’ and ‘music booth too, which could be, like, your original arts thing.” He explains, a tight lip smirk forming at the theme. “Oh, fun. I mean, I imagine. I’ve never done one. But I just bought new dress shoes and have been dying for an excuse to invest in a new suit.” His tones basically sing-song now, and he scoffs to the mention of Zac’s name. “Zac’s a dumbass. How you’re even ‘friends’ with him is beyond me. All he’s trying to do is play victim and demonize Rhiannon. ‘Wah, wah, you pushed me away so that’s why I put my dick in someone else’, spare me. Like her or not, at least Rhiannon has integrity and honesty. She’s not some wicked witch and though she can be harsh, she’s good to people who’re good to her and has good intentions with them. She won’t want your head. That’s stupid. Even if she doesn’t come she’s probably not coming to avoid Zac and his stupid band.”
