Chapter 809

chapter809

Carlson gave her a slight nod.

Mamie quickly chimed in, "Welcome."

"I have one more thing..." Carlson began.

Roseanne cut in, "It's about Arkle, isn't it?"

He jerked his head up, startled. How did you know?!"

Roseanne offered a faint smile. "I also know that if Sybil hadn't dropped his name from the project roster, you probably would have kept swallowing your anger for a bit longer and maybe wouldn't have blown up and reported Edna so suddenly."

Carlson's gaze dropped. "It's not easy for Arkle... For kids like us, coming from the middle of nowhere, it's never easy. I've already let myself become Edna's pawn; I just don't want Arkle to follow in my footsteps."

"Even though he hasn't found a new advisor yet and no one's agreed to take him, he's been worrying about whether I'll graduate, running around, sending dozens of emails to those professors on my behalf."

"I know I'm asking a lot, but... could you talk to Ms. Payne about taking Arkle as well?"

Roseanne reassured him, "Don't worry. Before I came, Ms. Payne already said Arkle could transfer too. Isn't she his role model? Now he'll get to be her student for real."

Carlson's relief was so genuine it outshone even his joy at being accepted by Ms. Payne himself. "That's incredible! That blockhead will be grinning in his sleep for weeks!"

"But there's one thing I need to make clear-and please pass this along to Arkle. Right now, he's not quite ready to join the Boundless Lab. But if he works hard and meets the requirements in the future, the door will always be open."

Carlson nodded earnestly. "I understand. He will too. Neither of us will hold any grudges."

"Glad to hear it."

Roseanne offered her hand. "Well then, here's to working together. For science, for discovery, for our dreams-let's give it everything we've got!"

Carlson's spirits soared. "Absolutely."

The next day at noon, Madeleine landed in Lumina City. She didn't even stop by her place she went straight to campus.

First stop was the registrar's office to finalize Carlson and Arkle's transfer. Then, she brought them both home with her.

Back at the house, Pauline had already finished cooking.

A steaming spread-four dishes and a hearty soup-waited on the table.

Later, Roseanne heard that the two

young men had burst into tears over

lunch, sobbing like kids. Even

Madeleine couldn't hold it in; she

wiped away tears herself.

Soon after, as the university's official decisions were announced, everything finally settled down.

Because Sybil had swapped out the project topic, both Grace and Slater-who'd benefited from the scheme-were implicated too.

Slater received a major disciplinary mark, which would stay on his record.

Grace got off with a formal reprimand.

Mamie frowned. "Why did Slater and Grace get different punishments, even though they were both involved?"

Scales shrugged. "Why else? Think about who Grace's boyfriend is."

Mamie's eyes widened. "Wait-are you saying Murray Sherwood pulled strings for her?"

"What else? Whether it's a mark or just a warning isn't the point. What really matters is whether it goes on your permanent record."

"So Slater's mistake is on file, but Grace's isn't?"

"If it wasn't in the official statement, it's not on her record."

Mamie let out a low whistle. "Wow, Grace really knows how to play her cards! And what's with Murray, anyway? He broke up with

Roseanne, then immediately started

dating someone from her circle.

That's not exactly the move of

someone hoping to patch things up-if anything, he's pushing Roseanne even further away!"

Scales spread his hands. "Who

knows what's going on in his head? heth

Maybe he thinks hanging around

Roseanne will wear down her

defenses, and she'll forgive him. Maybe he thinks she'll agree to get back together."

Caley couldn't help but chuckle. "You know, that might actually be it."

Mamie gave them both a look. "Do all guys think this way, or is it just you two?"