"You're joking right?" Casey MacDonald asks her long-time boyfriend Christopher Davenport.
"No way, I'm serious. Why don't we hang out at the library? I can help you go over that stuff for the exam Professor Inez is going to give in our Human Development class," he keeps a hand on her arm.
"But, Christopher," Casey looks up at the blond-haired, blue-eyed college student, "we were at the library last night. Can't we just have some fun?"
Never would she have thought that she, Casey 'Klutzilla' MacDonald, 'the keener', would be asking anyone that, let alone her boyfriend.
"Casey, we can have fun after we're out of college. I can't afford another year of tuition, and neither can you," he smiles dashingly. "I promise that, if you get a B+ or higher on your exam, we will go out on the town Saturday night."
"You promise? Like, pinky-promise, swear, cross-your-heart-and-hope-to-die, promise?"
"Yes," he kisses her hand. "See you tonight," he tucks a strand of dark brown hair behind her ear.
"See you," Casey kisses his cheek.
"Casey?" a voice calls out. "Where are you? Professor Inez has been calling for you the last ten minutes."
"Sorry, Bianca," Casey forces a smile out at her roommate. "Tell him I'll talk to him tomorrow. I have to get to Cognition and Learning."
"That class sounds super boring," Bianca tilts her head, setting her towering hair at an askew angle.
"It's interesting," Casey says hesitantly. "It's only the third day."
"Yeah," Bianca nods. "Well, Professor Inez is going to freak if I'm not back in a couple of minutes, so I better scoot."
"Talk to you back at the dorm."
"Bye," Bianca waves as she weaves through the crowd of her peers.
Casey shakes her head, wondering, for the first time since she had returned to Queens for her Masters', if Derek ever thought about her anymore. She rolls her eyes at the ridiculous thought and enters the classroom that Professor Garson taught Cognition and Learning in.
After all, she and Derek weren't even step-siblings anymore. George and Nora had divorced the year after Derek and Casey got into college. They never really told the kids why, just that they were breaking up. A month later, Casey got a teary phone call from Lizzie, telling her that Nora had just announced the divorce.
"Ms. MacDonald," the petite professor calls to her, "if I could speak to you for a moment."
"Yes, professor," Casey sets her books down on a chair and heads to the instructor's desk. "What is it?"
"I would just like to talk to you about your scores on the first exam," the middle-aged woman shuffles through a pile of papers on her desk.
"Yes?" Her fingers wrap around one another, wringing the life from her hand. What if she had failed?
"I have never had anyone ace that exam! Your scores were a wonderful surprise," Professor Garson smiles widely, her curly hair bouncing as she nods happily. "I look forward to having such a bright mind in this class."
"Thank you, professor," Casey smiles happily. School was one of the few things that she was good at. She would have been in despair had she failed that exam. Maybe I am a keener, she chuckles to herself.
"Thank you, Ms. MacDonald."
Casey goes back to her seat, and opens her notebook for the lecture.
"Now today, we are talking about how cognition can change development in the arts. The text today is on page 285…" Professor Garson begins.
Casey scribbles the notes across the page, quickly writing to keep up with the information being presented.
"That is it for today. Please read Chapter 7 in your text. There will be a quiz tomorrow." The professor dismisses the class 45 minutes later.
"Hi," a curly-haired boy stretches his hand out to Casey. "I'm Edwin."
"Nice to meet you," Casey politely shakes his hand.
"Sorry to be forward, but do I know you?"
"Why? You never forget a pretty face?" Casey mocks in a deep voice.
"No, you actually look familiar. If you don't mind me asking, where'd you grow up?" the boy asks, walking quickly to keep up with her.
"Ontario," she shrugs. "A lot of people are down here in Queens."
"They are big. I'm from Ontario too. A pretty small town, London," he nods.
"Me, too," Casey nods. "We probably have met before, at home."
"Yeah. I'm Edwin Venturi," he smiles.
"Oh wow!" Casey exclaims, recognition finally setting in. "We haven't seen each other in, like, 6 years. Oh, Ed, you're so big. I can't believe I haven't seen you since the divorce. I'm Casey," she adds at his confused look. "Casey MacDonald."
"Hey, Casey," he reaches over and gives her a large hug. "It's been ages. I never thought I'd see you here; I figured you'd graduated."
"Tell me about it. Actually, I did. I'm back for my Masters degree in teaching. So, how's the family? George, and Marti, and Derek," Casey asks her former stepbrother. "Did George remarry?"
"They're pretty good. We went through a rough patch, but it's getting better," Edwin nods. "Dad didn't find anyone else after he divorced Nora. I miss you, and Lizzie. Want to go to supper with me tonight?"
"I'd love to," Casey bites her lip, "but my boyfriend is taking me out. Why don't you join us?"
"I wouldn't want to intrude. How about tomorrow? It's Friday," he grins.
"That would be great," Casey nods.
"Okay. See you then," Edwin hugs her again and heads towards the boys' dormitories.
I can't believe he's here, Casey thinks to herself. I wonder how everyone is back in London.
She enters her dorm and starts reading her homework before she has to catch up with Christopher for dinner.
"Hey, girl," Bianca corners her in their room. "Who was that? I've met Chris, and that certainly wasn't him."
"Bianca, my boyfriend's name is Christopher, and that was an old high school friend," Casey explains, closing the door and collecting comfortable clothes to do her homework in. She chose not to explain the step-siblings relationship. After all, he was just a friend and they weren't legally step siblings anymore.
"What's his name? How'd you meet him?" Bianca follows her towards the bathroom, shouting her questions through the door.
"His name is Edwin," Casey answers, changing quickly. "We went to the same school, and we were pretty close friends at one time. He was like a brother to me. In fact, his brother was in my grade."
"When?"
"During my freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior years," Casey ties her long dark hair back into a pony tail.
"Wow. That sounds serious," Bianca says, her baby-blue eyes wide.
"Nah," her roommate opens the bathroom door. "We were just friends."
"I bet he was a good friend; Edwin too," Bianca waggles her perfectly styled eyebrows.
"I had a boyfriend," Casey rolls her eyes. Actually, you had many, a voice says in her head. "One of the guys in my grade."
"Was he a perfect Prince Charming too?" Bianca flops down on her bed.
"What do you mean?" Casey opens her text book.
"Chris," Bianca pauses, "Christopher, is a perfect boyfriend. Concerned about your studies, not too pushy, but not lenient. He's romantic, he watches chick flicks with you. Heck, he even brought you to his parents' house on Valentines, so he could celebrate with you and his mom."
"He's not perfect. He," Casey stopped speaking.
"See, you can't find anything really wrong with him. Come on, Casey, that's scary. Admit it. You've been dating since your sophomore year. You're a super-senior this year," Bianca reminds her. "My boyfriend talks too much, and he absolutely hates his family. Oh, and he never wants to have kids."
"You've known him for three weeks," Casey comments, surprised. "How can you know that much about him already?"
"I talked to him," Bianca flips her platinum blond hair. "That's what people usually do when they go out on dates, at places that aren't the library."
"He likes the library," Casey defends her long-time boyfriend. "He's steady. I want a guy like that to marry."
"He's dull!"
"Christopher is not dull. He's full of surprises," the college student sputters.
"Name one," Bianca challenges.
"He's taking me out to dinner on Saturday," Casey smiles widely, showing off straight white teeth.
"You always go out on Saturday," the blonde argues. "Do something random! Something fun!"
"What I'm going to do is my homework," Casey tells her roommate.
"Whatever," Bianca throws up her hands in defeat. "I'll talk to you later, Casey."
"Thanks, Bianca," Casey rolls her eyes and reads the assignment in her text. She then goes on to other homework.
"Casey," another girl from the dorm knocks on her door, "your boyfriend's here. He says that you might've forgotten."
"I got really caught up in Speech and Language Pathology. Professor Nichols gave me an extra reading to do today, since I was 'showing such promise,'" Casey puts finger quotes around the words.
"He is such a stickler," the girl, Lindsay, says. "Don't let him give you too much. He loves to talk too."
"He was yanking on my ear a good deal when he gave me this pamphlet," Casey nods. "Thanks. I have to change. Christopher is waiting. We're going to the library."
"Hey, me too," the curvy petite girl says. "I really don't get the Spanish that Professora Caridad gave us. I'm trying to find a tutor."
"I'll help you tonight. My boyfriend's stressed about the Human Development Term 2 exam. I'm not all that worried about it. Meet me at the back section, near the tables," Casey says to her friend.
"Great, thanks Casey. I didn't know you took Spanish," Lindsay bites her lip.
"I tested out of it in high school," Casey nods. That was one thing she had thanks to her constant competition with Derek. "Talk to you then."
"Yeah, thanks."
Casey puts on a tee-shirt and jeans, heading downstairs to meet Christopher.
"Hey, handsome." Casey smiles, kissing his clean-shaven cheek. "Are you hungry?"
"Hungry? I'm starved," he grins. "I was reading today, about how high school students are rarely influenced by the arts and I came up with a great idea."
"I'd love to hear about it, over dinner," Casey hints.
"Sure. Then we'll head to the library," her boyfriend smiles.
Bianca rolls her eyes from her place on the couch, and Casey just glares at her.
"I'm ready, Christopher," the aspiring teacher steps out of the dormitory commons.
"Great," Christopher Davenport takes her arm and walks towards the couple's favorite restaurant.
"So, what are you doing tomorrow?" Christopher asks, eating his hamburger.
"I have plans for dinner with an old high-school friend. Oh, and I'm thinking about asking Bianca to go shopping with me beforehand," Casey adds.
"You really think you need more clothes? You're already beautiful," he stares at her intensely.
"Thanks," Casey pats his hand, Bianca's words ringing in her mind. "But still, she likes going out to go shopping."
"It is great bonding time," Christopher sips his soda.
"It is," Casey agrees. Maybe Bianca is right, she muses. Everything seems too perfect; too cliché.
"What else do you have to work on at the library?"
"Oh, not much. I'm meeting up with Lindsay so I can help her with Spanish," Casey nods. She begins to wonder what Derek would think of Christopher.
"I didn't know you spoke Spanish," Christopher regards her with new interest in his eyes.
"There are so many things we don't know about one another," his girlfriend pouts. "Why is that?"
"I really don't know," he smiles softly. "We should fix that."
"We should. Bianca says we don't talk enough."
"Bianca talks too much," Christopher kisses her cheek.
"I suppose," Casey agrees.
"To the library?" Christopher Davenport asks, taking her arm after laying a $20 bill down on the table.
Casey plasters on a smile over her annoyance. She had wanted to talk more. "Yes, that sounds simply wonderful."
Perhaps perfect wasn't so perfect after all.