August 2021 - Junior Year
"You have your passport," Rhaegar said, lugging three suitcases behind him. Dany held up the blue book over her head for Rhaegar to see.
"Wallet?" "Check." "Money?" "Check." "Snacks?" "Cheetos, Doritos, Fritos. You bought me every -rito there is."
Dany stopped before the security line. It would probably take an hour at least with all these people, but that was normal for JFK.
"So I guess this is it," Rhaegar said, letting the suitcases stand upright behind him, "You can turn back now. I'm sure you could go back to the New York campus." Dany slipped her passport into her purse.
"Rhae, it's only a semester," Dany reassured him, taking the suitcases from his hands, "I'll have Missandei there and you can fly over whenever. It's not like I'll be at some distant corner of the world. I'll have wifi. Everyone will speak english. It'll be easy. Plus, I've been to London before. Heck, I even stayed there the entire summer last year with you."
"I'll miss you to death, Dany," Rhaegar said, enfolding her in a hug. Dany pulled her hands around her brother, giving him one last squeeze.
"I'll miss you more." Dany looked at her phone. She really had to get on the security line. This was the worst of it, leaving Rhaegar. He meant everything to her and it was hard for her to imagine life without him even for just a semester. The last time they were separated didn't end up very well.
"Promise you'll call when you get in? And when you get to the apartment. Also, I expect an update when you take your first classes," Rhaegar pulled her cardigan up so it covered her shoulders. "Don't draw attention to yourself. Some men are animals." He stopped. "Oh my god, I'm turning into Mother."
Dany laughed and took her suitcases. "Don't miss me too much," she said as she turned to leave.
"You know I will," Rhaegar said, kissing the top of her head, "And when you come back next semester, I expect you to stay in New York."
"You know I can't live without it," Dany responded.
"The city or me?"
Dany smirked, blew him a kiss and entered the line.
. . . . .
Ever since she arrived in the city, life hasn't slowed down. She was spread thin, but she was also happy. She was thriving. New York had treated her well. Dany was now the one suggesting museums and exhibits to Rhaegar, not the other way around. When Rhaegar graduated from NYU, they moved uptown so she would be closer to school. It was definitely nice not waking up to honking horns and rowdy students in Washington Square.
She managed to make an arrangement with Horace Mann so that she didn't have classes on Friday. Instead, on Friday and Saturday, she would take the Q train all the way downtown to City Hall where she would work until she couldn't see clearly. Like her old law internship, there was still a heck of a lot of paperwork and filing to be done, but she was also in close contact to one of the most important people in New York City. Plus they had free catered lunches on Fridays. Dany thought it was worth it.
Life at Horace Mann was pretty spectacular. After she experienced some rough times when she first started, by her senior year, she was completely and utterly happy. She loved her professors who made it a priority to sit and talk with their students about god knows what. Debate team was going well. They placed in the championships and she expected them to do it again.
Rhaegar thought she was getting too smart for her own good, talking about philosophers and ethicists. At least the tuition was going to good use, but still no filet mignons on the lunch menu.
She was always confident and willing to fight for herself, but now, it was to a whole new level. Maybe it was from living in New York. Maybe it was from all the feminist books she had been reading for her Gender Studies class. Maybe it was her just growing into who she is supposed to be, but nevertheless, Dany could be as cunning and persistent as Blair Waldorf and as effervescent and charismatic as Serena van der Woodsen. It was a advantageous combination.
Many of her friends at Horace Mann followed her to Columbia. They knew how to excel academically while being young in New York. They studied at trendy coffee shops in the village and partied at clubs that had a guest list as exclusive as could be. They had wine wednesdays and made appointments with designers on 5th Avenue. It was an extravagant way to live, but they never thought about it twice.
There was a certain status that came with being a student at Horace Mann. The hierarchy was a prominent part of her upper class experience. She didn't think she was learning to have a certain standard of living. She still remembers the days cramped in Rhaegar's apartment. She recalls working those long hours at the law firm. Still, she had a sweet 16 fit for a princess of a small country and now she was living among opulence and power in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in all of the country. Some might say she was losing touch. In New York, when you are surrounded by people of similar stature, it is easy to forgot those that think twice about buying an expensive cup of coffee or those who decide to spend a night in while they could be experiencing the city. Wealth played an undiscussed role in everything she did.
She just didn't always remember how.
Getting accepted into colleges was almost child's play at Horace Mann. Students were expected to excel. There was a class motto, "Go ivy or go home." It was cutthroat, but Dany learned how to play. She kept in contact with her college counselor and when the time was right, she milked that connection to get her an interview with the Dean of Columbia. She wasn't sure if it was going to work. She had to finesse her way in there, but Dany got the interview.
Two weeks later, she got the acceptance package. Full ride. She had the grades; she had the SAT scores; she had the confidence and she had the connections. It all fell into place.
When she arrived at Columbia, she was quickly snapped out of her financial fantasy. There were students as rich as her and there were students richer. There were also students that were working three jobs just to make ends meet. Dany didn't have to do that. She worked at City Hall mainly for the connections, not for the wages. Her credit card was attached to her father's account, her father who happened to be a chief executive officer of the military.
It was when she ran into Missandei in the coffee shop by her first class at Columbia that she knew that she had lost perspective.
"Dany, oh my gosh. I can't believe it." Missandei ran to give the Targaryen a hug, putting down her drink on the counter. "I knew you were going here, but I didn't think I would run into you so soon. I was going to call and maybe see if we could catch up."
Dany hugged Missandei back. "I didn't even know you were going here! I didn't see anything on your social media pages. Of course we could catch up. I was just going to go back to my and Rhae's apartment. If we catch a taxi it would be like 13 minutes."
Missandei nodded, taking a sip of her tea. "That would be wonderful. I don't have any other classes today."
. . . . .
They made it back to the apartment in no time. It was beautiful, no, it was exquisite. Missandei could hardly breath when she walked in. She felt like if she moved a muscle, something would break. In this apartment, anything that would fall would cost more money than her rent for the year.
"Dany, this place . . ." Missandei began, looking over the hardwood floors, floor-to-ceiling glass windows overlooking Central Park, minimalist design and stunning artwork.
". . . is the result of my father's guilt for leaving us and also as a result of Rhaegar's new job on Wall Street. Not too shabby."
They spoke for about an hour. They laughed and reminisced, but there was something about the conversation that confused Daenerys. For one, Missandei sat at the end of the couch, with her back straight and her feet flat on the floor. Dany, on the other hand, was seated comfortably. Missandei asked Dany for a coaster when Dany offered her a drink, but when asked, Dany brushed her off. They didn't need coasters. Missandei marveled at the apartment in ways that Dany never did. She looked at each painting as if belonged in a museum (knowing Rhaella, it probably did).
Dany didn't say anything. She didn't understand.
It was when Dany went over Missandei's that it hit her.
Missandei didn't live in the dorms either, but this was not for abundance of money. It was quite the contrary. Missandei shared with five other roommates in a studio apartment with one bathroom and a measly excuse for a kitchen. At first, Missandei had tried to cancel whenever Dany said that she wanted to see her place and bring her a housewarming gift.
It was only when Daenerys wore her down that Missandei allowed her to visit. There was a shovel that was designated the cockroach shovel which was only to be used when disposing of cockroaches. There was no air conditioning or heating. They either lived off a handful of fans or one small space heater. The walls were thin and you could hear the neighbors on all sides of the apartment and there also was no elevator so Dany had to lug the cake from Magnolia's from the bottom floor to the seventh.
She couldn't believe someone lived like this, let alone her friend. She offered to let Missandei stay with her, but Missandei shooed her off. She liked earning her own money. She worked at a bakery in the morning and a gym in the afternoon and sometimes evening. It was nice for her to come home and know that her working hours were worth it.
Missandei wasn't sad or angry at the world. She was proud.
Dany wasn't paying for her apartment. She wasn't paying for groceries or transportation or activities. She had all she could possibly want, but she felt ashamed.
. . . . .
Dany started volunteering again. When she wasn't at school, work, or marking her mark on the city, Dany was volunteering. She was working with Broadway Cares and different placements in Harlem. Her favorite placement was a center for homeless women. Dany worked in the aftercare program, which allowed the women to take classes on how to succeed in the world. From mental health workshops to college classes, the center had everything.
Dany made friends with many of the little kids. They liked to touch her hair and compare her to Elsa.
"But I hate the cold," she would tell them, but they never believed her.
There was this one girl, Beca, who was 7 years old and always asked Dany to help her with her homework. Since Dany was almost fluent in Spanish by that point, it was easy to communicate with Beca both in Spanish and in English. "Don't you want to play with the other kids," Dany had asked one day. She was sitting on the table with Beca by her side. They could see all the other kids playing on the new playground.
Beca just shook her head. "My parents can't do it with me."
"Sure they can. I'm sure if you asked . . ."
"They don't speak English. This is the only time I can get help." Dany almost cried. She thought about all the support she always had. Rhaegar used to sit her down and read her stories while teaching her how to sound out words. Rhaella signed her up for private tutoring that she hated, but still went to. At Horace Mann, she was given the most help. Her professors were available at beck and call. That was their job. They were paid to be exemplary.
"I'll come every day if you want me to," Dany said and Beca just nodded.
Spread too thin, yes. Not enough sleep, surely. Making a different, Dany was now sure of it.
. . . . .
August 2021 - Junior Year
"Are you sure you don't want me to chip in," Dany asked Missandei, "It wouldn't be a big deal."
Missandei shook her head, "You do enough for me. I'm paying my way through this."
"If you're sure . . ."
"Going to London for a semester with my best friend? That's the best reason for spending all this money."
. . . . .
"These are for you," Dany said, handing Beca a pile of notebooks and workbooks, pencils and highlighters, "I have to go away for this semester, but I wanted to make sure that you had this for when I go."
Beca fingered through the books. On one page, the instructions were in Spanish and on the other, they were English.
Beca gave Dany a big hug.
"Te extrañaré."
"I'll miss you too," Dany smiled down at Beca, "But I'm sure you'll be amazing without me. Make me proud."
. . . . .
Dany sat down in her seat in coach. Rhaella had protested when Dany told Rhaella that she didn't want first class. She wanted to sit next to Missandei. Rhaella argued about how long the flight would be. She was just going to regret it. Dany just shook her head and purchased the tickets.
"I'm so excited," Missandei said, squeezing Dany's hand. Dany smiled and looked out the window, watching as the plane left the ground. She was ready.
