And she did—just with a little more glitter on her cap. Want me to adjust the tone (more romantic / funny / dramatic) or turn it into a script or voiceover?

That night, Veronica broke rule two: No hooking up with anyone in the academic department. They kissed behind the library, rain soaking her annotated syllabus.

The first rule broke when Jess dragged her to a campus party. Veronica stood in the corner with a water bottle, judging the sticky floors. Then she saw him —Mateo, the TA from her lit class, laughing at a keg stand.

She smiled. Then she wrote back: “Fine. But I’m still getting the degree.”

By midterms, rules three through ten were crumbling. Jess taught her how to shotgun a White Claw. She taught Jess how to cite in MLA. They stayed up until 3 a.m. not studying, but laughing about the RA’s conspiracy theories.

Veronica ignored her. She walked over, tapped Mateo’s shoulder, and said, “Page 47 of Beloved —you’re wrong about the symbolism.”

“The one who’s right in the margins.”