"Our family is very open-minded."
A faint smile touched Norris's eyes.
The Churchill Family had always been progressive when it came to their daughters.
Otherwise, his aunt, Melissa, wouldn't have been allowed to major in mathematics.
In his grandfather's eyes, if the women of the family couldn't live exactly as they pleased, then the men were simply incompetent.
Professor Carlson was tactful. He knew Norris wanted to keep his relationship with Claire under wraps, so his lips were sealed.
But if the other faculty members found out Claire was Norris's cousin, they would inevitably blame him for not trying harder to recruit her.
When the time came, Norris would have to be the one to explain it to them.
Meanwhile, Claire and Skylar walked back to their dorm, taking a detour to the campus grocery store to buy some fruit.
Claire picked out a box of strawberries, two large mangoes, and a pint of blueberries.
She had considered grabbing some pungent cheese snacks, but reconsidered, worrying her new roommates wouldn't be able to tolerate the strong smell in a
shared space.
She added some apples and grapes to the basket. Bananas wouldn't keep well, so she only grabbed a few.
Fresh produce wasn't cheap. The total easily surpassed fifty dollars.
For a typical college student, it was a bit steep.
But for Claire, it was pocket change.
Skylar came from a decent background, but her parents weren't exactly lavish with her allowance.
She got about five hundred dollars a month.
For an average student at Cabinda University, four to five hundred was usually enough if they budgeted carefully, with parents pitching in extra for big purchases.
Students from tighter financial situations might only get around three hundred.
But there were also students like Lex, whose families didn't give them a single cent. Dropping fifty bucks on fruit in one go was a massive expense for a regular freshman.
Even though Skylar had enough spending money, she couldn't help but marvel at the perks of being rich.
"You won't be able to finish all that. It's going to be a pain to drag to Camp Blackwood tomorrow."
Skylar couldn't help but remind Claire.
"It's fine. We can all share, and we can snack on it during the ride."
Once they got to the camp, fresh food would probably be hard to come by, so they might as well enjoy it now.
Since Claire had made up her mind, Skylar didn't push it.
Claire was generous, and Skylar certainly wasn't stingy either.
She had stocked up on plenty of snacks at the campus store.
"I heard they confiscate snacks at Camp Blackwood."
"But I know how to hide them."
Skylar had bought protein bars and beef jerky-things that would keep them full.
She planned to stash them away and share them with the roommates later.
Intrigued by her confidence, Claire asked, "How exactly are you going to hide them?"
Skylar put on a mysterious smile. "I've got a master plan!"
"Alright then." Claire decided not to pry.
The two of them lugged their heavy bags back to the dorm. Only Lex was there;
Zara was nowhere to be seen.
"Is Zara not back yet?"
Claire asked casually.
Lex simply shook her head.
Claire offered her some fruit. When Lex tried to decline, Claire insisted it
was for the whole dorm to it
Finding it hard to refuse, Lex finally accepted.
Plus, Claire added, "Help me out here. I got a little carried away store and totally forget we're for training camp tomorrow
"It's too heavy and takes up too much space in my bag!"
Put like that, all Lex could do was say thank you.
Zara finally returned after dinner.
She brought Connie along with her.
"Connie is just here to help me pack. You guys don't mind, do you?"
In the past, Zara probably wouldn't have even bothered asking.
But after spending a day with her roommates, she was slowly grasping that communal living required at least a little
баль
consideration and compromise. couldn't just think about herself.
She had to consider their feelings.
Sure, she had brought her in without permission first, but asking now was still better
than nothing, right?