In Too Hard (Freshman Roommates Trilogy, Book 3) Read Online Free Page A

someone with the name O’Brien.
    But, there were a lot of other ethnic-looking students here at Bribury. In fact, looks-wise, I stood out way more in my Irish Catholic neighborhood of Woodside, than I did here.
    So, ethnic looking, yes…but which ethnicity? My mom would never answer any questions about my father, so I wasn’t sure if I was half Hispanic, Italian, Middle-Eastern, or what.
    I guessed it didn’t matter, but it would have been cool to know my roots.
    I ran a hand under the chain, lifting it off my skin so it caught the light from my desk lamp. I didn’t know what kind of message Jane was trying to send, but I did like the necklace. I hadn’t seen any girls at Bribury wearing anything like it, and that kind of made me nervous to wear it.
    But then I thought about Jane taking the time to pick this out because, for some reason, she wanted me to know she thought I was strong, and I decided it would be something I’d wear. Often. Maybe always.
    I grabbed my phone out of my backpack, unpacking my other stuff too. The term paper from Montrose’s class came out in my last handful and I placed it on the desk in front of me.
    In a way, it was another present to open—to read all of his comments. Especially now that I knew he so diligently read these papers. He must, if he’d remembered so many details about me from previous papers.
    I rubbed my hand along the front page, but before I indulged myself I texted Jane.
    Thanks for the necklace. It’s beautiful, and I love it.
    Glad you liked it.
    We said no gifts!
    I know. I hadn’t planned on it, but I saw this and thought of you .
    I wanted to ask her why. What about the Celtic symbol of strength said “Syd” to her? Other than the Irish thing.
    Instead, I just typed, Thanks again. Are you home yet?
    Home. Hell. Whatever. Yeah, I’m here.
    I smiled, thinking about Jane having to go home for Christmas and then standing in her half sister’s wedding the week after.
    And again I thought how lucky I was that Bribury was installing their new front end system over break, allowing me to not only make some extra money, but also have an excuse not to go home.
    This is going to feel like the longest break ever , Jane texted.
    I would be spending part of mine in Billy Montrose’s office going through the notes of his next great novel.
    To me, the break couldn’t last long enough.

 
     
    Chapter Four
     
     
    M y last final went okay. Probably not four-point good, but good enough to keep my GPA in the range needed to keep my scholarship.
    I made my way to Montrose’s office in Snyder Hall.
    He opened the door after I knocked, and stepped back, waving me in.
    I took a couple of steps into his office and stopped.
    “I know. It’s bad, right?” he said, indicating the plethora of boxes lined and stacked…well, all over the place. Some were large, like the kind apples were shipped in. Some others were shoebox size.
    “It’s a lot, that’s for sure,” I said, trying not to sound daunted. I wanted this job, badly. And not just for the money and what it would mean to me.  
    It was likely as close as I would get to crawling inside the mind of a literary genius (okay, wunderkind, at least, if not genius) and I wanted that.
    But, yeah, there were a lot of boxes, and this was going to take a lot of time.
    “So, you decided to bring the boxes from your apartment over after all,” I said.
    He looked a little embarrassed as he said, “No. They’re still there.”
    I nodded. “About the same amount as here?”
    He looked around, taking stock. “Hmmm…maybe more. Probably more.”
    “Okay. Well, let me get a start on the boxes here while you’re gone. I won’t need keys to your apartment. Unless you think they should be worked on simultaneously, or something?”
    He let out an exasperated sigh. “I have no idea how they should be worked on.” He moved to his desk, the only uncluttered surface in the small room, and picked up a sheet of paper that he held out to