Chapter Text
Jane Gloriana Villanueva has had a long year.
In between being accidentally artificially inseminated by the sister of the "sperm donor" and discovering she had a father, you could say that the year had been very long indeed.
Jane was prepared to move forward, though. She wasn't going to let this put her life on hold and had actually decided to let it propel her into her future.
Her future currently consisted of a) finding a reliable babysitter for Mateo, b) surviving her first semester at graduate school, and c) balancing life with a new baby, a new father, an ex-fiancee, and a new co-parent. Not necessarily in that order.
You might say that applying to graduate school to become a writer is a risky move, especially considering her telanovela-esque circumstances. In fact, Jane says that it's a risky move and so does her mother, Xiomara, and her abuela, Alba.
Jane has come to realize, though, that all the careful planning in the world doesn't stop fate from finding you and setting you on your path. It definitely didn't stop her from becoming pregnant, despite being a virgin and living a life as opposite from her mother's as she could.
It was time for Jane to, perhaps, err on the risky side every once and awhile, to gamble a little when the world is already one big gamble itself.
So. Graduate school.
Jane's heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest. Stepping off the bus and waving a thank you to the bus driver, she pulled the strap of her bag nervously over her shoulder, tugging her headphones from her ears.
The college campus was intimidating. Tall and towering buildings, looming offices, and almost every visible surface swarming with other students, ones confident in their decisions, unlike Jane.
It was possible she was projecting, but Jane was suddenly sure she had made the wrong decision. Pulling out her cellphone and speed-dialing her mother for a pep talk, she stepped forward quickly out of the bus' exiting traffic and straight into another person.
"Oof!" Her phone slipped out her hands as she and the person she hit into fell to the ground with the force of their collision. A tiny, tinny voice asked, "Jane? Jane, are you there?" Jane scrambled for her phone, muttered a quick, "I'll call you back," to Xiomara and rushed to help up the woman she had knocked down.
With long blonde curls, pale skin, and a scowling mouth, the woman accepted Jane's assistance before pulling away from her to pick up her fallen binder and papers. Jane bent down to help, thankful she no longer had an enormous pregnant belly and was therefore able do this with ease.
"I'm so sorry," Jane apologized as she handed over some of the scattered papers she helped retrieve. "I wasn't paying attention where I was going--"
"Obviously," the other woman interrupted. Rudely, in Jane's opinion, but then again, she had just been knocked down. She was allowed to be a little disgruntled, Jane reminded herself.
"Yeah, um, sorry again." When the other woman only glanced at her and then set to dusting off her slacks, Jane continued, now somewhat awkwardly. "I'm Jane," she introduced herself, extending a hand. The woman looked at it somewhat dismissively before finally shaking it. "And you are?" Jane asked hesitantly.
"Late," the woman said tersely. "And leaving," she added and began to walk away. Jane hurried after her.
"I'm sorry," Jane began again, somewhat heatedly this time. Didn't this woman understand it was an accident?
"You said that already," the blonde interrupted again, unaffected and sounding bored.
Jane let out a small, inaudible, offended gasp, and finally stepped in the woman's path. "Look, I didn't mean to make you fall and I really am sorry..."
Jane trailed off suggestively and the other woman sighed before supplying, "Petra."
Jane gave a small smile. "Petra," she repeated. "I'm sorry for crashing into you and knocking you over."
Petra sneered. "I'm sorry, too, because between the fall and this conversation, I am now almost irreparably late." She leveled a glance at Jane, who was looking offended once again, and said, "Now, if you'll excuse me..."
Scoffing, Jane stepped out of her path and swept her arms in the direction the other woman -- Petra -- was going. "Sure, yeah, by all means, your highness."
Petra gave Jane a small, unfriendly smile and continued on her way, leaving Jane staring after her disbelievingly. She was only pulled out of her shock by the bell tolling, signalling that classes were beginning. Cursing, Jane pulled out her class schedule and headed towards the B building, room #26. Moore, P.
Jane shook herself and decided to forget all about that rude woman, Petra. She was determined to not let this affect her day, despite the encounter almost certainly being the omen she had felt earlier, and, with a renewed sense of confidence in her decision to attend college, marched to her first class of the day.
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Jane was wrong, she realized with muted horror, as she walked into her poetry class. She was wrong about her encounter with Petra earlier being the omen because her encounter with her, right now, as her poetry professor was definitely the real omen.
While Petra was facing the whiteboard, Jane set off for a desk quickly, hoping to put off their reuniting just a moment longer. Unfortunately, just as Jane was walking past Petra's desk, Petra turned around, announcing, "Please make sure to refer to the seating chart," faltering slightly when she saw Jane, green eyes widening in surprise before recovering easily, continuing, "which is here on my desk."
Jane walked slowly back to Petra's -- Professor Moore's -- desk, letting several other classmates ahead of her. Petra's eyes kept darting back at Jane every few seconds, but other than that, she acted like she didn't recognize Jane.
Finally arriving at the desk, almost the last one to do so, Jane kept her eyes on the seating chart as she looked for her name, letting out a small, exasperated sigh when she realized her desk was in the second row, almost directly in front of Petra's desk.
"Problem?" Petra asked at Jane's sigh.
"No, it's nothing," Jane said before making her way to her desk. Petra watched her for a moment before beginning her lecture. Jane sat at her desk, silently cursing her luck.
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"Jane," Petra said as the lecture ended, "please stay after class." A moment later, the bell rang and everyone began to file out of the class. Jane stayed seated until her row emptied, then stood and made her way to Petra's desk.
Despite her dislike of Petra, the poetry class had been incredibly interesting and engaging. Petra was an excellent professor, if perhaps not quite as excellent to be around otherwise.
There was a brief, tense silence as Petra and Jane stared at each other a moment, before Petra cleared her throat gently and began, "Perhaps I should apologize..."
Jane almost rolled her eyes at the irony of this moment, but instead said, "There's really no need. You said what you wanted to say earlier, I think we should just... leave it alone."
"No," Petra said immediately, and Jane sighed. "Look, I was... a bitch earlier," Petra admitted, and Jane couldn't keep back a wry chuckle at Petra's choice of words, "and I shouldn't have been so rude." Petra looked down at her desk before continuing, "It's no excuse, but I have not been having a great morning and, well, I guess I let it get the better of me." Looking back up at Jane, green eyes wide now with sincerity, Petra asked, "What do you say we start again, Jane? This time, I hope you'll accept my apology."
Petra reached out a conciliatory hand and her smile was hopeful, and Jane... Jane understood what it was like to have a bad day. Hadn't she had a bad year? Hadn't that doctor, Luisa Solano, also been having a bad day? At least Petra's bad day only consisted of a few rude words, rather than artificially inseminating her and mucking up her life plans.
And if Jane could forgive Luisa and decide to be the bigger person and drop the lawsuit, then Jane could forgive Petra and let bygones be bygones.
"Yeah, okay, Petra," Jane said, shaking her hand. Jane couldn't help but notice how soft Petra's hands were, yet how firm her handshake was. It made Jane smile. "I forgive you."
Petra's smile widened, lips stretching up to her ears in her happiness, eyes crinkling. "Great," she said. "Fantastic."
"Yeah," Jane agreed, almost speechless in the wake of how Petra's smile completely transformed her face. "It is."
Then the bell rang a second time and Jane realized she was late for her next class. Petra clearly startled out of the moment, but still smiled at Jane as she prepared to leave. "See you on Friday, Jane."
Jane waved and grinned as she left, "Friday, yeah."