Chapter Text
꥟ ☁︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☁︎ ꥟
This is dedicated to the lovers, the dreamers, and me.
꥟ ☁︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☁︎ ꥟
“Career opportunities, the ones that never knock
Every job they offer you is to keep you out the dock
Career opportunities, the ones that never knock”
-- Career Opportunities, The Clash
.✦ ݁˖Reader POV
— ᨳଓ .
June 6th
— ᨳଓ .
⋆˚꩜｡
Faculty of Biology, Hail Mary University.
6th of June
Miss. ♡
St Catherine’s College
University of Oxford
Dear ♡, MSc,
Congratulations!
We are so pleased to inform you that you are one of our recipients of our fully-funded Doctorate of Biology scholarship! We were blown away by your application and we believe you are a perfect fit.
As we are sure you know, this scholarship is extremely competitive and this year we received a shocking 1460 applicants for only 2 places. Additionally due to the competitive nature of this opportunity, we ask that you let us know as soon as possible if you are accepting our offer.
We do hope you are spending the next five years with us!
Sincerely yours,
Hail Mary University’s Faculty of Biology
⋆˚꩜｡.
— ᨳଓ .
August 21st
— ᨳଓ .
As you feel the plane touch down on the tarmac in California, your stomach starts to twist and turn. The sudden shudder of the wheels meeting the runway sends a physical jolt straight through your core, bringing all your buried anxieties rushing to the surface. ‘What if you hate it here?’ the voice in your head nags. You decide to ignore it…as you should! This truly is the opportunity of a lifetime. How many people per year get basically paid to study at the top University in the world for scientific research?
The answer is two! YOU and some random person. You find yourself starting to daydream about who it could be? Maybe it’s some young prodigy like Sheldon Cooper? Or it could be a girl who's about to be your new best friend? ‘Your only friend, more like…’
…You roll your eyes at your own subconscious. Trust you to immediately lean into self pity before you’ve even stepped off the aircraft.
You can’t dwell on your thoughts for long as everyone around you suddenly stands up. The collective rustle of jackets and the synchronised click of overhead bins opening snaps you right out of your head. ‘Shit, you have got to get out of here asap!’ You briskly grab your backpack from under your seat, your carry-on suitcase, and your phone and join the long flow of people exiting the airplane. The tunnel from the plane to the terminal feels almost disorienting. Well, you were on the plane for 12 hours and you managed to not sleep a wink. Probably not your smartest idea! Your eyes feel like they have been rubbed with sandpaper, and your brain is operating on a dangerous three second delay.
You manage to get through border control with no issues despite their billion questions. The officer stares at you with a completely blank, soul crushing expression, firing off a relentless script:
Why are you on a student visa?
Are you sure you are attending Hail Mary University?
Have you ever left the United Kingdom before?
Do you know anybody living in the United States?
Have you ever been convicted of a crime?
You reply with short answers, clearly too tired to even comprehend what's going on. You just nod and mumble, praying your exhausted stammering doesn’t accidentally land you in a secondary interrogation room. Luckily, as you leave passport control there is a woman holding a small paper sign and a cup, hopefully containing coffee.
Welcome, ♡!
‘Creative,’ you comment to yourself before hobbling on over. The long flight has absolutely messed with your joints. Every muscle from your neck down to your lower back feels completely locked up. You smile and take a deep breath before speaking to the person awaiting you.
“Hello! I’m ♡, it is lovely to meet you. What’s your name?” this comes out a lot quieter than expected which you guess is good. You always tend to be far too loud.
“Hi! I am Annie! Annie Shapiro! I was asked by the university to come pick you up as I am the year above you and I also received the scholarship last year so I can answer any questions you may have and let me grab your suitcase and we can get going! Follow me! Oh, here's a coffee for you! Okay, let's go!”
Oh wow, she certainly talks a lot! The words fly out of her mouth like a rapid fire machine gun, bouncing right off your sleep deprived eardrums. Yeah…this is going to be a long, long drive. Whilst walking outside, you take a sip of the coffee and try not to gag.
’Holy fuck that’s sweet!’ It tastes less like roasted coffee beans and more like liquid, melted sugar syrup.
At the same time, Annie turns around to ask how the coffee is, leading to you putting on a fake smile and saying it's “lovely.” You force your eyes wide to mimic genuine enthusiasm.
Approaching the car, you cannot help but have a feeling of existential dread building up in your stomach. You’re pretty sure you’re not making it out alive…
— ᨳଓ .
Some time later…
— ᨳଓ .
Turns out the drive was only an hour and Annie makes pretty good company (‘God forbid a girl wants to be dramatic!’). She imparted tidbits of information that are going to be quite valuable to you! It also made the drive go by quicker, which was good because it, for some reason, unsettled you that Americans drive on a different side of the road. ‘Why do they do that? Isn’t that just stupid?’ Every single time she takes a sharp turn, your brain screams that you’re about to veer directly into oncoming traffic.
As Annie pulls into the sweeping university driveway, the chatter in the car dies down, completely replaced by awe. Seeing it in brochures didn’t prepare you for this. In real life, the main building is an absolute showstopper.
It is a striking contradiction of eras: soaring, ivy draped gothic stone arches that look centuries old, seamlessly fused with massive, geometric shards of polarized glass that gleam under the sky. The historic weight of the architecture feels perfectly balanced by a sleek, futuristic pulse. It isn’t just a campus building; it’s a brilliant, living piece of art that takes your breath away the longer you look at it.
The thought settles deep in your chest, warm and grounding: this is where you get to unfold for the next five years. And thank the stars for that.
Your breath hitches in your chest slightly from the anticipation as you step out of the car and onto the footpath. All of your dreams have come true. Your whole life has built up to this moment and you vow to yourself to not waste it. The courtyard is bustling, a chaotic swarm of incoming students, shouting voices, and moving luggage. It is incredibly loud, and you try your best to navigate the sea of bodies.
You’re taking it all in and suddenly, out of absolute nowhere, a solid male figure materialises in front of you. Before your brain can even register the danger and tell your feet to stop moving—
—CRASH!
“Oh fudge, I’m so sorry!” a small apologetic male voice says above you. You realise you’ve been bumped to the floor by the sudden, jarring impact against his shoulder. The collision completely knocks you off balance, sending you tumbling straight down the hard pavement. Your belongings scatter slightly around you, and your hip is throbbing in pain (well, more than it usually is). A sharp sting shoots through you, instantly mixing with a heavy wave of embarrassment and pure irritation. You look up, fuming, to see a completely panicked guy staring down at you like he’s just committed a crime. You stand up and dust yourself off just as you realise Annie is picking up your suitcase for you. He awkwardly offers his hand out to help but you are already pushing yourself off the ground.
“Thanks Annie and uhhhh, it’s fine whatever. Accidents happen.” You turn to the guy, sounding clearly down as you say it’s fine (a bit snipped, clearly not fine). ‘Wow, your hip really fucking hurts!’ You smile, clearly forced, to show him it’s okay. He looks taken aback but he just mutters a quick ‘okay’ and watches as you turn away.
You grab the handle of your suitcase from Annie, the heavy click of the plastic offering a momentary, grounding distraction from the chaotic hum of the station. Finally, you turn on your heel and start making your way back towards the building, the wheels of your luggage clattering loudly against the uneven pavement.
As you walk, your eyes glance unwillingly to the guy who bumped into you earlier on. You didn't mean to look, but curiosity (or maybe just the lingering irritation of the collision) pulls your gaze right back to him. You stop in the distance, hook an arm around your chest, and turn around. Your eyes fix onto him without you realising what you’re doing until it’s too late.
Exactly at that moment, he turns his head. He looks at you and you make awkward eye contact before you break it, instantly snapping your head forward and staring intently at the ground ahead of you as if it's the most fascinating thing in the world. Your cheeks burn with a sudden spike of heat.
‘Great! Now he is going to think you’re a right weirdo.’
.✦ ݁˖Ryland Grace POV
— ᨳଓ .
June 6th
— ᨳଓ .
⋆˚꩜｡.
Faculty of Biology, Hail Mary University.
6th of June
Mr Ryland Grace
California Institute of Technology
Dear Ryland Grace, MSc,
Congratulations!
We are so pleased to inform you that you are one of our recipients of our fully-funded Doctorate of Biology scholarship! We were blown away by your application and we believe you are a perfect fit.
As we are sure you know, this scholarship is extremely competitive and this year we received a shocking 1460 applicants for only 2 places. Additionally due to the competitive nature of this opportunity, we ask that you let us know as soon as possible if you are accepting our offer.
We do hope you are spending the next five years with us!
Sincerely yours,
Hail Mary University’s Faculty of Biology
⋆˚꩜｡.
— ᨳଓ .
August 21st
— ᨳଓ .
Ryland Grace is a smart man. Well, he at least thinks he is. Sure, he could be more socially active, but he does tend to focus 100% of his time onto molecular biology. And space.
He really, really, really loves space. The sheer, unimaginable scale of the cosmos, the silent dance of the planets in orbit, the infinite possibilities hidden within the giant vacuum; it all absolutely captivated him.
Ever since he was a child he found himself obsessing and fixating on space. Especially what he considers as the big question:
What if life exists on another planet?
Yes, there has been minimal evidence such as the CH4 and CO2 gases on K2-18b (an exoplanet that’s around 125 light years away from earth), alongside some organic matter on Mars that could maybe show proof of microorganisms living there once, but at the end of the day, there’s not enough evidence. It is all just little tidbits of tantalising information, simple hints of biological activity left out in the dark, but nothing concrete enough to rewrite the textbooks.
This is what truly fascinates Ryland. He started off with a Bachelors in biology, and then he specialised in molecular biology for his Masters degree. He wanted to understand the machinery of life at its smallest level, because if we ever do find something out there among the stars, it isn’t going to be little green men or rock people. It’s going to be microbes. It’s going to be cellular. And he wants to be a man who knows exactly how to look at it.
However, one issue has truly been plaguing his mind: his doctorate.
As any academic would, he wants his PhD. ‘What would I even do it on?’ he regularly questions. The pressure to choose a thesis topic that defines your whole entire scientific career is daunting enough on its own. Obviously there are other concerns like the financial aspects. Living on a meager grad student stipend whilst drowning in research workload wasn’t exactly a glamorous prospect. That was until the letter came in the post.
One of his professors at Caltech told him to apply for an extremely competitive scholarship which, if he got it, means he can research whatever he wants for 5 years fully funded. Academic freedom without financial stress — it was the holy grail for a researcher. Obviously Ryland applied (who wouldn’t?) but he genuinely thought he had no chance.
Maybe he needs to believe in himself more?
Since finding out, the last few months have genuinely been a blur. In between finishing up his masters thesis, packing up his entire life into a suitcase and preparing to head off to the Hail Mary, he didn’t realise how fast the time had gone. It felt like only yesterday that he opened the letter and found out he got the scholarship…and cried about it out of pure shock and joy.
And now, he is pulling up to the main building for Hail Mary University. He is going to spend the next 5 years here and honestly, he cannot wait!
Thanks to the very kind people at the university, he didn’t even have to drive there— not that he would, there’s nothing in the world that Ryland hates more than driving! Seriously. He hates it. The constant anxiety of traffic, the aggressive lane mergers, the sheer terror of trusting thousands of pounds of moving metal— No thank you!
It was another scientist, Dr Martin Dubois, who picked him up and drove him there as he was in his second year of his doctorate. Ryland was (rightfully) very confused when Dubois introduced himself as a doctor. ‘Surely it's arrogant to call yourself a doctor after only one year of pursuing a PhD?…’
‘…Nope! Turns out Dubois is pursuing his THIRD PhD!’ He previously got one in both physics and chemistry, so this time around its biology. He is a walking, talking academic anomaly, a literal sponge for advanced degrees. Ryland genuinely struggled to keep his jaw off the ground when he found that one out!
After getting past the awkward formalities, Ryland found himself having a pretty nice time. He isn’t usually the best socially so it was strange to have such easy conversation (it consisted purely of DuBois speaking and himself occasionally chiming in with a ‘yeah’ or a ‘oh, cool!’). However, he did try to ignore the breath of relief he let out as the university main building came into view.
It is stunning. Caltech was cool too, don't get him wrong, but this genuinely is breathtaking. The architecture seems to blend classic, archaic, academic prestige with sleek, state of the art modern design. He suddenly feels ever so grateful that this is his home for the next 5 years.
He gets out of the car and grabs his suitcase, feeling slightly overwhelmed with everything. There are A LOT of people around and it's starting to get a bit too loud. The courtyard is a swirling sea of moving bodies, shouting students, and clattering luggage. He breathes unsteadily as he begins to walk, eyes on the ground. He dodges people left and right. ‘It's actually going pretty well—‘
—CRASH!
He feels his body hit someone else before he even clocks he was about to bump into someone. His heart begins to knock at his ribs, ready to burst out alongside his head reeling. The impact jolts right through his shoulders. He looks down to realise he has completely knocked the other person over. She (‘Oh god. I knocked a woman over!’) looks slightly hurt…and angry. Her belongings are scattered slightly, and her expression is a mix of shock and pure irritation. Ryland quickly splutters out an apology.
“Oh fudge, I’m so sorry!”
He offers out his hand but he is far too slow, she is already stood up and she has her suitcase in her hand. He feels absolutely terrible but she says it's fine (in an adorable British accent, may he add) and she begins to walk off.
”Okay,” he hears himself say, feeling distracted as he feels his cheeks warm slightly but he puts that down to the sheer level of embarrassment he is currently experiencing. He stands there like a statue for a second, watching her retreat into the crowd.
Dr Dubois appears at his shoulder and says that he is heading to the main building too so they can just go tomorrow. Ryland smiles widely and begins to head up the path. He looks around, taking it all in. It really is insane that he is actually here.
He looks to his left and in the distance he sees someone staring at him. ‘Oh…it's her. And she looks fuming.’ Her arms are crossed, and her gaze is practically burning a hole through him. He realises they have held eye contact for a few seconds as he trips slightly over his own feet. The sudden loss of footing snaps him out of it, and he quickly scrambles to stay upright. He looks away for a few seconds to regain his composure, but to his disappointment he looks back to see her gone, swallowed up by the campus crowd.
Ryland Grace sighs to himself out of utter despair.
He’s been at Hail Mary University for approximately 5 minutes and he’s already made an enemy.
‘Amazing!’