About this story
You turn down Mr Manning's marriage proposal, then pack one case and leave before dawn for a room in London. Rent and laboratory fees eat your savings within a day, and a family acquaintance is already offering to lend you the rest.
How it opens
The suburban train carried you home with notebooks, a biology text, and Manning's unopened letter.
September fields slipped past while one decision gathered weight beneath every smaller grievance.
London classes are one thing, Ann Veronica; London acquaintances are quite another.
Choose
I want rules stated plainly, including the reason for each one.
I am twenty-one, and permission can no longer govern every hour I spend.