1970s: One college adventure comes to an end, another two begins.
Having graduated, Susan returns home. It's not for long, she knows that, but she's glad to be home regardless. She hugs her mother, her father and even her annoying little geek brother as she walks through the door, the Foxbury t-shirt still on. Then she hugs Kaya who has gotten so big.
"She was just a puppy!"
"You've been gone a long time," her mother says. "Dog's don't stay puppies forever."
Susan wants nothing but to stay for a while. To relax, to find her footing before taking the next step, but today is Beth and Cathy's birthday.
So together the family head over to Arthur's house, where the bbq is used to make everyone dinner while the strawberry cake is waiting inside so that the frosting doesn't melt in the desert heat.
When it's time to blow out the candles, Beth goes first, adding outgoing to her traits, then it's Cathy's turn to get a healthy dose of creativity.
The two also gets new outfits, that they happily wear as it's time to eat the cake.
Arthur is proud as a peacock of his two girls.
The next morning, Claudia gets up earlier than that others, bustling around the kitchen while wrapping her mind around the fact that she now has two adult children. Where did the years go?
As the family sit down for breakfast, the girls are both talking only of one thing - when will their university applications be answered.
Beth, especially, has big dreams. NASA has just recently announced that they're taking on new astronauts, and for the first time ever civilians get to apply. Not only that, they're allowing women to apply too. "Wouldn't it be cool?" Beth says to Arthur. "If I could go in one of those shuttles you're building? I could be the first woman in space!"
"Technically, you'd be the second," Arthur points out. "Valentina Tereshkova went to space over a decade ago, in 63."
"That doesn't count! She was Russian."
Arthur is pretty sure it counts even if you're Russian, but he doesn't want to take Beth's enthusiasm away from her. That's why he doesn't also point out that there is no way she'd be finished with university in time for this pick, and that the chances of them actually picking women is slim, or that if they do, they'll be very few, and very distinguished scientists already.
"Your best bet is to study physics at Foxbury," he says instead.
"I'll be the best physicist there is!" Beth vows. "You'll help me, right?"
"Of course I will."
Cathy, has a lot less high flying plans. She wants to be a dancer. Possibly a model. Beth doesn't really see the point of something so common. "Why?"
"I want to see my name in the paper," Cathy says. "Don't you think I'm pretty enough?"
"Duh, of course you are. Now. But you won't stay young and beautiful forever. It's kind of a short career."
"Not for me, I'll make it last. And when I'm not a model any longer I can still be an icon. Like aunt Alice was until the day she died!"
She has it all planed out in her head. She'll study Fine Art at Britechester, hook up with some really good photography student, and take lots of shots in those pretty environments, then move to Del Sol Valley, contact Cora and she if she doesn't have any connections and then she'll be off. Easy!
So it comes as more than a little shock when her plans falters on the first step. She fails to get into Fine Art! "You could just go with me to Foxbury and study it there?" Beth suggests, but Cathy scoffs at that. "It has to be Britechester! That's the best, and if it's not the best it isn't worth it."
She picks psychology instead when she sees that one of the possible careers is Romance Consultant. "I'm great at hooking people up! I can be some TV-romance-consultant and be famous that way." she says, and throws herself into her new track with the same enthusiasm as she before had settled on dancing. "And when you go to space, I'll make you look awesome for promo shots, find you a handsome astronaut to marry, and then I'll be astronomically famous."
"What if I don't want to marry."
Cathy scoffs. "Of course you do. Maybe not now, but duh, you want a family and then I'll have a family and we'll raise our kids together."
For Beth, who did get into Foxbury's physicsprogram, the drive to her new college is a short one, and waiting for her in the hall is her cousin Ken. Just about to start his last term, he can show her the ropes and make sure she settles in before heading off.
"You can take Susan's old bed," he says, showing her into her new room.
So Beth sets out to unpack, making this shared room feel like home.
Much better.
For Cathy, it's a longer trip across the country, and when she arrives there is no one there to great her. It feels strange signing up with Cathy Wolfe, it's the first time she really reflects on her name being different. Or not the first, she asked when she was in school why, and her mother told her all about her dead father, but this is when it hits her that she's here alone. Without her twin, who she has never been without, and without her parents and family and there is no one here that she actually knows.
The dorm is a bit drafty, very old fashioned, with mostly dated old furniture around. She takes a deep breath. "Mike did just fine," she reminds herself. "And he met Robin. I'll be fine too!"
And with that she heads to her room, to get settled in. As soon as her medals from cheerleading is on the wall her her record player set up with her latest records she feels a bit better.
As the dorm is rather empty still, she's obviously one of the first to have arrived, she decides to get a leg up on her studies at once, so that she can have more time for socialising later. She starts with the most fun part - preparing a presentation.
And get a good start before she gets bored.
She then, for reasons she cannot fully understands, ends up watching the result of the election, and Jimmy Carter's victory speech on TV. She's never cared much for politics in the past, but now she's a university student. Perhaps it's time to start caring? Her dorm mates, when they arrive, certainly will.
"I will do my best. I will never lie to you. I will never make a mistake intentionally, and I will never disappoint you,” the new president-elect says. Cathy wonders if this president actually means it or not.
"She was just a puppy!"
"You've been gone a long time," her mother says. "Dog's don't stay puppies forever."
Susan wants nothing but to stay for a while. To relax, to find her footing before taking the next step, but today is Beth and Cathy's birthday.
So together the family head over to Arthur's house, where the bbq is used to make everyone dinner while the strawberry cake is waiting inside so that the frosting doesn't melt in the desert heat.
When it's time to blow out the candles, Beth goes first, adding outgoing to her traits, then it's Cathy's turn to get a healthy dose of creativity.
The two also gets new outfits, that they happily wear as it's time to eat the cake.
Arthur is proud as a peacock of his two girls.
The next morning, Claudia gets up earlier than that others, bustling around the kitchen while wrapping her mind around the fact that she now has two adult children. Where did the years go?
As the family sit down for breakfast, the girls are both talking only of one thing - when will their university applications be answered.
Beth, especially, has big dreams. NASA has just recently announced that they're taking on new astronauts, and for the first time ever civilians get to apply. Not only that, they're allowing women to apply too. "Wouldn't it be cool?" Beth says to Arthur. "If I could go in one of those shuttles you're building? I could be the first woman in space!"
"Technically, you'd be the second," Arthur points out. "Valentina Tereshkova went to space over a decade ago, in 63."
"That doesn't count! She was Russian."
Arthur is pretty sure it counts even if you're Russian, but he doesn't want to take Beth's enthusiasm away from her. That's why he doesn't also point out that there is no way she'd be finished with university in time for this pick, and that the chances of them actually picking women is slim, or that if they do, they'll be very few, and very distinguished scientists already.
"Your best bet is to study physics at Foxbury," he says instead.
"I'll be the best physicist there is!" Beth vows. "You'll help me, right?"
"Of course I will."
Cathy, has a lot less high flying plans. She wants to be a dancer. Possibly a model. Beth doesn't really see the point of something so common. "Why?"
"I want to see my name in the paper," Cathy says. "Don't you think I'm pretty enough?"
"Duh, of course you are. Now. But you won't stay young and beautiful forever. It's kind of a short career."
"Not for me, I'll make it last. And when I'm not a model any longer I can still be an icon. Like aunt Alice was until the day she died!"
She has it all planed out in her head. She'll study Fine Art at Britechester, hook up with some really good photography student, and take lots of shots in those pretty environments, then move to Del Sol Valley, contact Cora and she if she doesn't have any connections and then she'll be off. Easy!
So it comes as more than a little shock when her plans falters on the first step. She fails to get into Fine Art! "You could just go with me to Foxbury and study it there?" Beth suggests, but Cathy scoffs at that. "It has to be Britechester! That's the best, and if it's not the best it isn't worth it."
She picks psychology instead when she sees that one of the possible careers is Romance Consultant. "I'm great at hooking people up! I can be some TV-romance-consultant and be famous that way." she says, and throws herself into her new track with the same enthusiasm as she before had settled on dancing. "And when you go to space, I'll make you look awesome for promo shots, find you a handsome astronaut to marry, and then I'll be astronomically famous."
"What if I don't want to marry."
Cathy scoffs. "Of course you do. Maybe not now, but duh, you want a family and then I'll have a family and we'll raise our kids together."
For Beth, who did get into Foxbury's physicsprogram, the drive to her new college is a short one, and waiting for her in the hall is her cousin Ken. Just about to start his last term, he can show her the ropes and make sure she settles in before heading off.
"You can take Susan's old bed," he says, showing her into her new room.
So Beth sets out to unpack, making this shared room feel like home.
Much better.
For Cathy, it's a longer trip across the country, and when she arrives there is no one there to great her. It feels strange signing up with Cathy Wolfe, it's the first time she really reflects on her name being different. Or not the first, she asked when she was in school why, and her mother told her all about her dead father, but this is when it hits her that she's here alone. Without her twin, who she has never been without, and without her parents and family and there is no one here that she actually knows.
The dorm is a bit drafty, very old fashioned, with mostly dated old furniture around. She takes a deep breath. "Mike did just fine," she reminds herself. "And he met Robin. I'll be fine too!"
And with that she heads to her room, to get settled in. As soon as her medals from cheerleading is on the wall her her record player set up with her latest records she feels a bit better.
As the dorm is rather empty still, she's obviously one of the first to have arrived, she decides to get a leg up on her studies at once, so that she can have more time for socialising later. She starts with the most fun part - preparing a presentation.
And get a good start before she gets bored.
She then, for reasons she cannot fully understands, ends up watching the result of the election, and Jimmy Carter's victory speech on TV. She's never cared much for politics in the past, but now she's a university student. Perhaps it's time to start caring? Her dorm mates, when they arrive, certainly will.
"I will do my best. I will never lie to you. I will never make a mistake intentionally, and I will never disappoint you,” the new president-elect says. Cathy wonders if this president actually means it or not.
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