𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐀.ᐟ 𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗺 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀

breaking the glass balloon

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chapter thirty-seven: breaking the glass balloon

{a/n:
our girl is finally about to climb out of her shell!! literally so excited for this bc y'all know what's about to come...}

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   "I'M GOING TO DO IT" The words were a very measly attempt at a whisper, but Vera didn't want to freak her brother out. "Angela is right. This program would be a great opportunity for me."

There was a beat as Quinn took a sip of his mango protein smoothie, leaving Vera to drown in her own anxiousness as he seems to take his time to reply. Considering the siblings were the only customers at Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Minneapolis, the silence was an attribute to her uneasiness.

"So, you're just going to give up hockey?"

She shakes her head. "No. I am uh- I'm just keeping my options open.

Quinn almost laughs as he glances down at the table. "Okay. Sure."

"I'm being serious."

He looks back up at her, twisting his straw around with his pointer finger and thumb. Quinn's tongue rubs against his cheek for a brief second as he comes up with a response.

He leans a little closer, as if he was going to tell a secret, "Vera, you've done over twelve of these stupid intern gigs for two years and has hated every damn one. You had quit them all. You weren't happy. And if I'm not mistaken, you aren't even eligible to be an intern. You're only seventeen, you don't have a single degree, and honestly I don't think you even know what you're doing."

It's always been a mystery to Vera on how her mother even finds these programs. The girl knows that there's absolutely no way that she meets all the requirements. But it may not be a coincidence that almost all of the hospitals she's worked at has been in unattainable conditions, extremely low salary (not even minimum wage), and desperate for any sort of help.

"But this one may be different..." She ignores his little rant over her lack of quality. "It's in Brainard, only 2 hours away from the academy -- mostly a reasonable distance for weekends. Uh, it's a lot nicer then some I've worked at. And..  uhm..."

Quinn rolls his eyes. "And... uhm.." he mocks which causes her to stop. "V, just admit it. You don't want to, and that's okay. You need to go for what you want. If you're that worried about Angela then maybe I can talk to her."

Vera's eyes widen. "Are you crazy?"

"No?" Her brother furrows his brows.

"She fucking hates you!"

Quinn's lips drop into a flat line as he shamefully nods. "Right." He takes another sip of his smoothie, then says, "Look, you're still in highschool. You're still a teenager. If you do this, you're going to start becoming an actual adult and trust me, growing up is not fun."

The corner of Vera's mouth curls downward as she tilts her head, confused. "What's with the change of topic?"

"Vera, you turn eighteen in a couple days. You're suddenly going to be hit with a ton of responsibility that you're not going to be able to handle that quickly. You need to trust me on this." His serious and demanding tone kind of frightened Vera. She's never seen him act this way.