That evening.
Stella Sterling returned home.
Mr. and Mrs. Sterling were both there.
A stack of admissions brochures from foreign universities was spread across the living room coffee table.
Mr. Sterling was holding a guide to studying abroad, flipping through its pages.
Seeing Stella walk in, Mrs. Sterling asked, "Have you told Roman about going abroad?"
"I did." Stella gave a silly grin. "He doesn't have a problem with it."
Mr. Sterling glanced at her. "Did Roman say anything else?"
Stella answered thoughtfully, "Nothing else, really. He just asked if I wanted to go to Vesper University."
Mr. and Mrs. Sterling exchanged a look.
"Do you want to go?" they asked in unison.
Stella shook her head, indicating she still wanted to go through the regular application process for her preferred foreign universities.
Finally, she added, "If I don't get in, we'll see."
Mr. Sterling recalled some information he'd picked up while chatting with someone earlier that day.
