Freshman Year

What was it like to be a college freshman working beside a professor on graduate-level research while studying like mad to learn everything needed to keep up?

Gwen Stacy could tell anyone with absolute certainty: she was so busy she felt ready to take flight!

And Gwen Stacy hadn't given up tutoring Skye. Instead of coming every day and sometimes putting in extra hours on weekends, she now came once a week to answer the questions of a girl who had just started at Standard High School, rather than review every subject with her.

For Gwen, revisiting high school coursework was the most relaxing part of her week.

Gwen Stacy hadn't given up on looking after herself, either. Every day, she squeezed out time to work out, do her skincare, and put on makeup. All of it cost her precious time, and there were no shortcuts.

But the girl who had hoped to date once she got to college now found every creature radiating hormones repulsive! Not strangling them or clawing their faces was already an act of mercy.

If those people grew brains along with their muscles, this new college student might think better of them. Otherwise, Gwen Stacy had nothing to say to anyone who couldn't go three sentences without bringing up sex.

That didn't mean nerds or greasy, overweight guys were Gwen's type, or that her tastes were so unusual. Henry's grand gesture at prom had simply raised her standards.

What lovestruck girl hadn't dreamed of a prince who could protect her and make her laugh?

Katharine Hepburn had joked in private that seeing a dazzling man too young would ruin a girl's taste in men. Now her words seemed to be coming true.

The girl herself barely realized it, though. She was too absorbed in pursuing