Page 80 of The Game Plan
With my nerves still thrumming, I nod slowly.
Nina slides a printed sheet toward me. With trembling fingers, I bring it closer to me as I wait for them to explain. “Your professors and I have spoken at length to determine how we can help you with this transition. We’ve devised a plan to provide you with alternative assignments that still hit the core objectives.”
My head tilts in her direction, still confused by what I’m reading.
“Your email mentioned you’d return right after delivery,” my capstone professor says gently. “But we want you to know you have options. If you need a few weeks to recover, you won’t fall behind.”
I glance down at the paper, eyes stinging as I read:
Capstone Project:Professional development plan, job portfolio, and reflection on ethical challenges.
Field Practicum Substitute:Three client studies, mock treatment plans, one virtual training with a journal, and a paper analyzing a TV show or movie client-worker interaction.
Ethics in Social Work:Two TED Talk essays, plus a self-care and boundaries policy to prevent ethical drift.
Each bullet point feels like an invisible weight leaving my shoulders. Only then do I realize how much stress I’d been carrying. Coming back straight from labor felt impossible. This…this feels manageable.
Shaking my head, I glance around the table at the smiling faces. “If your doctor gives you clearance and you’re able to return right away, great. But if not? You’re covered with us and the university,” Nina says.
Dr. Briska adds, “We’re rooting for you, Savannah. You’re a bright woman with a big future ahead of you.”
My throat tightens, and I blink the tears away. I will not cry in front of my professors, but damn, my heart’s happy. “Thank you so much.”
“Of course, Miss Holycross. You’ve worked too hard to have anything derail your momentum. We only wish you’d come to us last semester, and we could’ve helped then.”
The urge to correct her and sayMrs. Campbellrises, but I swallow it down. And while I wish I had come to them, in reality, there was no way I could’ve focused enough to finish last semester. I was a hot mess who needed time to adjust. And while I know it’s going to be an even harder adjustment with motherhood, at least this time I’ll have a stronger support system.
I leave ten minutes later with printed papers and my course outlines tucked away in my bag. I can’t contain the smile and warmth as I walk across campus toward the Union, where my car is parked in the lot behind the building.
Too bad that feeling is short-lived.
As I pass the doors to the Union, they open, and three of my sorority sisters—former sisters—spill out in front of me.
“Oh, Savannah.”
I recognize the voice immediately and fight to keep my body’s cringe from showing. Tierney’s voice is so syrupy sweet it could give you a toothache.
Standing with her are Layla and Kayla… Yeah, I know.
“Oh my god, Sav,” Layla coos, stepping in front of me and greeting me like we’re still besties. She takes her time eyeing my belly. “You look so… Well, you’re…”
“Glowing,” Kayla finishes.
The three of them look at each other while I rake my eyes over them. They look like they walked straight out of a Delta Zeta brochure—glossy curls, curated outfits. I used to be one of them. Crazy, the way time pulls you in another direction.
“Uh, thank you.” I glance around, searching for a way out of this conversation.
“So, you’re with Grant Campbell now?” Layla probes.
“Like, officially?” Kayla adds. I think the two of them share a brain. My eyes look at Tierney, who’s standing there with a smirk on her face. It’s the kind of look she gives when she’s up to trouble, and I want to smack it off her face. I wonder if I could blame the hormones if I do?
Tierney picks her moment. “They’re living together.”
Layla and Kayla gasp, and my face heats.
Kayla’s hand reaches out and grips my forearm. “Tell us everything.”
I try to tug free as smoothly as possible, but her claws sink into me. I don’t know why these three think I would spill anything to them. They left me when I needed friends the most. And Tierney has already proven she’s not trustworthy.
