Bobby
The staff at Newton's Cradle tend toward being busy, but even still, they generally try to meet with each of the residents for whom they're the designated Contact at least semi-regularly. Whether because of her personality, or because her particular assigned residents are higher maintenance, Pernilla is the most methodical about that — and it helps her catch some details.

Such as the fact that someone at Newton's Cradle had recently taken the last exam it was possible to take there.

Pernilla kept the door open, and waited for them.
Sarah
*Welp. Either we passed and we're outta the slammer or we failed and we go back to sleeping on the couch.*

Margo was not prone to worrying, but she *Was* Rolling a cue ball of nerves in her throat as she strolled down the hall towards Ms. Karlsson's office, left hand curled in her pocket around a triplet of caramels. She'd got the call a half hour prior, and though she was in Isakstad at the time she'd managed to get back in record time; cabbies, as it turned out, weren't scared to drive fast when they saw a huge tip in it for them. 

She took a deep breath, exhaled, waved at someone as they walked by, and stepped in.

"Heya, Miss." Her voice betrays none of the worry balled in her throat. It's as gruff as ever, but not unfriendly. She meets her Contact's eyes, standing just past the doorway. "Ya wanted to see me, aye? Well i'm 'ere. Sorry 'bout the wait, was halfway cross town when ya called. How are ya doin'?"
Bobby
"Hello, Margo," Pernilla replied, smiling warmly. "I'm well, thank you." She gestured to the chair opposite hers, inviting Margo to take a seat. "I wanted to say congratulations on your exam. I hear you got top marks."

As she spoke, Pernilla sat down herself, and searched her messy desktop. It took a few moments before she found what she was looking for — a small stack of brochures.

"I'm not sure if you have been told, Margo, but you have finished every class we can offer you. Usually we would offer to help find work after one of our residents has finished school, but I don't think that makes much sense for you. So instead—" Pernilla lifts the brochures and extends them to Margo "—the Deans and I have agreed to let you study at University. Of course, there is not one in town, so you will have to commute, and there are not as many options outside Stockholm, but I am sure you can find something nearby if you are interested."
Sarah
"Glad ta hear." Margo speaks, strolling inwards with that same swagger she's always had. It's not exaggerated, but instead a lazy, confident sort. She sits down – perhaps a bit too hard, but then could one sit too hard in such a sturdy chair? – and looks between Pernilla and the various certificates on the wall above her. The news about her exams elicits raised eyebrows and a shift in her posture, and as she leans into the left side of the chair she notices the stack of brochures in Pernilla's hand. 

"Shit, I passed? That's, uh. Real weight off me shoulders, gotta say. But thank ya, Miss. Was nervous about it the whole way up." She laughs, relief clear in the way her shoulders sink as the news settles in. Shifting about in her chair as Pernilla speaks, Margo is again surprised, this time by what she hears about the pile of brochures her Contact has extended towards her. Her focus had been on the other lady, and the fact she was being given the opportunity to go to university had escaped her until it left Pernilla's mouth.

"No fuckin' way." At first she finds it hard to believe, but after she hastily plucks the stack out of her Contact's hand and skims through it the reality sets in. It's a God-given chance to actually attend university; she doesn't tear up but is visibly moved by the news, a feat given her permanently grouchy features. "I, uh. I'mma need some time to really pick through these, but like... Jesus. I-I dunno what ta say, really. Dead didn't think I'd be goin' to university this early; think you can see I'm a little stunned, I guess."

She drags her fingers along the various folded edges of the brochures, almost as if trying to settle her nerves.
Bobby
Pernilla chuckles. "It's perfectly alright. Take until new year's — you'll want to start at the beginning of the semester."
Sarah
"Gives me time, I guess. Time to decide, and time to properly thank the Deans. But then..." Margo chews on a thought, mashes it into a question with her teeth, forms it before spitting it out. "Whatzit mean for the whole, yanno... Bein' a resident thing? I gotta come back here on the weekends like i'm on parole or somethin'?"
Bobby
"Well," Pernilla sighed, "Like I said, you will have to commute to the university. You cannot get an apartment somewhere else — you will have to keep living here. But there are trains to the neighboring cities that take about an hour to get there, so I am sure you can make it work."
Sarah
"Gotcha." Margo nods. "Guess i'll figure shit out before the semester starts then. Got time."

She pockets the brochures, a genuine smile on her face as those once-omnipresent dreams of academia come rocketing out of the mist, reinvigorated by the knowledge she'll be a student in less than two weeks time at some university in Sweden. She reaches down into her left pocket and digs two caramels out, holding her hand towards Pernilla and opening it.

"Caramel, Miss?"
Bobby
"No thank you. I'm quite alright."

Pernilla pauses.

"Merry Christmas."
Sarah
"Alrighty. Merry Christmas. God be with ya."

With that Margo pushes the chair back with her body weight, stands up, and strolls out the door with just a bit more vigor than when she'd entered two minutes prior.

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