"I want how it was before. I want it all with you in my life again... I'm asking you to stay."
Miles Cobain-Smith
An aloof and detached logician, he scrutinizes the simplest things through microscopic lenses. Academic validation, family expectations...
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"Is everything alright? You all seem tense." Wallace asks with concern, looking back and forth between Miles sitting on the single couch across from him and Meredith and Hazel on the other. Miles and Meredith seem nervous while Hazel has a calm expression on her face. After dinner, she called her son to have an important discussion about Miles, which is why they're all gathered here in the living room while Ariel is sent to another one.
"Miles has something to tell you," Hazel says, indicating to Miles to begin. Wallace turns to him and he takes the hint as he starts speaking.
"I'm thinking about changing my college plans."
A frown emerges on his forehead and Wallace tilts his head slightly. "What kind of change? Can you explain more clearly?"
Taking a deep breath, Miles nods. "When I was applying for universities, you always preferred Toronto and I just went along with it because it seemed fine to me. But now for some reasons, I think Waterloo will be a better idea. They have a reputation for strong mathematical and engineering courses and there doesn't seem to be any big difference between these two. I mean they're both excellent."
His frown deepens. Wallace doesn't understand why Miles would suddenly want to change universities now. He was going to attend Toronto if he got accepted and it was decided months ago even before he finished his final year in high school. Everything went according to plan and this abrupt change of mind doesn't make sense.
"I don't understand. Why would you make such an important decision out of the blue when you're about to attend your planned college in approximately a month? What's the reason?"
Miles looks across at Hazel and she gives him a reassuring glance.
"There's a very major one. I hardly ever opposed any decision you made regarding my education and if I could have it some other way this time, I would but I don't. It's about..." Miles hesitates. The name is at the tip of his tongue but he feels somewhat uneasy letting it roll off. He's never had to talk to his father about an issue like this and understandably, he feels cautious. This is a first.
"Is it... Is it about that girl... Juliet by any chance?" Miles' face jerks upward at the mention of her name, surprise evident in his expression. Wallace stares at him, waiting for an answer, his eyes narrowed. "She's the only connection to Waterloo that came to my mind. And this sudden change of mind so I'm just guessing-"
"Yes," Miles affirms, his voice firm. "You're right. It's about her."
Wallace looks at him in disbelief. He just can't believe Miles would be saying something like this. Such a critical career decision for a girl he's known for just a few months? It was not expected. He knows that his son has been too focused on academics his whole life, relationships were not in his plans yet. He thought Juliet was just a girl Miles was tutoring and it'd end with the tutoring. Now it seems clear it wasn't that simple. How and when did all this happen, he can't grasp.
