“I meet Serena an hour later, outside the building where she’s been meeting with her professor. ‘I got a B+ for the semester!’ She beams, proud of herself, strutting down the street confidently, as if she has actually produced something of note. Which, in a way, I guess she has; I suppose it’s fair to be proud of yourself for living so well, for landing on your feet, for manipulating the situation so perfectly as to end with this optimal result.” —Al Burian #