Left Behind Countless Times, This Time, I’m Leaving Them Chapter 05

Left Behind Countless Times, This Time, I’m Leaving Them Chapter 05

The cab followed Lake Michigan south into Hyde Park.

An hour later, the University of Chicago’s historic limestone buildings came into view.

I wheeled my suitcase straight to the Office of Undergraduate Affairs.

“Hi. I’m Vesper Taylor. I’m an incoming freshman.”

I handed my acceptance letter, transcript, competition records, and telescope logs to Professor William.

He adjusted his glasses and carefully went through my materials.

When he got to my scores in astronomy data analysis, his eyes lit up.

“First overall in the state program. Near-perfect scores in math and physics. You’re here a full three weeks

before official enrollment.”

“I want to get used to campus early, and I’d like to join the intro astrophysics research program as soon as

possible. Is there any way I can enroll early?”

“Of course.”

Professor William approved my request on the spot and personally contacted the housing office.

Ten minutes later, he put a temporary key card in my hand.

“We still have rooms in the student housing in Hyde Park. They’re close to the library and the Eckhart

Research Center.”

He smiled. “The University of Chicago will always welcome people who are genuinely willing to find

answers.”

The moment I pushed open the apartment door, I finally let out a breath.

The room wasn’t big, but it had a private bathroom and a wall of windows overlooking campus.

No shopping bags were piled up in the living room.

No sisters fighting over music.

And no Paige barking orders whenever the mood struck.

I set my acceptance letter neatly in the center of the desk. Then I set my old telescope beside the window.

My life was finally beginning.

Over the next few days, I got my student ID, completed my freshman course assessments, and went to see

Professor William on my own.

“I saw your team is working through a batch of star brightness data. I can help.”

He looked a little surprised, then casually handed me a messy batch of data.

It was years of records showing how stars’ brightness changed over time.

Readings from different telescopes, weather-related errors, and noise from the instruments were all mixed

together.

The data had been sitting untouched for more than six months.

I spent one afternoon standardizing the measurements and organizing everything into brightness graphs that could be directly compared.

I also noticed that one star’s regular dimming wasn’t caused by an equipment problem.

It looked more like a planet or other object was passing in front of it at regular intervals.

William stared at my analysis for a long time before smiling with satisfaction.

“Vesper, you’re not just good at organizing data. You can also spot faint changes other researchers miss.”

He officially added me to the undergraduate research group.

By the time I left the research center, it was already dark.

The campus bells carried through the evening breeze in Hyde Park.

The constellation Cygnus flickered in and out of view above the buildings.

For the first time, I understood what it felt like to be truly seen.

Here, I wasn’t the fourth child who could be left behind at any moment.

I was Vesper-someone who earned her place on her own.

I switched to a Chicago phone number and put my old SIM card in a backup phone.

Back in Seattle, the Taylor family had already returned home in high spirits.

Dawn was busy showing off her new bag.

Solara was editing their travel videos.

Luna wore her new jacket and told relatives about the exhibits at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Our parents were still basking in the glory of “three daughters getting into the University of Washington at

the same time.”

One day. Three days. An entire week passed.

Nobody noticed that the fourth daughter who’d left with them had never boarded the flight home.

Late that night, I’d just finished my first observing session with the research group when my old phone started vibrating nonstop.

A name I almost didn’t recognize appeared on the screen.