I commend you for putting a story into your 3-hour project. I liked being able to learn more about the backstory as the game progressed. I also found it quite novel that the dialogue was delivered via pop-ups. This could be an interesting plot device or character trait if contrasted against more conventional means of delivery.
Great work on the visuals as well, especially for having had so little prior experience. I recommend collecting albums of art you find visually appealing and using that as stylistic reference in your projects. Stick to a limited and consistent palette. You can use a "gradient map" to restrict any arbitrary photograph to a certain set of colors. I use it in Photoshop, but Gimp is a free program that (I just googled it and it) has this feature.
Looking forward to seeing your project next week!