Suddenly, I was caught off guard by the ring of the phone, and I grabbed it off the cradle.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Miss Allie Wyatt?” came a female voice at the other end of the line.
“Yes, speaking.”
“This is Coach Avery from Wake Forest. Is now a good time?” she asked. I froze. Wake Forest was the best field hockey program in the country.
“Hi Coach Avery, yes! Now is a good time,” I replied, trying to contain my enthusiasm, but also horrified that I was currently sitting mostly naked in lace lingerie..
“Okay, great. I am calling because Coach DeLaney submitted some of your game tapes, and after visiting to watch you play in person, I would like to formally offer you a full athletic scholarship to play here at Wake Forest in the fall. You are one of the most talented players I have seen in quite some time, Allie. I hope you’ll say yes.” Then she quietly waited for my reply.
Coach DeLaney told me that there would be scholarships for the taking, and that I would probably have my choice, but this was real, and Wake Forest was asking me first. That meant something to me.
“Yes!” I said immediately. “Thank you for believing in me,” I said through a shaky voice.
“Yes? Yes! I am so honored that you are choosing us. You are bound for great things. I’ll make sure my assistant gets everything in the mail to you, and we will see you at pre-season in the fall. Go enjoy this accomplishment, Allie. You deserve it! Congratulations! Have a good night,” then she hung up.
In complete shock, I set the phone down in the cradle slowly, then melted onto the floor. With my back against my bed, I pulled my knees to my chest and hugged them in disbelief. I had just earned a full ride to the top NCAA Division 1 field hockey school in the country for the sport that I loved to play. My eyes welled up with tears as I realized that I was one step closer to proving my Dad wrong.
Once the happy tears subsided, I put the lingerie neatly back into the bag, got dressed, and headed downstairs to tell my Mom the big news. I took the stairs two steps at a time, raced across the front hall, and through the dining room to find her in the kitchen making dinner.
“Hi, Sweetie,” she said, without looking up as she stirred something on the stove. “Getting hungry? Dinner is almost ready,” she said, absentmindedly.
“The head coach from Wake Forest just called!” I blurted out, hoping to catch her attention, but she kept her gaze on the pan in front of her as if she hadn’t heard what I said. “She offered me a full-ride athletic scholarship to play field hockey there in the fall!” I said, hoping for a celebratory reaction. Instead, she casually looked up at me.
“What will you major in at Wake Forest? Do they offer a program that you are interested in studying? How long do you have to decide? We can look at the calendar and schedule a college visit to see if you like the campus,” she said, then she looked back down at the pan and kept stirring.
A mixture of anger and sadness built within me at her nonchalant response.
“Mom! A FULL ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIP!” I said louder. “Did you hear me? What do you mean by ‘go on a college visit’? I accepted her offer! I’m going to Wake Forest! I don’t need to do a college visit! I don’t need to pick a major! I’m going to do what I love! I’m going to play field hockey at the best D1 school in the country! Not that you care! Not that you’ve ever come to a game! Not that you’ve ever seen me play or know how good I am!” I said as the rage boiled within me.
“Well, honey, you can’t just make that decision on your own; that’s a family decision,” she said, calmly as she glanced at me, then back down at the stove.
“Pretty sure it’s my decision since I’m the one who earned this through my own accomplishment! I’m not asking for your permission to follow my dreams!” I yelled. “I’m not hungry.” Then I stormed out, ran back upstairs, and slammed my bedroom door behind me.
This was the type of dismissal that I had endured my entire life. Nobody had ever taken me seriously. Amy had gotten all the credit and attention. I had just been offered a full ride to hone my craft at the best school in the country, and that still wasn’t good enough. When would it be enough for my mom? I picked up the phone and called Chris, but nobody answered. It was probably for the best. He would be here at 6:00 anyway, and I could tell him then. I set down the receiver, then picked it back up and called Isabelle.
“Hey!” she said after the first ring.
I was silent for a moment, still in shock.
“What is it, Allie? Are you okay?” she said again before I finally replied.
“I was just offered a full ride to Wake Forest to play field hockey.”
“Holy shit, Allie! Are you serious? That’s huge! Congratulations, I am so happy for you, nobody deserves that more than you!” she screamed into the phone.
In the background, I could hear Isabelle’s mom asking what the commotion was about. Isabelle pulled the phone away from her ear and repeated the news, and her mom hollered, ‘Congrats, Allie!’ in the background. That was the response I was hoping for from my own mom.
“Thanks. I’m pretty excited. I just wish my own mom had reacted the way that you and yours did. Mine basically said, ‘Okay, well, maybe, but you still have to go visit and see if you even like it.’ Hello, you don’t turn down a full ride to Wake Forest to play field hockey.”
“I’m sorry, Allie, that really sucks. You’re going to go though, right?”
“Yes, obviously I’m going. I don’t care what my mom says. I’m going. She hasn’t supported me before, so why should I expect her to support me with this?” I said. “I’m excited to go riding tomorrow,” I said, quickly changing the subject. “I could have waited to just tell you then, but I felt like I had to tell someone tonight. Thanks for picking up the phone,” I said.
“That’s what friends are for. I am so happy for you. I’ll see you tomorrow!” Then she hung up. Friends. Isabelle really was my only friends and I was so thankful for her.
