“So, uh, what’s up?” Quentin tries.
Nikki offers a half laugh but rubs her thumb against the rose quartz around her neck. She’s waiting to hear from Parsons, though she’s a shoo-in for their design merchandising program. Her portfolio featured dresses I’d die to buy.
“Robert, you okay?” she asks.
But he stays silent, probably for the first time in his life, and chugs his soda, crushing the plastic bottle in a swift, crunching motion. Guess he’s not so confident after all.
“Where’s Marla?” I ask.
“Ditched lunch for a workout,” Henry says as he sets his tray down next to mine. “A distraction.”
“This is hell,” I admit.
Everyone mumbles their agreement and turns back to their food. We’re mostly silent until the bell rings.
The rest of the day is crap, too. It’s as if Mr. Beaumont purposely tries to make his achingly long lecture onUlysseseven more boring than it has to be. With only five minutes left in the class, he looks at us with pity.
“How about we just relax for now?” he asks. “Feel free to use your phones.”
Within seconds, everyone has their admissions pages and email open even though we all know we won’t hear for hours.
When I finally get home, eons later, I fly past Mom, Dad, and Jared, shut myself in my room, and lock the door. I sit on my bed, hide my phone under the pillow, and open the State admissions portal. Might as well get that over with.
I enter my info and chew on a stray cuticle as the page loads.
Congratulations!it reads as confetti rains down the browser.
My heartbeat steadies. Thank god. That bodes well.
I take a deep breath and bring up Brown’s page. My fingers are heavy as I key my login and my throat goes dry as the text comes into view.
Suddenly... I shriek.
It happened.
I did it.
“Are you in? Did you get in?” Dad yells from the hallway.
I choke out a response. “Yes.”
Mom throws open the door and wraps me in a hug. “Sweetie!” she yells. “It was all worth it.”
My cheeks are wet and my shoulders shake. I let herembrace me like I’m a kid again. I rest my head against her neck and she compresses me into a tight little ball. Itwasall worth it. My future is set.I did it.
Jared bounds down the hallway, panting. “In?” he asks.
I nod.
His smile gets wider. “Knew it.” Then he wraps his arms around Mom, Dad, and me and knocks his shoulder into mine.
Mom finally untangles us all and holds my chin in her hands. “Let’s celebrate,” she says. Her eyes are wet, too. “I made mac and cheese.”
After dinner, Mom ducks her head into the refrigerator, rummages around, and emerges with an icy green champagne bottle, wrapped in foil at the top.
“You deserve this, kiddo,” Dad says. He rests a large, steady hand on my shoulder, winks, and brings a napkin to his face. “You worked so hard for this. And after everything you’ve been through...” He squeezes my arm at the table and waves a hand to Mom. “You make us so proud. Four glasses! One for Jared, too. This only happens once in a lifetime.”
Jared grins. The excitementiscontagious. He even volunteers to clear the plates and before we disperse, he nuzzles against my shoulder for a hug. “Did you tell Adam yet?”
