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Rory was still up when Gabi arrived home later that night. Her laptop was open, papers scattered across the table as she collected files of her work to submit with her application. Not like she really needed to; Roger Farrow already had printed copies of her spreads. But she did it anyway, at least for admissions to have everything on hand.
Gabi walked around the table and opened up the freezer, grabbing a carton of ice cream. “What do we have here? Late-night homework sesh?”
She hesitated, wondering if she should close her laptop and hide the application she was working on. But at some point, Gabi would find out the truth, so she decided it was now or never.
Rory twisted in her chair, looking at Gabi as she pulled down a bowl from the cupboard. “It’s a college application.”
The bowl almost clattered to the ground, but Gabi caught it quickly, sliding it on the counter as she swiveled to face her. “An application? I thought you already applied to schools.”
She exhaled. She did consider applying to the schools she listed to her mother that past fall. But every time she sat down to do it, she froze, anxiety building up in her chest as she slammed her laptop shut. Filling out the application for Baybrook didn’t make her feel that way. It actually made her feel giddy, her heart ripe with possibility.
“Did you not get into those schools?” Gabi asked.
You’ll always regret it if you don’t try.
She stood up, hands clutched to the back of the chair. “I’m applying for art school.”
Gabi cocked her head, looking flabbergasted. “Art school? Like, through a university or—”
“No,” she interrupted. “I’m applying to the Baybrook School of Fine Arts. I met with the dean today, and he thinks I would do well.”
“Bu-but,” Gabi stuttered. “Why would you not want to go to a university? And does the art school even give out degrees?”
“Yes, it would be a BFA, and I’m looking to focus on graphic design,” she explained. “I don’t want to go to a university.”
“Why not?” Gabi pleaded. “Don’t you want to go to college football games and join a sorority and live in a dorm and have late nights at the library with your friends?”
“Not really,” she admitted, her voice timid. “Also, do I really look like the sorority type?”
Gabi rolled her eyes. “You’re getting away from my point. Don’t you want the true college experience?”
She shook her head.
“I think you need to consider it.” Gabi harrumphed. “Where else did you get in? We can visit some of them, I’ll take time off.”
She felt her stomach churn, knowing how easily her mother was ready to take time off when it came to her college education.
She sucked in a breath and confessed. “I didn’t apply to other schools.”
Gabi’s eyes went wide, her eyebrows raised so high on her head they were hidden behind her wavy blonde bangs. “So when you told me you applied to UCONN and Quinnipiac and Northeastern—”
“I was lying. I didn’t apply to those places. Didn’t apply anywhere.”
Gabi let out a high-pitched laugh that sounded more like a screech. Rory watched as her mother paced back and forth, her face purple with anger. “I can’t believe you, kid. Why would you lie to me like this?”
“Because college is all you care about,” Rory said. “But I wasn’t ready for it. I didn’t want to disappoint you.”
“But it’s all we’ve been working toward,” Gabi pleaded.
“No, it’s all you’ve been working toward,” she said, her voice crackly as hot tears pooled down her cheeks. “You’ve been so hyper-focused on me going to school that you couldn’t even pay attention to the fact that I didn’t want to go in the first place.”
“Now what? I’ll just waste all of my hard-earned money so you can go to an art school and starve after graduation?”
“I won’t starve. The dean said—”
“I don’t care what the dean said, he just wants your money,” Gabi spat. “If you decide to go, I will not give you a single penny. You can have your college money next year when you’ve been accepted to a real school.”
Gabi left her melting ice cream in the bowl on the table and stormed off, slamming her bedroom door shut.
