“Hey, where did you go?” Trent asks as he smooths my hair down with his big hand. “I lost you and I don’t want that to happen.” He leans in and kisses my nose.
“I was just thinking.” I look down at the new sport shoes Mrs. Hackly bought for me, and back up into Trent’s eyes.
Trent takes a deep breath in, looks to his left and sees the bus coming. “Your bus is here. I’ll see you this afternoon. I’ll be waiting right here,” he says, as he kisses my cheek and lets go of my hand.
I get on the bus and sit at the front at one of the window seats. As the bus pulls away, I look back to Trent who raises his hand and waves to me.
“Lily Anderson to the principal’s office. Lily Anderson to the principal’s office,” comes over the loudspeaker while I’m in my English class.
Mrs. Richards looks up from the desk and says, “Lily, you can pack your desk and go.”
Silently, I pack my bag and leave the classroom, making my way to the office.
When I get there, I sit and wait for the office staff to tell Mr. Murphy I’m here. I’m not sure why I’m being summoned. I haven’t done anything wrong.
“Lily,” Mr. Murphy says as he comes out of his office and looms over me. “Come into my office.” He leads me in and I sit down, waiting for him to tell me whatever it is he has to say. “You’re almost finished with high school. What are your plans for the summer?”
“I need to get a job, but I’m not qualified for anything. So I’ll see if I can get a job at the supermarket.”
“That’s admirable, to save some money before you head to college?”
He links his fingers together, like he’s praying and leans his arms on the chipped and old desk.
“I’m not going to college,” I say as I purse my lips together, not really wanting to say why.
“Why? A mind like yours shouldn’t be wasted in a supermarket. Don’t get me wrong, I’m impressed you want to get a job instead of hanging with your friends at the beach the entire summer, but you can’t just get a job and stay there. A supermarket is not for you. You need to be in college, studying something that will make a difference.”
I look down at my shoes. I can’t really tell him why I can’t go. He’ll think I’m stupid.
“Lily?” he questions. When I look up, his bushy gray eyebrows are drawn in tight, and he’s looking at me with a lot of concern. “Why can’t you go? Is it money?”
I nod my head, and look down again.
“What about the scholarships that have been offered to you? Berkley, Brown, University of Pennsylvania, even Princeton. They all want you, full scholarships.”
I look up again, and Mr. Murphy is smiling at me, clearly telling me this is not some kind of joke. “No, Sir. No one has approached me. I’ve had no interviews, no letters, nothing. You must have me mistaken for someone else.” I’m stupid. It can’t be me.
“I see,” he says leaning back in his chair and moving his hands so they’re on his lap. “Well then, we have a problem.” He moves again, opens his drawer to the right and takes out a stack of papers. “You see, Lily, when the first one contacted me and wanted to know why you hadn’t replied I thought maybe one of the offers didn’t make it to you. Then two days later, another university called to say you hadn’t replied. Then a third, and a fourth.”
What does that even mean? Some of the top universities of America want me? Is that even right? I look over my shoulder outside the door, then turn to look over my other shoulder. I just want to make sure no one is going to jump out from behind a potted plant and yell “Gotcha!” putting the joke on me.
“I thought it was really odd that all these colleges want you, and you had not even been courteous enough to reply. But the more they called me, the more I thought, this is not like you.” I look at Mr. Murphy, not sure what to say. “You never received any offers, did you, Lily?”
Damn, damn, damn. “No, Sir,” I finally say after a few seconds of quiet. My Dad must have thrown them away.
“I didn’t think so. I’ve spoken to every one of them and convinced them to give you until the end of the week to make a decision.”
“That’s tomorrow,” I say, as I look up into the kind and gentle eyes of Mr. Murphy.
“Yes, it is. But these four universities are offering you full scholarships.” He taps on the small pile. “These here are offering you partial scholarships.” He taps on a second, bigger pile. “In this pile, there’s one of the top universities in America.” He indicates the ones offering full scholarships. “And in this pile, there’s a university that’s furthest away from here, in case distance away is a factor.” His tone drops, and in that one sentence, I know Mr. Murphy knows.