10
ASPEN
Lubbock, Texas – May 19th
Heading into the registrar’s office, I had made my pact with the devil and was about to apply for financial aid. Student loans were never supposed to be in the cards, but I was desperate.
Sure, twenty thousand dollars would turn into thirty thousand, then forty thousand, and even fifty thousand dollars before I could pay it all off, but I had to finish my degree.
“Miss Dell, there you are,” the woman at the desk said as I pushed open the door to her office.
I couldn’t recall her name and had to look at the nameplate on her desktop. “Here I am, Miss...” I had to take a second to read the name. It couldn’t be right. There were too many Zs and even some Ks. Is that three Ys?
“They call me Miss Z,” she helped me out. “Please, take a seat. I’ve got a lo
