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Saturday morning, I get some vegetables out of the garden and walk to the cemetery. I spend the morning talking to my mom.
I never know what to do with the time between sports. The school is locked because practices don't exist.
I pull out a cucumber and munch on it while I clean mom's neighbors' stone. I really need to find something to do.
"Good morning." He wipes sweat off his face with his tee shirt.
"It's afternoon, Everett."
"Good afternoon." He glances around, and his eyes fall on the random man's headstone. "Who is this?"
"I have no idea."
"Do you clean them all?"
I try not to roll my eyes. "What happened to you yesterday? Nobody came back to any classes."
"UGH." He stares into the sky like he's waiting for it to swallow him. "s*x education and counseling with Mr. Baker."
I choke on my cucumber and cough it up. "He's so old."
"I am aware."
"Did you get in trouble?"
"No. I've never even had s*x. They were just throwing names around. I got sucked into s*x ed for an entire damn day."
I try to keep my composure and lose. I burst out laughing. "Guilty by association."
"Exactly. You ever had s*x?" He freezes as soon as he says it. "That's not my business. I shouldn't have asked."
I shrug my shoulders and take a bite. "Not by choice. What did you do in s*x ed?"
He loses a few shades of color. "Did you tell anyone?"
"My mom."
He glances at her gravestone and seems to understand. "What happened?"
"My dad and his stupid friend made a bet. My dad lost. Apparently, he was confident enough to bet me. Or maybe it didn't matter. Anyway, he lost, and his friend took what he won." For some reason, it feels like a weight is lifted off me. I've never said it out loud before.
He sits on the ground and rubs his hair all over.
"So, what did you do in s*x ed?"
"Put condoms on cucumbers."
I pull the cucumber out of my mouth and stare at it. "Suddenly, this is very awkward."
"Did you report it?"
"No. Nobody would believe me anyway. I just wanted to move on and forget." I take another bite. "There's stuff in the bag if you're hungry."
He grabs a tomato and changes the subject. "What are you going to do after high school?"
"I have to see how the testing goes this week. I'm hoping to do good enough to get scholarships somewhere. What about you?"
"Maple University."
"You already got accepted?"
"Yep." He smiles and bites the tomato. I can tell he's proud of himself.
"Congratulations. That's a good college. I've read loads about it. What are you planning to major in?"
"Business."
"Best college for that. You picked a good one."
"What are you hoping to major in?"
I shrug my shoulders. It's clear that we're from two totally different worlds even though we live in the same small town. All I can do is hope a college offers me something. I'm not going to have options.
He stares at me like he's waiting for an answer.
A sigh comes out. "I'll take any offer. I wish for an offer to anywhere."
"I'm sure you'll get some. Hopefully Maple. We could be close. You're the smartest person in our grade."
"Hardly." I toss what's left of the cucumber. "I need to go study. See you Monday."
"Good luck on the tests."
"You too."
The next week is horrible. It's nothing like the little two-hour practice test. This is two to four hours of testing every day. My brain is fried after it.
For the weekend, I stay in my garden and read books that aren't educational. I desperately need a break from them.
A couple of weeks later, everyone in my grade sits in the study hall and waits for the results. I fidget with everything near me. I have never been so nervous about anything.
The principal hands out the results. He puts a big manilla envelope in front of me. It says Winslet in big black letters. I'm too scared to open it. All my hard work is right here and all I can do is pray someone noticed me.
Mrs. Young puts her hand on my shoulder. "Let's see. We have to look."
She pulls me out of my bubble. I hear happy cheers and complaints coming from all sides. My fingers shake so bad, they can't even open the envelope.
Mr. Nelson kneels on the other side of me. "Aurora?"
I drop it. "I can't breathe."
"Yes, you can. Calm down, sweetie. I'll help you." Mrs. Young pulls the pages out.
Mr. Nelson pulls the grade sheets off.
Right on top, BlackRock University, 100% Merit Scholarship. I point at the number and shake. I can't even speak.
Mrs. Young rubs my shoulder. "BlackRock has offered you a Merit Scholarship that will cover 100% of your education costs if you accept it. I knew you would do well."
Mr. Nelson flips through papers, "They're not the only college offering this. You will have a decision to make." Four more offers are behind it.
I jump up. "THIS..."
"How?..." Everett tries to ask something and changes his mind.
I drop so fast I didn't notice it was coming. Mr. Nelson did though. I hear him yell something about Medical as I get laid on the floor.
I wake up with the nurse fanning my face. "There you go. Sit up and drink some water."
The room has cleared out. I must have been unconscious for a few minutes. "Sorry. I've never fainted before. I didn't know..."
"It's ok. It can happen. Especially with the good news you got. Congratulations."
"Thank you." I smile at the envelope. My life will finally change. "I feel better."
"I figured. Sometimes things just overwhelm us. This is huge. We understand that."
Mrs. Young helps me up. "We need to go speak with the guidance counselor now. Make sure you understand the offers and pick the best for you."
"I'm sure it's BlackRock." I grab the folder.
The ladies laugh and the nurse gives me a hug. "Would be for me too. You should still look through the other offers."
"I will. Thank you."
"My pleasure. Congratulations and good luck."
Mrs. Young walks me to the office. A few people in my class are standing around. Mrs. Young puts me in a chair. "Make sure she doesn't fall over, Everett."
He sits beside me. "What happened?"
I pull the BlackRock paper out and point at the 100%.
"Damn. I knew you would get something, but damn."
I stuff it back inside the folder. "I'm not passing out again."
"Fair enough." I hear a chuckle in his voice.
Mr. Nelson rubs his face. "WHY ARE YOU ALL IN MY OFFICE? I CANNOT CHANGE SCORES. GO TO CLASS."
I try to stand up and Everett grabs my arm. "Not you."
"Why?"
"You'll fall over."
I lean back in the chair and let myself relax. I do need to calm down.
Mr. Nelson puts a chair in front of us and has a seat. "You've got options, Aurora. Maple, Seal, Clearwater, and Heritage are offering you 100% scholarships. You can choose your major at those schools. BlackRock has offered you a position in their astro-physics department. You scored higher than they require in every category and there are three open positions this year. They have offered you one of them. What are your thoughts?"
"BlackRock."
Everett turns to me. "It's ten hours away."
Not sure why that's an issue. "I'll start walking now."
He rubs his eyes.
Mrs. Young hugs me. "No need. I will drive you before the semester starts. My daughter can ride with us. We'll get a sneak peek of BlackRock."
Nelson rolls his eyes. "She's in first grade."
"Never too soon to college shop. And how often do people get a chance to see BlackRock in person?"
"You make a fair point. But, Aurora, I want you to think about this. Think about if this is really the major you want. The other colleges are excellent as well. And they are giving you freedom to pick something you want. Please do some research and look at their majors. Don't write them off because they're not BlackRock. This is going to affect the rest of your life."
Mrs. Young nods. "He's right, sweetie. We don't want you to get stuck in a field you hate."
"Tomorrow, instead of going to your classes, I want you to go to the computer lab and pick your favorite major at each of the colleges. You honestly need to understand what you're being offered before you decide. You have until next week to sign the acceptance forms. You'll be fine to take a few days to research this."
"You're right. I'll do what you ask. I know they're all great colleges. I would be proud to attend any of them."
"There you go. There's only 10 minutes left of class. Are you ok now?"
"Yea, I'm better."
"Good. You two are free to go. I think it would only disrupt the classes more if I sent you back."
"Thank you." Everett grabs my arm. "I'll make sure she gets home."
"Thank you. You two enjoy your night."
I get my stuff out of my locker and walk to his car. Not sure what I'm doing, but I'm not going home. I also can't walk away. Someone will report me. "Can you take me to the cemetery?"
"No."
I let go of the door handle and walk back towards the school. I'll wait until everyone leaves, then I'll go.
"Fine. Get in the car."
He takes us straight to his house. I remember it from when we were younger and rode the same bus. "You said."
"Yea, I don't care. Come on."
"Everett." I grab his arm. "No. You said..."
"What can I say? I'll take you there later, but you don't need to spend five hours in the cemetery." He pulls me with him. "I need help with the business homework anyway."
"No, you don't."
He laughs as we go through the door.
"You're early, Ev. And oh. You brought a guest." His mom gives me a weird look. She seems shocked.
"Sorry. I tried to leave. He pulled me."
"You'll be fine. We're going to work on homework, mom."
"Alright. I'll bring you a snack."
He pulls me to his bedroom and my mouth falls open. It's huge. He has a big bed and corner desk with a computer on it. An animal tank of some kind takes up a whole corner. He even has a recliner for a big TV.
I think about my bedroom and feel embarrassed. My mattress on the floor with a blanket and one table for clothes. This is too much. My feet stick to the floor, and I stare at the ground trying not to cry. This isn't embarrassment, it's humiliation.
My voice barely comes out, "I need to leave, Everett."
"Not yet." He puts his arm around me and leads me to a chair at the desk. "Let's work on homework."
I take a few deep breaths and pull my books out. I hide the tears as best as I can.
"Here you go." His mom puts some kind of wrap things and cups on the desk. "Let me know if you need anything else."
"Thanks, mom."
"Of course, Hun. Leave the door open."
I don't know how long I stare at the book pretending to read. Too humiliated to look up.
His voice is so gentle. "Stop. Everything is fine."
My muscles relax and I turn towards him. I want to yell and scream. But his lips touch mine.
He smiles. "Well, I was going to kiss your cheek. But that was better."
Frozen is the only word that could explain my mind. And my body. I stare at him completely lost for words.
"I can kiss better than that." He leans in.
I back up and blurt out, "I've never kissed anyone."
His eyes smile, then he looks sad.
"EWWW" A little boy runs out of the room.
"Sorry, I forgot where we were." He rubs his eyes and gets his book out.
It's difficult, but I force everything out of my head and work on homework with him.
"DINNER TIME."
"I'm going to go now."
"No. Eat with us."
"I am not doing that. It's not right."
"It's right. Brock eats here whenever he doesn't like what his mom makes. My mom doesn't care."
"I do."
"Why?"
"Because people don't do things for free. I don't want to owe anyone anything."
"You won't. It's just dinner. They're not buying you a house." He puts his arm around me and leads me to the dining room.
Jokes on him though. "Thank you for the snacks. I need to..."
"Aurora," his dad smiles. "I knew your mom."
I freeze again. I can't pull my eyes off him. "What was she like?"
Everett makes sure my ass lands in a chair.
- Writer
