Chapter 14:The Application
1142 Words
The application arrived on a Tuesday.
Riley found it in her email after school.
She had been expecting it for weeks, but seeing the message still made her stomach tighten.
She opened it.
International Student Scholarship Programme — Application Portal
Her fingers hovered over the screen.
This was real.
She had been talking about university for months, but talking was different from actually filling out an application that could take her across the ocean.
She saved the page and put her phone away.
She wasn’t ready to tell Ethan.
Not yet.
At dinner, Ethan was talking about a law internship he’d heard about.
“Dad said I should start looking at firms before graduation.”
Mrs. Parker smiled.
“You still have time.”
“I know. I’m just thinking ahead.”
Owen leaned back in his chair.
“What are you thinking?”
“Law.”
“Always law?”
“Probably.”
Riley listened quietly.
Their father had already started talking to Ethan about the future. Owen was considering different options too.
Everyone seemed to have somewhere they were going.
She suddenly felt like she was the only one standing still.
Her mother noticed.
“Riley?”
She looked up.
“Hmm?”
“You’ve barely eaten.”
“I’m fine.”
Ethan frowned.
“You’ve said that three times this week.”
“Because I’m fine.”
Owen glanced at her.
He didn’t say anything.
That somehow made her more uncomfortable.
After dinner, Riley went upstairs and opened the application again.
It asked for grades.
Activities.
Achievements.
A personal statement.
And finally:
Preferred country of study.
She selected United States.
Her heart beat faster.
She had always wanted to see somewhere beyond their neighborhood.
But the thought of actually leaving made her chest tighten.
She began typing her personal statement.
Then stopped.
What did she want?
The honest answer was complicated.
She wanted independence.
She wanted to study.
She wanted to discover who she was without Ethan always being beside her.
And she wanted to know whether she could build a life that belonged entirely to her.
She saved the draft.
A knock sounded.
She quickly closed the laptop.
“Come in.”
Owen opened the door.
“Mom asked me to see if you’re coming downstairs.”
“I’m working on something.”
He noticed the laptop.
“School?”
“Yeah.”
He nodded.
“Okay.”
He started to leave.
“Owen?”
He turned.
“Yeah?”
“Have you ever wanted to go somewhere far away?”
He thought for a moment.
“Sometimes.”
“Why?”
He shrugged.
“Maybe I’d like to know what I’m like somewhere nobody knows me.”
Riley stared at him.
That was exactly what she had been thinking.
“Would you leave if you had the chance?”
Owen looked at her.
“I don’t know.”
She smiled faintly.
“Me neither.”
He left.
Riley reopened the laptop.
This time, she didn’t hesitate.
She finished the application.
Before pressing SUBMIT, she stared at the button for several seconds.
Then she clicked it.
The confirmation appeared almost immediately.
Application successfully submitted.
Riley leaned back.
She had done it.
She didn’t know whether she would be accepted.
She didn’t know if she would actually leave.
And she definitely didn’t know how Ethan and Owen would react if she did.
But for the first time, the future felt like something she had chosen.
Not something waiting to happen to her.
Riley kept the application to herself for three days.
She told herself it was because she didn’t want everyone asking questions before she knew whether she had been accepted.
That wasn’t the whole truth.
She was afraid Ethan would try to talk her out of it.
She was afraid her mother would worry.
And she was especially afraid of what Owen would say.
On Friday afternoon, she found Ethan and Owen in the backyard.
Ethan was lying on the grass with a book over his face.
Owen was sitting against the tree, reading.
Riley stood a few feet away.
“Can I tell you something?”
Ethan removed the book.
“That sounds serious.”
“It isn’t.”
Owen closed his book.
“What happened?”
Riley took a breath.
“I applied for a scholarship.”
Ethan sat up.
“For what?”
“University.”
“Where?”
She hesitated.
“The United States.”
Silence.
Ethan looked at Owen.
Owen looked back at him.
Then Ethan asked, “When did you decide this?”
“A while ago.”
“And you didn’t tell us?”
“I wasn’t sure I was going to apply.”
“You should’ve told me.”
Riley’s expression tightened.
“Why?”
“Because you’re my sister.”
“And?”
“And I should know these things.”
Owen interrupted quietly.
“She doesn’t have to tell us everything.”
Ethan looked at him.
“I know.”
Riley crossed her arms.
“It doesn’t feel like you know.”
Ethan stood.
“I’m not trying to stop you.”
“You’re acting like it.”
“I just want to understand.”
“There’s nothing to understand. I want to study there.”
Owen watched them carefully.
Riley’s voice softened.
“I need to know I can do something on my own.”
Ethan’s expression changed.
“You think you can’t?”
“I don’t know.”
That answer silenced him.
Owen stood too.
“You should go for it.”
Riley looked at him.
“Really?”
“If that’s what you want.”
Ethan sighed.
“I hate this.”
Riley smiled slightly.
“I know.”
“I mean it.”
“I know.”
He looked at her for a long moment.
Then he pulled her into a hug.
Riley laughed against his shoulder.
“You’re crushing me.”
“Good.”
Owen smiled.
When Ethan let go, he looked at her.
“If you get accepted, we’ll figure everything out.”
Riley nodded.
“Okay.”
“And you’re calling every day.”
She laughed.
“I haven’t even been accepted yet.”
“I don’t care.”
Owen shook his head.
“You’re already planning the rules.”
“Someone has to.”
Riley looked between them.
For the first time since submitting the application, the fear eased.
She still didn’t know what would happen.
But whatever came next, she wouldn’t be facing it alone.
That night, Riley checked her email before going to bed.
Nothing.
She closed her laptop.
Then the notification appeared.
She stopped.
Her heart began pounding.
New message — Scholarship Programme.
Riley stared at the screen.
Her hand hovered over the trackpad.
She wasn’t sure she was ready to find out.
But she clicked anyway.
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