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992 Words
Chapter 1
Skylar's POV
"Refresh again!" I could hear my sister Becca say over the phone.
"I did already for the umpteenth time, but nada."
I could feel my vision begin to blur as I've been looking at the computer screen for an hour straight.
"Well try again!" Becca screeched.
"it's already an hour past the time they said an acceptance letter would come, maybe this means I got rejected."
"You didn't work your butt off at Colombia University for no reason. No one is more deserving of this teaching assistant position more than you, hell I didn't even graduate with a 4.3 GPA and got a certificate of honors for working with those with special needs. I may be three years older than you, but you rock."
"Aww thanks sis, I'm going to refresh again."
I refreshed the sss page once again but once again nothing but promotion offers from Forever21 and Zooshoo.com. Thank you but I don't give a crap about 20% off winter suede booties.
"That's it, I didn't get accepted." I said over the phone.
"That makes no sense to me Sky but I am very sorry, there will plenty of offers for you soon just keep your head up."
I could hear how defeated my sister felt, and I couldn't blame her because I was feeling the exact same way.
"Becca, give my love to my brother in law James, and I'll talk to you later."
"Okay love ya!"
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Taking off my clothes and dumping them in the waste basket I headed towards the bathroom and entered the shower turning the dial to hot.
What should I do? I asked myself. Applying for the teaching position at Cornell University was a huge gamble, to even teach at such a prestigious school would be an honor. The scent of lavender filled the small confines of the shower immediately relaxing me. Well it's their loss. I graduated top of my class with an English degree and a concentration in special education so anywhere else will accept me. I could always move back to California and apply for a position at UCLA. As fast as that thought came about, I wanted to bury it. There is a reason why I wanted to leave California. I needed to find my own identity, my own purpose, and most importantly my life's meaning. I exited the shower and wrapped a fluffy beige towel over my slender but busty frame.
I grabbed a personal size frozen pizza from the freezer and popped it in the microwave. It's not that I'm too lazy to put it in the oven, it's just that I prefer the sogginess rather than all that crispy stuff. Just the thought brought me to cringe: Gross.
The three beeps signaled that the pizza was done, so I placed it on a plate and added more Parmesan cheese than what was necessary and sat my butt on the couch.
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I was awoken by my phone ringing. "Who the hell is calling me at midnight?" The call was coming from San Francisco California. With hesitation, I answered the phone.
"Hello?" I answered with my voice a bit groggy.
"Is this Ms. Skylar McLarin?" A deep powerful voice responded back.
The power and assertiveness that came from his voice caused me to sit up from my bed immediately.
"Y-Yes, this is she." I answered, my voice failing as I went.
"This is Nicholas Donavan from Cornell University's English department-"
"Oh yes hello! I am so pleased to hear from you." I answered with excitement in my voice.
"Please allow me to complete my sentence before you interrupt me."
"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to." I said in a hush.
"There is a question that I have that I need you to clear up for me."
I waited about three seconds after he said that to make sure he was done speaking.
"Yes please go ahead."
"What is your relationship with Professor. Tom Russo at Colombia University?"
"Well he was my mentor, he taught me all there is to teaching. He also allowed me to be his TA for a temporary position last year." I answered back. Questioning why he would even ask that.
"Well he personally told me not to hire you for this position, Why would he go out of his way to say that?"
I could feel tears leaving my eyes. The fact that such a man would even dare say a thing that would affect my career sickens me.
"Sir, please look at my academic resume. You will see that I'm a person that is capable for this job, please don't let what my past professor say affect your decision.
"I can see how great of a student you were. The problem I have is why would someone from such an elite school personally go out of his way and tell me not to hire you, can you tell me that?
"I-I'm sorry sir I cannot. But thank you for the opportun-"
"If there is anything you should know about me, I don't make decisions off what others do or say. I'll put you on probation for a month. If I like what I see the job is yours, if not then you know the rest."
"Oh my god, thank you so much sir!" I said ignoring the fact that he cut me off even though he didn't like that being done to himself.
"Class begins in exactly two months' time, I will email you the syllabus to review, and the class schedule. Good night."
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With that the phone call ended. So many questions circled my mind like
Is this even real?
Will he like me enough to take me off probation?
Why in the world did he call from California when the school is in New York?
and lastly, What was his name again?
- Writer
