Georgianna
“Georgianna! Telephone!”
I ran downstairs to where my mother was calling from. I was hoping it was Howie, although it was too early and he would have called my line. My mother handed me the phone with a neutral look.
“Did they say who it was?” I whispered as I took the receiver.
“Someone from Admissions at Central.” I saw a well wishing in her eyes and I gave her a big smile, my heart beating a little faster. I took the phone into our dining room and took a seat on the sofa.
“Hello?”
“Georgianna? Hi, it’s Kathleen McDowell, I saw you at your interview a few days ago?”
“Yes, Ms. McDowell, hi.”
“Well, Georgianna, I’m sorry to say I have some bad news,” she said. My brows furrowed.
“All right,” I returned hesitantly.
“I’ve tried every way I could the past few days to get you enrolled for fall, but it seems that it’s not as easy as I led you to believe. I’m sorry.”
My breath caught in my throat. “What does that mean?” I asked.
“What it means is that...well, I’m sorry, but there’s no way you’ll be admitted for fall semester. In addition to that, it seems that your scholarship at Ball State can’t be transferred here.”
I was starting to feel sick. “So not only am I not going to be able to go to school for at least a semester, I’ll be losing out on nearly $8000 when I do?” I managed to choke out. There was little chance I could still go to school without that money.
“I’m so sorry, Georgianna. I didn’t think that would be the case at all when we met. Maybe you can attend community college this semester?” she suggested sympathetically.
“Maybe,” I said softly. We were on the phone only a minute or two longer before I had to make excuse and say goodbye. I couldn’t believe it - things weren’t supposed to be happening like this. This was supposed to be painless. It wasn’t that community college was a bad option, but I wanted so badly to get back into university. Now CC might be all I could afford. I returned to the kitchen in a daze and grabbed my car keys, Mom watching me the entire time.
“Everything set for the fall?” she ventured. I shook my head, heading for the garage. “George, what is it?”
“Later, Mom, I’m sorry,” I called to her, fighting off tears. I climbed into my car and headed for anywhere, crying the entire time. I drove around for a long time that afternoon, thinking and not thinking, driving by Howard’s house to see if he was home. I needed to be reminded why I was doing this...what I needed more was his arms around me in a huge, world-encompassing hug.
Finally, sometime after three I turned his corner just as another car turned onto his street from the other end. I squinted, wondering why the car looked so familiar. As it turned into Howie’s driveway it hit me.
It was Jessica’s.
I parked a few houses down and watched her climb out of the driver’s side and him out of the passenger’s. He threw his arms in the air in what I assumed was excitement and run around to her side. I held a hand to my mouth as he swept her up in the hug I needed and give her the deep kiss I had been hoping for. I balled my hands into fists and squeezed my eyes shut. This wasn’t happening. It would go away, it was just a very bad dream. I opened my eyes, fully expecting to see nothing but Howie’s mother and sister’s cars in the driveway, but he was still kissing her. After a lifetime the separated and he took her hand, pulling her into the house. My heart was spasming as the door closed behind them. How? Why? I put my hands to my face and discovered I was crying - sobbing, actually. My whole body shook along with my heart. Everything that was good in my life had just fallen apart before my eyes in less than two minutes. It had been too good to be true. I should have known, somehow, all along. This shouldn't be a surprise. I wiped at my tears futilely and sighed a ragged sigh. I had to go home. I had to be somewhere other than that house, fast.
Chapter 12
