Tangled in Love

Chapter 16

Maya sat on the very edge of her bed, allowing her legs to dangle anxiously. The pit of her stomach pinched together, sewn and entangled by a skin-prickling needle that left behind a thin line of worry and further anxiety. The needle engraved the importance of her college applications into her mind, as if everything depended on them. She could get into a wonderful school, or a terrible school. What worried her most, though, was not getting into any school.

She heard her mother rumbling around the mail before a gasp of surprise exploded from her lips. "Sweetie! You got a letter in the mail!"

Maya froze for a moment, excited and scared and terrified and enthusiastic at the same time, before finally pushing herself off the bed and landing forcefully on her knees. In agony, she released a sharp, "ow!" but quickly pulled herself together, before continuing to run. She tried to dodge the corners, but her hips bumped against the edges of her blank walls, bullets of pain shooting up to her brain, but she ignored it.

"I want to see! I want to see!" Maya demanded, springing herself up and down with an expression of worry and a thin sliver of hope. She tried to grab the thick paper out of her mother's hands, but she kept a tight grip on it.

Mrs. Rader's face had a look of concern when she softly said, "Alright... But Maya, know that this does not determine your future. You are still a very smart-"

"Girl," Maya finished. "Yes, yes, I know!" She snatched the envelope from her mother's grip and ran to the first available space she saw on the couch, bouncing once she hit it. She lifted the white rectangular sheet of paper for the sunlight to allow her to see the contents, but there was no light. Sighing, Maya let go of the sheet, letting gravity pull the envelope down as she felt the couch dip from her mother's body.

Tuffs of her hair blew from her mother's breathing. "Well... aren't you going to open it?"

Maya slipped her fingers along the edge of the slip sealing the envelope shut. Slowly, she ripped the upper edge of the paper allowing for a folded sheet of paper to show itself. Maya opened her lungs, allowing oxygen in, and released it all. She punched the tip of the paper with her index finger and thumb before pulling it open into her sight.

She's eyes glazed over the first slip of paper that fell out, her eyes moving to the bolded parts before finally noticing two logos of all the others. NYU's purple logo revealed itself, and the logo for Chicago University was next in her sight.

Maya threw the letter into the air and attached herself onto her mother, her face exposing her glee.

"Mom! I got into Chicago! I got in! I got in! And I got a scholarship for NYU!"

"Oh, sweetie I'm so happy for you! This is wonderful! I knew you would get in! I'm so proud of you!"

Maya was radiating excitement as she began to gambol around their living room. Her cat noticed her and traced her steps, using her feet as toys to chase.

"Mom! I have to call someone!" She stopped skipping and looked to her mother. "Right? Isn't that what people do now? They call a friend, or a boyfriend? Right?"

"Call Nolan!"

"No... What if he... What if he gets mad that I want to go to Chicago?"

"He knows you are only in High School. If he really loves you, he will let you go if that's what is best for you."

Maya smiled and wrapped her arms around her mother once more. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too. Now call that darn boy!"

Maya sprinted into her room and snatched her phone from her desk.

She dialed as quickly as she could until the phone indicated Nolan was receiving the call by allowing monotone rings to vibrate out from the phone.