The Virgin Ceremonies

Chapter 21: Virginia: Six Years Later

Chapter 21

Virginia: Six Years Later

Today was the day. My stomach was all butterflies. I'd finished the bar exam and been notified my results would be available after midnight. I'd taken sleeping pills instead of staying up. Sleeping pills and I were old friends now.

Over the last six years, I'd kept up my grades. I'd had a few missteps, a few B's, but I'd destroyed the evidence or else forged test results, and with a lot of extra credit, I'd managed to keep my GPA at a perfect 4.0. I was driven to excel in every class, to show my mother she couldn't refuse me.

That bar exam though, studying for it nearly killed me. The stress was still heavy on my mind, but it was over now. If I could just pass, I could convince my mother to let me call Brent again. That thought had been my single driving motivation.

I leapt out of bed, throwing open the window, breathing in the outside air. It was a hot July afternoon. Birds chirped and fluttered by. The clouds were beautiful below me while the sky was bright red.

"Another beautiful day!"

I rushed downstairs in my pajamas, my feet not even touching the floor. I was so excited.

"Good morning, Mom," I said.

"Ginny, sweetheart, you're up early."

"Today's the day. Remember, my results? I'm going to pass. I know it! And then we're going to talk about you-know-who." I was forbidden from saying his name.

"Ginny, it's 6:00 a.m. I haven't even had my coffee."

"Mmm, coffee! I'll have his delicious mocha cappuccino again! Remember, Mom, you promised."

Diana sighed. "If your Nana were still alive, she'd tell you how foolish you were behaving right now."

"What do you mean, Mom? I've done everything you asked."

"Yes, you have, but I've already looked up your bar results online."

"You saw them? How did I do?" I said excitedly. "I studied so hard. I know I did amazing!"

My mother pointed at the wall. The results were written in blood: 265/400. "You needed a 266 to pass."

The hot day turned cold as I heard the thunder crash outside, and the rain smashed against the windows. The floor flooded, soaking my feet with cold water, ice cubes everywhere. "No!"

"Yes. You failed."

"No!"

"Now, I don't ever want to hear about that boy again! Come help with the pies."

"The pies? Quinn will make them!"

"No, she's too busy with Tom and the baby."

"Mom, can't I retake the test next year? Please, I'll do better! I'll get a perfect score!"

"All right then. Maybe."

"Really?" Hope filled my heart and the storm vanished but the water remained. My mother and I floated up to the ceiling where it was drier. "Tell me what I have to do to see him again."

"Pass the bar with a perfect score, and then go work for your aunt Olivia. After you've won your first 10 cases, I'll consider it again."

"After I've won 10 cases?" I cried.

"And if you lose even one of those cases, you'll have to wait until you've been made partner."

"No, no, no, that's impossible! That's decades away!"