Hidden Passions

Chapter One

No one tells you how nerve-wracking waiting weeks or even months to find out if you will be accepted to the school of your dreams, growing up. I found out the hard way, both of my parents are airline attendants, so most of the time they are gone. The only person I have to guide me on this journey is my guidance counselor from high school, Mrs. Rink.

She has done everything but fill out the forms for me, she gave me a lot of good advice on what to put in my cover letter, and after she read it, she felt like it was one of the best cover letters she has read from a student. My dream, since I was young, has been to get into Princeton. Most little girls hear about Princeton and think that is where all of the princes will be. When I was little, I wanted to grow up to be a princess, attend Princeton, and find my prince. Reality hit when I got the harsh truth at the age of sixteen, that I would never be a princess to anyone other than my parents. I never changed my mind on Princeton though, I think deep down, I still have a little hope.

I hear the mailman pull up to the front door and then I hear the front of the mailbox squeak open and then closed. I ran straight out of the door to see if there was anything in it for me. There are a lot of magazines in my mom's name and some bills in my dad's. I about give up, when the last envelope has my name on the front, and the Princeton logo scrolled across the top right. I rip the side of the envelope open and pull out the paper. I drop the other envelopes because I don't care for them at the moment.

It reads, Dear Amelia,
Congratulations! I am delighted to offer you admission to Princeton's Class of 2025. Later this week we will send you a detailed letter of admission and a file of information to the email you provided us. If you applied for financial aid, an email from the Financial Aid Office will be sent to you as well to get you signed up. You will find out more extensive information about your financial aid award in that email.

I finish reading the letter, reach down to grab the discarded mail I dropped, and run into the house. I call my mom first since her flight should have landed already. It rings a few times then goes to voicemail. I leave her a message to call me back, then try my dad.

He answers right as I am about to hang up, "Hello?"

"Dad, I'm glad you answered! I got my letter from Princeton, I got in!" I yell into the phone, I can't help but jump up and down as I tell him.

"That's great princess, I am so happy for you. Have you told your mom yet?"

"I tried to call her, but it went to voicemail,"

"I'm sure she will be just as excited when she finds out. I am so happy for you, kiddo," He says, but I can't help but feel like he is trying to rush me off the phone. I can tell he's genuinely happy for me, but the tone in his voice almost sounds rushed.

"I just wanted to give you the good news. If you talk to Mom before I do, tell her for me, please. I'll talk to you later, love you,"

"Love you too, kiddo," Click.

I live in a small three-bedroom house right outside of Salem, Massachusetts. It only takes roughly five hours to drive there, and since I've had my car since I turned sixteen, I decided I would just drive there.

A week went by, and I received the financial aid email, as well as the email that contained all of the vital information I needed to start enrolling for classes. I graduated in May of this year, and it is now the end of July. Classes at Princeton start the second week of August, and I filled out an application for a dorm on the financial aid as well.

Once everything was settled and I got all of my classes for the first-semester set, I started to pack all of the things I thought I would need and the things I knew I would need. I even packed things that I didn't think I would need but still thought they would come in handy like my Halloween posters of Michael Myers posing with a painted pumpkin on his butt. I thought it was hilarious, some people may not get my humor, so just in case they do, I brought it with me.

I'm not allowed to get my key, or access to my dorm for another couple of days, so instead of waiting to go, I decided to get online to find hotels close by that I could stay in, I want to travel around New Jersey as much as I can to get used to my surroundings. I have plenty of money saved in my account from my parents depositing random amounts every week since I turned twelve, so the food, gas, and room to stay in would be no problem.

In the six hours that it took me to get to the Holiday Inn that I reserved for three days, I saw four wrecks, a ton of suspicious-looking people, a few of those ugly-looking cyber trucks, and a lot of trees. I only had one deer try to commit suicide by running into the road and stopping in front of me early the morning I left. It would have taken a lot less time to get there, but, when I think of attending this school I get nervous. When I get nervous, I eat. I am an overthinker for sure, so I had to stop frequently for snacks.

In my hotel room, I open my iPad and go to the campus website. They have a ton of extracurricular activities that almost anyone could sign up for, but I am still undecided on whether I want to apply for any or not. After a while, I finally got tired enough to fall asleep, so I shut the blackout curtains. I turn the AC down all the way and snuggle into the fluffy comforter.