City Spies Oneshot Collection

Georgetown Decision

Sydney tries to make Paris more optimistic before she forces him to open his decision letter from Georgetown

"So, did you get in?" Sydney called to Paris through his bedroom door.

"I don't know yet," Paris said as he got up to let her into his room.

"I thought they were supposed to let you know today," Sydney said. "Shouldn't they have sent out emails overnight?"

Paris shrugged. "I haven't checked my email yet."

"Why not?" Sydney asked.

"I just haven't yet," Paris said, straightening out the papers sitting on his desk.

"It's not like they're going to reject you," Sydney said. "You'd be such a good fit for them. They'd probably love to have you. All the schools would."

"I don't think that's really true," Paris said. "Admissions have been really competitive this year. And I'm not American, so it's even harder."

Sydney waved this off. "No way. You're amazing. They're gonna let you in. You'll see that just as soon as you go and check."

"And when they don't let me in?"

"Have a little optimism," Sydney said. "You have great grades, really high test scores, and a very impressive resume."

"I do not have a very impressive resume," Paris said. "I barely need to have a resume. I could fit all the important stuff on a post-it note."

Sydney rolled her eyes. "I know Georgetown doesn't know all the ways you're amazing because of security, but surely they know enough."

"Well, I don't know that my essays-"

"I've read your essays," Sydney said, cutting Paris off. "Some of the best things I've ever read."

"You wouldn't say that if I wasn't your brother."

"Yeah, I would," she said. "Because it's true. Those things are works of art. Masterpieces. The pinnacle of college admissions literature!"

"They were so far from that," Paris said.

"Just check your email," Sydney said.

"I'll do that eventually."

"You're just gonna be worried sick until you look." Sydney took Paris's phone off his nightstand and held it out to him.

"What are you going to say when I don't get in?" Paris asked as he took his phone.

"Nothing," Sydney said. "Because you're going to get in."

"I'm serious, Syd."

"I'll go let Monty know, and she'll bake you a cake and start pressuring you into going to Oxford."

"I'm probably not going to get in there either," Paris said.

"Open. Your. Email."

"Ok, Ok," Paris said.

"What's it say?" Sydney asked, looking over Paris's shoulder.

"I have a status update in my application portal."

"And that update says?"

"Give me a minute," Paris said. "Let me type in my password."

"How long is your password?" Sydney asked impatiently.

"Not long enough."

"I knew it!" Sydney shouted as soon as Paris logged in.

"How can you even read the letter from there?" Paris asked, smiling as he read through it himself.

"I have wonderful eyesight," Sydney said. "And it's easy to see the confetti."

"They could still have given me confetti if I didn't get in," Paris said, trying to otwardly play it cool despite the fact that he was internally freaking out. "Like as a consolation prize. Just like Monty's going to be baking a cake either way."

"Yeah, but they wouldn't," Sydney said. "Anyway, go tell Monty what kind of a cake you want, and try not to hit the ceiling jumping for joy."