Unexpected Luck

Chapter 3

"Did you get it?" Blaire asked with a big smile when I walked into her house after work.

"Get what?" My arms were full of my study materials and the snacks I'd bought that morning at the store. I was still in my zoo T-shirt.

Blaire held up a big white envelope.

My heart skipped a beat. "No. I came straight here from work. Which school?"

"Utah State."

I dropped my armload on her table. "And? Did you get in?"

"Of course. Just like you will."

I threw the pack of Sour Patch Watermelons at her head a little harder than I intended and she held up her hands to block the assault.

"What? We shouldn't be confident?" Blaire asked. She picked up the pack of candy and opened it.

"I don't want to jinx it. With my luck, I won't get into any colleges."

Blaire groaned. "What do you always say? There is no luck involved. This is about hard work, and we both know you've put in the time."

She was right. I had worked hard. I was a 4.25 GPA student, with extracurricular experience that included volunteer work, community outreach programs, clubs, and college prep courses. I had done almost everything on the "how to earn a scholarship" list I'd printed out years ago and stuck on my magnet board in my room. I wasn't just going to get into every college I applied to, I was going to have college paid for. I had to have it paid for.

I picked up Blaire's envelope. It was heavy in my hands. I turned it over and over again. "Is this the only one you got today?" It was taking everything in me not to skip this study session and go home to check my mail.

"Yes. No Stanford yet."

Stanford was Blaire's top choice, and she'd tried to convince me to make it mine as well. Stanford, like Blaire often pointed out, was one of the best schools for veterinary medicine (my dream job), as well as the best school for primary medicine (her dream job). But even though she was right, and in my heart of hearts I knew it was probably the perfect school for me, Stanford was in California, which is far away from Logan, Utah. Blaire had practically forced me to apply. She thought that I'd want to flee from my dysfunctional family. My family may have been dysfunctional, but they were mine, and I was the only one holding them together. The strings I was using were so frayed that I was sure without me they'd snap and everything would be broken. I needed to stay as close as possible. I needed to know I could come home regularly and check on everyone.

So, my top choice was the University of Utah. Just far enough away to live on campus, but still only an hour-long drive back home. Plus, it was an excellent school. I wasn't sacrificing anything by staying close.

The back door opened and Elise bounded into the kitchen. She still wore her tutu from earlier. Blaire and I immediately stopped talking about college. Elise was going to a community college and, depending on her mood, was very touchy about it.

"You didn't change at home?" I asked.

"I'm channeling my inner dancer." Elise grabbed my hand and spun me toward her.

"I like your inner dancer," I said.

"As you should." She let me go and her eyes zeroed in on the college packet that sat on the table. "Whose acceptance letter?"

"Mine," Blaire said. "I got into Utah State!"

"Nice! Congrats." Elise looked from Blaire to me and then back again. "You weren't going to tell me?"

"Of course, I was," Blaire said. "I was distracted by your tutu."

She shook her head. "Just because I don't have all your brains doesn't mean I'm a crappy, jealous friend. Tell me things like this."

"We will," Blaire said. "Promise."

"Ditto," I said. I picked up the bag of pretzels and handed them to Elise. "I brought you a snack."

"Thanks!" Elise said. "My favorite."

I went to the cupboard in Blaire's kitchen and retrieved three glasses. "Speaking of snacks, what kind of candy does Boyfriend like? I need to know for my party tomorrow."

"His name is Colton?" Blaire asked. "Huh."

I knew she was kidding but Elise still scowled in her direction. Then she turned to me and said, "I'm not sure. I just started dating him a couple weeks ago."

"Find out and text me." I poured Mountain Dew into our cups and took a swig of mine right away. I needed caffeine. It had already been a long day and we had at least three hours of studying ahead of us.

"I don't think you can call something a party when only three people are invited," Elise said as if she'd been thinking about this fact since our talk earlier today.

"I actually invited four, but Seth couldn't come."

"Zoo Seth?" Elise asked.

"Yes, but don't call him that if you ever meet him."

She laughed. "I'm sad he can't come. I wanted to finally meet the infamous Seth."

"Infamous? I wouldn't call him infamous."

"What would you call him?" Elise asked.

I looked up in thought. "Talked-about-on-occasion."

She nodded. "Okay, I wanted to meet the talked-about-on-occasion Zoo Seth."

"Yes, it would've been fun. He's fun. But whatever. No Zoo Seth."

"We are talking entirely too much about boys for a study session," Blaire said from her spot at the table.

"Yes, you're right," I said with a sigh, sitting down beside her and reaching for my Reese's Pieces. "Let's get to work."