Their Playground

Chapter 6

"So Kim," Cole began, pausing to take a sip of his latte. "What are your plans after graduation?"

"You mean in terms of college?" Cole nodded. "Well, I want to go to college, for sure. I'll probably end up going to community college. I want to study to become a teacher."

Cole furrowed his brow. "Why community college? You got into some pretty prestigious schools, didn't you?"

"Yes," Kim sighed, "but it's just not that simple Cole. I can't even afford tuition at public universities, much less at any of the Ivies. Scholarships can only cover so much, you know, and the Ivies aren't too generous with merit scholarships in the first place. And I'm pretty sure my grade in math is not selling me to the scholarship people."

"I can help you learn math," Cole offered. "It just doesn't seem fair that you got into all of these good schools, and you can't go to any of them just because college is so friggin' expensive nowadays."

Kim laughed. "Cole, it's fine! I really appreciate your eagerness to help, but as long as I can become a teacher, I'll be happy wherever I end up." Then, changing the subject, she added, "How about you? What are your plans?"

"I'm going to UCLA," Cole told her. "Majoring in biology."

"Wow. UCLA? That's . . . far." Kim paused to sip her frappechino. "I'm sure you'll be really successful, though."

"Thanks." Cole fell silent, looking thoughtful. "You know, I've never tried a long-distance relationship," he said after a beat.

Kim knew her cheeks were bright red, if the heat creeping onto them was any indication. "Are you implying something in particular?" she asked, struggling to sound casual.

Cole's eyes widened. He hadn't meant to say that out loud. "No. Not yet, at least." At the implications of his words, Kim found she could no longer meet his eyes. Was it her imagination, or was her heart beating faster than usual?

"Well! I've got to go," Cole announced, looking rather uncomfortable. He was definitely regretting his careless statement earlier. He hoped Kim wasn't too weirded out. "I have some, uh, stuff to do. I really had a good time, though. Maybe we should do this again?" he suggested hesitantly.

Kim gave him a bright smile. "I'd like that." She knew that his abrupt departure was his way of escaping the uncomfortable topic he'd unintentially brought up, but she found his embarrassment endearing.

Cole smiled back. "Great! I'll see you Monday, then. We can work something out at school."

Kim agreed, and Cole left, though not before giving her one last wave.

Kim finished off her drink before following him out the door. He was already gone, so she headed straight to her car and left for home.

She needed to call Sarah when she arrived. They would psychoanalyze every little thing Cole had said and done that day, trying to figure out what it meant. After their conversation that day, Kim had begun to think that maybe he really did have feelings for her. Then again, Sarah was the expert in this field. She really didn't know anything about it.

As soon as she arrived home, she picked up the phone and began dialing Sarah's number. Before she could call, however, her mom called,"Kim, honey, I just got the mail. There's a letter for you."

Kim froze, her finger hovering over the call button. Could it be?

Hello again, readers. This chapter was so weird for me. As I was writing it, it was just another chapter involving a conversation between two characters. But now, as I'm editing it for publication, it's really hitting close to home for me, because I'm essentially in the same boat as Kim right now. I've gotten into my dream school, but at this point it doesn't look like I'll be able to afford it. By the way, if anyone knows of any good scholarships to apply to, by all means please pass the info on to me! Well anyways, I just thought it was interesting how coincidental life can be sometimes. Thanks for reading (and putting up with my personal, totally-irrelevant-to-your-life author's note)!

Lucia<3