Salted Wound

Chapter 72 Anastacia- May 8, 2019

I take a sip of my warm coffee and place the plastic cup on the table. I skim my eyes over my English essay one last time before hitting submit. I take a deep breath and press "enter". I am officially done with high school English! Ms. Hayes made this essay her official final and I finished it a week early. I feel a huge ball of weight fall off my shoulders and let out a loud sigh. Now I just need e-con, anatomy, and calc. Well, that's going to be hell.

I get up from the table and look around the cafeteria to see only a few people sitting at the booths. I walk over to the cash register and order a turkey sandwich and a small drink. I walk back to my table and check my phone for the time- that and to take a quick glance at my screen saver. It's a closeup picture of Bella yawning. She has a pink hat with a bow on it and is swaddled in a white blanket. In the picture, she looks so much like Strella when she yawns. Her eyes are slightly opened and her lips shape a perfect O. Her cheeks are rosy and bouncy and her eyelashes go all the way up to her light eyebrows. She's my little amoshi.

I finally pay attention to the time and realize it's 12:43. School has been half-days lately for the seniors since we're taking our finals first. I've been taking advantage of the hours to come and spend time with Strella and Bella. They give Strella the approval that she can take Bella home today after they both get a quick checkup. They fell asleep a while ago so I took the time to come and do some homework and get a bite to eat before I have to go to work later. I close the tab I have open and open a new one to check my e-mails. I haven't opened it in a while and I feel like I missed a couple of scholarship opportunities, so I should start again.

I find some spam mail, some promotions, and scholarship related mail. I go over the two scholarships I got accepted and add it to my scholarship files. So far I got $4,690 off scholarships and depending on if I go to university or community college I have a few that they are offering me. FAFSA was able to help me out, but I'm still missing a lot of money if I want to go to the university. I don't even know if I want to stay in a dorm if I end up going there, or even afford it. I sigh, knowing I'm probably going to end up going to community college while everyone else has fun partying at the university.

I hear a ping come from my laptop and I refresh the page. There's a new message from Wishbone Scholars and I stare at it, confused. I literally filled out the application at the beginning of the year and never heard from them again. I thought Ms. Hayes sent me a scam scholarship website and I just had to find other scholarships. I click it and scroll down to read what it says.

Dear Ms. Flores... Congratulations! We are pleased to send you this message directly to announce you as our 2019 winner...

I don't even continue reading. My mouth drops and I forget how to breathe. This can't be real. I scroll down to read the details. They are giving me a full ride to any university or community college I decide to attend and they sent me a bunch of programs I am eligible to take for my teaching degree. I back away from the table and cover my mouth. I'm going to college. I'm going to college!

I hear some footsteps come closer to me and the blond middle-aged waitress sets my turkey sandwich and soda on the table. I thank her and close my laptop and hog everything in my arms and jog to the exit. I hurry down the hall and find Strella's room and burst open the door. Strella is currently in the middle of giving Bella lunch and mom is by her side helping her position the baby on her breast. Adrian is sitting on the bed grabbing Strella's hand and touching the baby's foot.

"Um, knock please?" Stella teases.

"I'm going to college," I blurt without thinking. Everyone turns and stares at me.

"Community college?" Strella asks.

"No. The scholarship, the one Ms. Hayes told me to do, I got accepted and am receiving a full ride to any university I want."