Brute.

Twenty-One

"Open them," Jimmy laughed.

"I don't want to," I laughed nervously.

This morning Jimmy insisted that I come over to his place with all of my letters from the colleges and scholarship committees I applied to. We were sitting in his living room with all of the envelopes laid out in front of us.

"You're never going to know until you open them," Jimmy smiled at me.

"I know, but what do I do if they all say no?" I frowned, letting all of my anxieties get the best of me.

"Then you make a new plan," Jimmy smiled at me, "there are always more options."

I sighed and picked up the envelope from Duke. This is my dream school, and I don't know what to do if I don't get in. Even if I get into another school, the other schools aren't Duke. Other schools don't have the same level of a program. Other schools just aren't Duke. I opened the envelope and pulled the paper out. I didn't want to unfold it, but I needed to. Slowly, I unfolded and looked at the words typed on the page.

Dear Miss Myra Marx,

The Admissions Committee has carefully reviewed your application to Duke University. After much consideration, I regret to inform you that we are unable to offer you a place in the entering Class of 2020.

"Well?" Jimmy asked.

"I didn't get in," I sighed as I tossed the envelope back onto the floor.

"Well, Plan B," Jimmy smiled, "there's no use in letting some words on a page ruin everything for you. When a door gets slammed in your face, you can always pick the lock."

"Are you telling me to cheat the system?" I asked with a laugh.

"I mean, if you can figure out a way to sneak your way in then why not," Jimmy laughed.

I picked up the letter from ECU and opened the envelope to find another letter.

Dear Miss Myra Marx,

Congratulations. You have been admitted to East Carolina University for the fall 2020 semester. On behalf of current and past East Carolina University students everywhere, I welcome you to Pirate Nation!

"I got in," I whispered as I looked at the page in disbelief.

"You got in!" Jimmy cheered, "that's amazing, and why aren't you celebrating?"

"I'm happy I was accepted, don't get me wrong, but ECU isn't Duke and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed," I sighed.

"I know," Jimmy kissed the side of my head, "but that's why you make a plan B, right?"

"Right," I half smiled, "it doesn't really matter if I don't get a scholarship, though."

Jimmy picked up each of the envelopes in response to the scholarships I had applied for. Slowly, I opened and read each of them. Each letter said the same thing.

Dear Miss Myra Marx,

Thank you for your application for the scholarship. We enjoyed getting to know more about you. We appreciate you sharing information about yourself with us. Determining the recipient of the scholarship is always a difficult decision and is based on many factors. I regret to inform you that you were not selected to receive this award this year.

"I didn't get any of them," I told Jimmy, "which means I can't go to college."

"You can still go to college. It's just going to be different than you expected," Jimmy assured me.

"No, without a scholarship, I can't go to college. I am ineligible for financial aid," I explained.

"Why are you ineligible?" Jimmy asked.

"My brother isn't a good person. He did some stuff using my name which ended in a federal investigation. I wasn't charged, because I didn't do it obviously, but having anything federal like that on your record makes you ineligible. I can't help but wonder if that's also the reason why I didn't get in to Duke or get any of the scholarships," I sighed.

"I'm sorry Nugget, we can figure this out," Jimmy smiled at me.

"I'm the top of my class, I have been since middle school. I have a 4.2 GPA, I got a 1560 on my SATs, I'm a three-time state champion in volleyball, we were two-time state champions in softball. I'm class president, I'm the leader of STEM club, I'm in National Honors Society, I organized a fundraiser last year that raised $10,000 for cancer, and I worked a part-time job the entire time. My transcripts could not look better, and yet I didn't get in."

I was upset, more upset than I had even expected to be. What's the point of all of the work I've done and all of the extra things I've taken on to make sure I was working as hard as I could. What was the point?

"You got a 1560 on your SATs? Isn't a 1600 a perfect score? You do all of that? How do you have the time?" Jimmy asked.

"That's not the point," I laughed, "the point is that it was all pointless."

"No it wasn't," Jimmy insisted, "it was not pointless. You are the smartest person that I have ever met, and every day I learn something new about that amazing mind of yours. You are going to do amazing things, and ECU is going help you learn everything there is to know about neuroscience."

"I can't go to ECU if I can't pay for it."

"I told you, we'll figure it out," Jimmy winked at me.

I wrapped my arms around Jimmy, and he hugged me tightly.

"So you play softball too?" Jimmy asked with a laugh, "and you play piano?"

"I do," I laughed, "I played volleyball because I was good at it, but I played softball because I enjoyed it and I happened to be alright at it. And when I was a kid, my dad taught me how to play piano and I loved it. I only stopped because I don't have a piano to play anymore. There used to be a baby grand in my living room that was my dad's, but it broke, and I can't replace it."

"I will get you a piano so you can start playing again," Jimmy smiled at me.

"You don't have to do that," I laughed.

"I know, I want to. But I want the first thing you play to be for me."

"Deal," I smiled.