As an exchange student from Scotland, a whole new world opens up to Darren Green when he moves to the United States. He'll live with a host family, start at a new school, and he'll have to make new friends. However, what won't be a part of this new...
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WITH A PIECE OF PAPER held out in front of him, Liam read, "And that's why the absence of a prenatal environment impacts the immune system of a clone negatively during the first three years of their life." He put the two pages down, and his full face came in sight now to Darren again. His mouth was slightly open and he had both of his eyebrows raised, but didn't say any more after having read two pages of an essay about the health implications of human cloning.
"And?" Darren asked. He looked at his host brother, expecting a reaction.
"What can I say?" Liam said. He stared at the inked pages that laid in front of him on his bed. His facial expression was unreadable. "This is..." His mouth formed an "o".
"The good and the bad, please," Darren rushed. When he'd heard Liam read the words he'd spent weeks on writing, he had already started getting nervous, but the wait for feedback was even harder. The silence was torturous. He rubbed his sweaty hands together.
"It's good, bro." Liam shook his head and scoffed. "It's good."
Darren bit his lip. If anything, those words almost let him down. "Nova said the essay had to be perfect," he said. "It's what the admissions board focuses on most."
His host brother laughed. "Well, if perfect is a synonym for 'difficult vocabulary', you're good." He shifted on his bed and looked Darren in the eyes for the first time since he'd started reading the essay, which seemed like such a long time ago now. "I think I'll need to read it again someday with a dictionary next to it – you're using some impressive lingo."
This didn't calm Darren, however. "Does that mean you didn't understand?" he asked. "Should I rewrite it to make it easier?"
Liam rushed to deny that. "No, no, no – not at all." He reached out to give Darren a pat on his shoulder. "Really, Darren, it's good. Great. Perfect." He shook his head to himself and added, "What I meant to say is that this essay will impress that admission's board of the school you like so much."
"Princeton."
"Exactly." Liam looked at him with a confident smile. "I swear, they're gonna let you in. It's a great essay."
Darren took the pages off the bed and folded them up. "I think I'm going to do another rewrite before I send it in."
Liam grinned. "That's good, man, take your time," he said. "But don't fret too much. You were made for Ivy League."
Darren smiled nervously and put the essay back in his pocket, not caring anymore whether it was folded up nicely. "I hope so," he said with a nervous smile.
Liam leaned back against the black pillow supporting his back. "You have a bright future ahead of you," he said confidently. While Darren felt the panic coming back to him, knowing he had to rewrite this essay again, Liam was the calm itself and didn't seem to worry at all. "You'll see, Darren – you will make it."
