Forget You ( jenlisa ) (gip)

28

J

"Would you like another cup of coffee, Miss Kim?" My academic advisor, Mr. Hinton, sat across from me Friday morning. "What about some tea?"

"I've already had two cups."

"Oh, yeah." He stared at me. "Would you like some extra cream, then?"

I held back a sigh. I'd been sitting in his office for twenty minutes and he'd filled the time with questions about beverages instead of explaining what his "urgent" and "important" email from weeks ago was about.

"I have someone I need to meet in an hour," I said. "Is this just a regular check-in meeting?"

"Not exactly." He shook his head. "This is about your credits here at the university."

"Okay." I smiled, knowing where he was going with this. "I'm aware that I'm still missing the required writing classes, but I plan on taking them both next semester since spelling and written analysis are still my weaknesses."

"The writing classes aren't the problem..." He pulled out a spreadsheet and handed it to me. "Right now, you're technically classified as a junior at this university."

"No, I've already taken three years of classes and I'm currently on year four. That makes me a senior."

"Yeah well..." He cleared his throat. "Turns out, I forgot to tell you a little about how the credits work under the adjusted Semester at Sea policy. It was changed during your sophomore year, and it completely slipped my mind since you opted to do multiple years." He had the audacity to smile. "But not to worry. It's rather simple."

He looked at me as if he was waiting for me to smile in return.

I didn't.

"Okay, then," he said. "So, here on campus, every class is worth a total of three credit hours. On the ship, the same holds true for the core classes in your major, but your electives are only worth one and a half credits, as SAS partners teach those classes and not official university staff...You are awarded an additional half credit per course in the summer months, though, and the courses you took during the four-week stays in Philippines and Australia did result in two full credits so good for you."

"Mr. Hinton, what are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that if you want to graduate from this university, you have two options. Option number one, you can take three more semesters of courses here. That would mean this upcoming spring, this upcoming summer, and this upcoming fall. Or, you can attend a spring and part-summer session aboard the next Semester at Sea sailing. There's a repositioning voyage this winter as well—if you want to get a super head start. "

My heart dropped. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

His eyes widened. "Miss Kim, there's no need to use foul language. I'm just the messenger."

"You're the messenger who has just fucked up my plans." I narrowed my eyes at him. "I'm planning to pursue a graduate degree next fall."

"And you can still do that...You just, you know, will have to pick the option that allows you to do so." He shook his head and looked down, not making eye contact. "I'm very sorry."

"Why didn't anyone tell me about this policy change before?" I was seconds away from screaming. "Surely someone on the ship could've let me know. I would've gotten the hell off and completed the rest of my work here."

Still refusing to make eye contact, he leaned back in his chair.

With every second that passed, all I could think about was how a little over three years ago, he'd sold me on this "once in a lifetime" program and assured me that the courses were the same as they were on campus. He'd said it was "better than regular college," and I wouldn't have to make up any credits when I returned. He took my dad and me out to dinner every week to discuss it, wooed me with all new brochures, and made it his business to stay in contact with me as I made my decision.