Snowflakes on Saguaros [SAMPLE]

Three

Monday morning found Jasmina in a panic. She needed to leave two minutes ago if she wanted to make it to Music Theory on time. Her phone had been on silent last night, so she hadn't heard her alarm go off. If not for Danny making noise in the kitchen, she would probably still be asleep right now.

She quickly brushed her teeth and scraped her curls into a bun. Food would have to wait until she got back.

Returning to her room, Jasmina grabbed her bag off the floor, and double-checked she had her notebook. Then she swiped her phone off the nightstand and headed for the door. When she was halfway there, she saw it.

The email was here.

She paused in the doorway, torn between opening it or waiting until she got home.

You've waited this long, what's a little longer.

Jasmina shoved her phone in her pocket and headed for her car.

Halfway through class, she regretted her decision. She could think of nothing else but the email. Her future hinged on what it said. What if she hadn't gotten the scholarship? She hadn't been worried before Danny had questioned her about it, but now that niggling doubt had wormed its way into her head. It was the only thing she could think about.

Pull it together, Salera. Of course, you got it.

Like she told Danny, it was practically guaranteed.

Jasmina tapped her foot on the floor, trying to get rid of some of her nervous energy. At the front of the room, her professor was talking about examples of chromatic harmony, but she couldn't focus. If she thought she could get away with pulling her phone out in the middle of class, she would, but she was sitting too close to the front of the room.

Everything would be fine. She would get the scholarship and go to her audition, and then, at this time next year, she would be living in a different city. It would be perfect.

The girl in front of her turned around, shooting a glare at her.

Jasmina stopped tapping. "Sorry," she mouthed.

The minute class let out, she whipped out her phone and opened the email. Her heart skipped a beat when her eyes landed on the first word.

Congratulations!

Yes, this was it. Her dreams were about to come true.

But then she kept reading.

This year's Sonoran Desert Music and Arts scholarship recipients have been chosen. You can find more information about the status of your application by logging into your scholarship account.

Jasmina cursed under her breath. Her login information was saved on her laptop, and she never brought it to class with her. The one time she had, she'd spent the entire class period being distracted by funny cat pictures on the internet and missed the lecture. After that, she'd stuck to a simple notebook, pen, and a recorder. Checking the scholarship results would have to wait until she got home. Her Human Evolution class didn't start until 11, so she had one hour to get there and back again.