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Monday, November 25th
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Ambrose was awake. He looked around the room and began to recognize everyone that was in here. He was able to communicate with me and hold a conversation minutes after waking up which surprised me. After his mom called for the doctor, she contacted his dad, announcing that he was finally awake.
I stayed for about an hour more until his dad came and they all reunited with him. I saw how happy his parents were and I didn't want to sit there awkwardly so I excused myself and told Ambrose I would see him again soon.
That was three days ago. We hadn't spoken since then.
"He's doing pretty good," Maya says over the phone.
I continued to pack my things while we spoke on the phone.
"How is his leg healing?" I ask.
"He's going to be bedridden until his leg heals just fine. He can walk a bit once he starts to feel more feeling in his leg," she says.
I zip up a suitcase and set it to the side.
"Can you do me a favor? I've collected pretty much every assignment he's been missing. I added it all to a binder and I want you to give it to him," I say, pulling out the said binder and putting it onto my desk.
"Sure, I'll swing by and give it to him tomorrow since I have to help my mom make the tamales," she says, "the entire family is coming over for Thanksgiving and it's going to be hectic."
I chuckle as I remember getting invited to one of her holiday family parties. The loud music, the crazy family members that gossiped all night, and the savory foods that she would force me to take back home because they would have a bunch of leftovers for days.
"Sure, no worries. I just wanted to give it to you now since I'll be leaving soon to Montana."
"Is your cute cousin going to be there?"
"Maya I have many cousins, you're going to have to be specific," I say.
My dad's side of the family lived in Montana with large acres of land, hundreds of livestock running around and lived in huge ranch style mansions. The only thing that I liked about going there was just seeing my cousins and getting away from this silly little town.
"What was his name? Tyler?"
"He's literally three years older than us," I snort.
"Yeah, but just tell him I said hi. I'm sure he remembers me from last Christmas when I spilled the hot chocolate on him," she says, giggling.
Every few years, they visit Hollow Grove and stay for the holidays. Maya was much more clumsy back then and accidentally spilled her hot chocolate onto my cousin's lap when I first introduced them to each other. He was a high schooler and we were only in middle school.
"I'll be sure to tell him," I assure her.
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Thursday, November 28th
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There was no word from Ambrose about the assignments I had collected for him. Usually he sends 'thanks' or even texts me something random like a link to a song that I should listen to, but not this time.
I checked my phone for the hundredth time today to make sure my phone was receiving notifications and was connected to the internet. Not one text from him for the whole week.
"Evangeline! No phones at the dinner table," Grandma Lucille scolds.
My mom gives me a knowing look and Josh snickers beside me. I glare at him and turn my phone over behind the flower vase, away from my grandma's view.
"Sorry grandma," I say sheepishly, "I was just checking my emails." I lied.
"She's checking on the status of her college application to Harvard," my dad says, who's sitting next to grandma.
A ripple of awes from my family adds to the lie and I sink my shoulders from the pressure I just created for myself. I couldn't even eat the deep fried bird that's sitting in the middle of the dinner table. I barely touched my mashed potatoes and basically moved all of my sides around.
"When do you hear back from them?" One of my uncles asks.
"Um, I think sometime in the middle of next month," I say.
"Oh wow that's so soon," one of my aunts says.
"She's super smart though and has been at the top of her class for the last three consecutive years. She's even class president too!" My mom gushes at our family.
I feel my cheeks burn from both embarrassment and shame. Shame that I've actually been doing poorly in school. All those days I've skipped school and didn't bother attending the club meetings, it's been biting my ass.
My perfect attendance has also gone down the drain ever since the incident with Ethan. I thought my senior year would be perfect, but it's just all gone to shit now.
"...right Evangeline?" My dad asks.
I clear my throat. "What?"
"You have been offered scholarships from other schools too," he says.
"Oh, yeah, I have."
The rest of the dinner conversation strays from the topic of my accomplishments and towards the gossip of other family members that aren't here.
Once dinner was over, I headed over to my temporary bedroom and closed myself in for the night.
I decided to check my instagram to pass on the boredom only to notice that the more I scrolled down my feed and came across Tiffany and Ethan's post, the more irritated I grew. Sue me for not blocking them both, but I had forgotten and social media was the last thing on my mind.
It didn't take a detective to realize that the garden in the background of one of Tiffany's pictures was the same background as Ethan's post where he stood side by side with his mom. Even though they were posted at different times today, they were at the same place and it was not a coincidence.
Ethan decided to celebrate the holiday with Tiffany and it wasn't jealousy that was making me angry, it was the fact that he had moved on too quickly and used my best—ex-best friend as his rebound. He probably doesn't know that Tiffany confirmed the cheating suspicions and thought he was off the hook, but he was very wrong.
Just as I was about to exit the app, I noticed that Ambrose was active. I felt my hand twitch, wanting to reach out to him, but I had to bite back the urge to do so. He knew that I was at his side the entire time, so there was no need for him to act like I wasn't. So why was he not talking to me?
Stupidly enough I clicked on his story post that he just uploaded about 30 seconds ago. Fuck. I look like a stalker. It wasn't even an interesting picture either. It was just a picture of his guitar and a stack of vinyls in the background. Pantera's 10's playing in the background of the post. Well at least I knew he was okay and was still able to play his guitar. The guitar that I gifted him the day before the accident.
I sigh and slide out of the post. I toss my phone to the side and hope that the week goes by fast.
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Monday, December 2nd
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"Evangeline Sinclair to the front office. Evangeline Sinclair to the front office."
The first class had just finished and I was headed to my second class when I heard my name through the intercom. I had this feeling in the pit of my stomach that it was probably something negative.
These past few times that I've been called to the office have been something negative. I passed my exams but with enough to not get an F. I did miss a lot of lessons and my college applications were shit.
There was nothing else that Mr. Vince could tell me that would turn this situation around into a positive one. Ambrose was still not speaking to me and instead was relaying messages to Maya to give to me. Most of the stuff he wanted Maya to tell me was about the due dates and what notes he could use. Nothing outside of the school topic.
Mr. Vince was waiting for me at the office and didn't say much except motion for me to go inside of his office. I sat in the chair and waited for him to speak.
"It's been decided between the student body members and I that you have not been in the proper headspace to maintain your position," he says, "You're being demoted from your class president position as of today." He said it so effortlessly.
"But I passed my exams above a 'C'," I say, furrowing my brows, "that was our agreement."
"It was, but you've been missing school. The club meetings have been going on without you and Jane has been taking over along with your VP, and your grades aren't as good as they were back when you first took the position," he says, "It's best if the position is given to someone who deeply cares about the student body and the members."
"I've been trying my best, but—"
"I hear you and I know what has been going on, but there aren't any excuses that can undo what has already been decided. Your problems may stop you, but the student body and the clubs must still continue whether you are here or not."
There was nothing that I could say or do to change his mind and I bite my tongue back instead.
"So am I also kicked out of the clubs as well?" I ask, stiffening in my seat as I wait for his answer.
He inhales and doesn't meet my eyes. "You may have to ask the new club presidents about that."
Well fuck, I guess all of my applications should be voided now since I'm not even a part of them anymore.
I get up and leave the office, "Wait!" Mr. Vince calls out. I turn around and he waves a piece of paper in his hands. "Can't leave without the tardy slip."
I roll my eyes and snatch the slip out of his hand. I shove it in my pocket and head to my literature class which is already fifteen minutes into the lesson. I hand the slip to the substitute teacher when I walk in.
The classroom was dark and there was a movie playing on the projector, thankfully it was going to be a chill period and I didn't have to try to think for once. I sat in my seat and tried to focus on the movie, but in the back of my mind I was growing antsy at the rage that was building inside of me.
It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that I had to go through this shit just because I cared about a person and not myself for once.
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At lunch I sat with Aurora and her friends while I watched my old best friend happily chat away with my ex boyfriend. I mean everyone must know that we have broken up by now and that I lost my position as class president. But the two haven't announced that they're together.
I mean they knew that there would be a lot of talk if they announced they were dating. Unless they wanted to keep their relationship private. They didn't need the rumors flying around, especially if I was there to confirm that they were together behind my back.
One thing Tiffany hated was being presented as some kind of harlot. She disliked the slut shaming and would chew anyone out if someone did that.
"What are you planning for winter break?" Aurora asks beside me.
"We just got back from Thanksgiving break," I chuckle.
"I know, but I just wanted to see what you were up to. Maybe you could join us and come to New York," she offers, a small smile on her soft face.
The perks of growing up in a town like Hollow Grove was everyone's parents knew each other and what everyone was up to. My parents would gladly allow me to travel with Aurora with no trouble.
I shrug my shoulders. "I think my parents want to go to London. I kind of want to go with them too."
"Just know you'll always be a better class president than Jane ever will be," she says, gently patting my hand that was tightly gripping the fork I was holding.
"Thank you, but I honestly don't care anymore. I mean I guess I have more free time. It feels a bit more liberating."
No more late night study sessions, no more nagging at my ears, and no more of Jane's snarky comments during the meetings. I guess everything that was going on in my life was a bit of a blessing in disguise. I should've just called it quits when everything started going to shit when the year started, but I felt like I just had to prove everyone wrong.
I loved the feeling of making my parents proud and holding the same status for a consecutive four years. Shit. I would have to tell my parents about getting kicked out and losing my place as class president.
No. I'll tell them when we come back after winter break. They don't have to know immediately, not unless Josh opens his mouth and hears about the news. I would have to tell him to stay quiet.
"Just know that Maya and I will be at your side with the whole Tiffany and Ethan thing," Aurora says.
Maya sits down across from me, nodding her head. "She's right. I never saw it coming and honestly, why now?"
Tiffany has known Ethan since Freshman year and remained as friends for the next three years. She's the reason why we even started dating in the first place. If she wanted Ethan to herself she could've told me that she liked him, but I never saw the sign of her wanting to be with him.
So why now?
"Jealousy?" Aurora asks.
I shrug my shoulders and steal another glance towards them. They were sitting next to each other but they looked more like friends and weren't touchy with each other. Ethan's body was facing towards his friends while Tiffany was talking to her friends. They were just that good at hiding everything.
Maya's phone dings and she looks at her lock screen. "Oh, it's from Ambrose."
A feeling I can't quite explain settles into the pit of my stomach. "What is he saying?" I ask, curious about why he decided to text her now, especially during school.
"He says he's going to Texas with his parents for the month and they're leaving tonight," she says, putting her phone away.
He's leaving for a month and he was only planning on telling Maya?
"Do you know why he doesn't want to talk to me?" I ask.
Maya chews on her bottom lip, almost debating whether to tell me the truth. "It's not something scandalous or doing it because he hates you or anything," she says.
"I won't be mad," I say, "I just need a clue here."
She sighs. "I told him about your breakup with Ethan and he thinks that it was his fault and doesn't want you to be distracted with stuff that isn't really your problem," she says, "so he wants to keep his distance and make sure that you focus on school and your health before worrying about him. He appreciates that you were at his side, but feels guilty that you were losing yourself in the process."
I wanted to be the one to tell him everything that happened while he was gone, but I guess he wanted to hear it from Maya and avoid all interaction with me. I still wanted to see him. I still wanted to talk to him.
"Oh, I guess that makes kind of sense. With losing my position in the student body I can use the free time to bring my grades up," I say, nodding my head in agreement. Deep down I didn't agree with Ambrose's reasoning.
Maya gives me a pity smile. "Don't take it too personally. He isn't even allowed to do much except catch up on his work. No one really comes to see him except his family members."
Meaning Siouxsie took my warning seriously. I didn't want her near him anymore and I hoped that she wouldn't try to get close to him again. She was always dragging him into trouble and this time she took it too far. I should've known that he was taking forever to meet with me because he was with Siouxsie.
Maybe it was best that we kept our distance from each other. Two damaged people don't tend to mix so well after all.
"Just use the break to actually enjoy it and not stress about the mess you have to come back after break," Aurora says, "No more charity events to plan, or talking to donors or even talking to the school board about the changes that all the students want. Plus you can actually focus on graduating, shopping for your dorm room, and just passing your classes until the school year is over."
"I think that sounds way better than running around like you lost your head trying to please everyone. I mean, when was the last time you actually enjoyed your time off?" Maya asks.
The last time I thoroughly enjoyed some kind of break from school was back in my first year at Hollow Grove. I was always doing something school related and there wasn't a time where I felt like I could have a time off.
"It's been years. I guess I can actually enjoy Christmas this year without thinking about all those emails and events I have to plan and attend," I say.
"See! You'll be fine," Aurora smiles at me. "You'll get your admittance email from Harvard and life will be great again!"
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Saturday, December 21st
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These last couple of weeks of school flew by and soon finals were over for the semester. I was already on the flight to London and the emails went out that the Harvard early decisions were already posted on our portals.
With shaky hands, I logged onto my portal and clicked onto the notification.
The digital letter opens up and my stomach drops. I didn't know if it was from the altitude of the flight or from the first line that I had just read.
Dear Ms. Sinclair,
Thank you for your interest in Harvard College. After careful consideration of your application, we regret to inform you that we cannot offer you admission at this time. We hope that our decision will help you make your educational plans and goals.
Best wishes,
Harvard Admissions
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A/N: Just wanted to thank you all for 900+ reads! So close to 1k now!!!!
I know the chapter wasn't too exciting and it was mostly a bit of a filler, but there will be a lot of time skips as a warning in the next two chapters or so.
THE ROMANCE IS COMING I JUST NEED TIME TO THOROUGHLY PLAN IT!
Anyways I hope you guys liked the chapter! I will see you guys again soon! Please vote as well :)