I decided to go abroad with my childhood sweetheart, and it caught everyone off guard.
Because ever since I was little, I'd set my heart on the Ivy League.
When it came time to fill out the study-abroad applications, he handed my spot to my adopted sister instead.
"You're so dead set on coming abroad with me. It's because you didn't get into the Ivy League at all, isn't it?"
"You're a pampered young lady born into money. Worst case, you go to some no-name college and come home to inherit the family business. But this is Kathleen Gilbert's one and only chance to change her fate. Are you really going to take that from her too?"
"Can you stop being so willful? We may have a verbal engagement, but that's no reason for you to control me!"
The sister I'd always doted on didn't say a single word in my defense.
That day, I stood frozen for a long, long time.
And that very night, I tore the study-abroad papers to shreds and let them fall across the floor.
This verbal engagement could end right here.
——
Once I decided not to go abroad, I dialed the Ivy Honors admissions office.
"Ms. Finch, I'll take my place in the Ivy Honors Program!"
On the other end, she was so thrilled she said the same word three times over.
"I'll arrange your acceptance letter right away!"
After I hung up, I meant to tell my parents the news.
But they pulled me aside to look at hotel venues.
"Trudy Gilbert, where would you like to hold your celebration banquet? Your father and I will throw the biggest one yet for you and Kathleen together! We'll settle your engagement to Elliot Delgado at the same time."
Thinking of how tight the family company's finances were, with Kathleen's study abroad still to fund, every dollar saved counted.
So I refused outright.
"Mom, there's nothing between him and me anymore. There's no need for a celebration banquet either—"
Before I could finish, Elliot, who'd just brought Kathleen home, cut me off.
"Why not have one? Are you afraid everyone will find out Kathleen scored better than you and gets to study abroad?"
"Uncle, Auntie, Kathleen really outdid herself on the SATs this time. She cleared the top-tier cutoff. Could you let her go abroad with me?"
"As for the banquet, I think she deserves a proper celebration!"
I turned my head and saw that Elliot felt not the slightest relief that I'd turned down the engagement.
His eyes held nothing but a stubborn insistence that my parents send Kathleen abroad and throw her a grand banquet.
So it turned out clearing the top-tier cutoff was worth a proper celebration?
Then with my perfect SAT score, didn't that mean... I could put him in his place quite nicely?
"Mom, actually, I scored a seven—"
"You're not about to claim you scored over seven hundred, are you? I heard you didn't even clear the second-tier cutoff!"
Elliot cut me off again.
The look in his eyes was full of contempt.
I had no idea where he'd heard that rumor. I simply lost all desire to speak.
Once the acceptance letter came, the rumor would fall apart on its own.
My phone buzzed all at once.
A private message from Ms. Finch.
【Trudy, in three days I'll be coming to Harbor City to deliver your acceptance letter.】
【At the same time, I'll be hosting all your school's teachers at the Skyview Hotel, the grandest in Harbor City. I'll thank them with you for all their hard work, and interview them on how they raised a student as outstanding as you.】
【Give your parents a heads-up. They'll be interviewed as well.】
By past tradition, an event like this always drew plenty of reporters, complete with a feature column afterward.
This would bring my parents far more honor than any celebration banquet!
Smiling, I wrote back to Ms. Finch.
But my mother thought I was forcing the smile, and she grabbed my hand to comfort me.
"Oh, sweetheart, you can still have a celebration banquet even if you didn't do well. Once you're abroad—"
"Mom, I'm not going abroad. Send Kathleen instead! And the banquet, just hold it for her alone!"
"But three days from now, you'll need to come have dinner with me at the Skyview Hotel. All the teachers from school will be there too."
