31. Chapter 31
Chapter 31
Sloane
January 1993
A s we trudge through January, it seems everything is all about SAT scores and college admissions with my fellow graduating seniors. It all stresses me out so much and it seems it’s all anyone other than my circle is talking about. In my advanced classes, my classmates are talking about going to Harvard, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Duke, MIT, the list goes on. As you might expect, some of my various acquaintances are nerds, I say that lovingly, and are much smarter than me. They are all talking about going to these amazing schools with incredible reputations, and I'm considering four state universities. I'm happy to be going to art class where almost everyone in there is younger, so there's not all the talk about colleges.
"Hey, Stretch!" Myke says as I toss my backpack onto the table. He cocks his head and looks at me questioningly. "What's the matter?"
I pull out my chair and sit down with a heavy sigh. "Ugh, it's just all this talk of colleges and where everyone is going after graduation. I'm so glad to be with y'all since you don't have to think about it for another year."
"Oh, I'm already thinking about it," Denine says.
"Oh, we know," Dawne says sarcastically. "Miss Planner over there has probably already started on her college applications."
We all laugh, including Denine. "Started?" she says with equal sass, "How about finished?"
Myke covers his mouth and laughs his funny laugh that sounds like only air is coming out of his mouth. "Girl, you did not."
"Yes, I did." She sits up straight as a rod. "I have my plan all set." It’s cute how she looks so proud of herself.
"What if they change the application for next year, smarty pants?" Dawne asks.
"Well, then it will have been good practice," Denine says, still looking regal enough to be sitting on a throne.
Dawne turns to me. "Sloane, when did you do your applications?"
I smirk. "At the end of Christmas break."
Myke and Dawne laugh their heads off, and Denine looks at me like I've just told her that Santa isn't real. "What?"
I nod. "Don’t worry, I got them done and mailed in time. That's all that matters."
Denine tucks her hair behind her ear. "Well, I'm applying for early admissions to Spellman."
Myke says, "She's got a plan. Had it since kindergarten, I think."
"I have no plan," I say as I pull out the drawing I've been working on. It's a portrait of Dennis Quaid. We had to find a picture in a magazine to draw, and this one was a perfect full size, black and white headshot. Mrs. Dale is only having us draw half the face, so the picture is folded in half. It's kind of cool, one side is the magazine and the other is my drawing. It's turning out really well, better than I expected.
"You have no plan?" Denine asks again. Shock is written all over her face and her eyes open wide.
I shrug. "Not really." I start working on my drawing.
"Girl, you're about to freak her out," Dawne says, not even looking up as she works on her drawing beside me.
"What school is your first choice?" Denine asks.
I shrug again. "It's been Florida since I have friends there, but I'm not sure anymore."
Denine is now looking at me like I have three eyes, Myke starts his air-laugh again, and Dawne joins him. "Sloane, you better stop," she says between laughter. "You're going to make her head explode."
I set my pencil down and look at Denine. "Remember when I said I was glad to be here since we wouldn't be talking about college?"
"But this is important!" Denine exclaims.
"I know, so important that everyone is talking about it non-stop," I say. "A lot of people I know are way smarter than me and got killer SAT scores. They're all going to go to top tier schools, while I'm over here not knowing which state school I want to go to."
"Which one did you like best when you visited?" Denine asks, clearly trying to help me work through it.
I squirm in my seat. "I've only been to Athens a couple of times, most recently was two years ago. I haven't visited any of the other schools."
"Oh, no you didn't! Are you trying to kill her?" Dawne's voice goes up several octaves. "She's gonna lose her mind!"
"Why haven't you had your parents take you?" Denine asks as her brow furrows.
I fidget with my pencil. "I don't know. That sort of thing was really important to my older sister, but…I guess I just didn’t want to burden my parents to take me to all these schools when I’m not sure where to go or what to study." I use a little self-deprecating humor and add, “They’ll probably just be happy if I get into any one of those schools. Once I find out where I get accepted, then I can go visit.”
Denine's shoulders sag. "Honey, you are bright, personable, and well-rounded. You're going to get into more than one school."
"Where did you apply besides Georgia and Florida?" Myke asks.
"FSU and my back-up is Southern," I say. "I'm not even sure why I applied to Georgia. So many kids from here will end up there, and I'm trying to get away from all of this." I say as I wave my hand in the air.
"That school is so big, you could go your whole four years without running into someone from Dunwoody," Dawne says.
"I bet you get into all of them," Myke says.
I huff out a laugh. "I don't know about that."
Denine says, "I know you have friends at Florida, but don't make that the only reason you want to go there. You’ll make friends anywhere you go."
"I wish it were as easy as you make it sound."
"You made friends with us," Myke says. "We've all known each other since elementary school and you just sat down with us and became our friend."
It warms my heart to hear him say that I'm their friend. I smile, "Thanks, Myke. That means a lot."
Dawne looks at the table with the cheerleaders and popular girls. "Do you think any of them would have sat with us?"
"I don't know," I say.
"I don't think they would have," Dawne shakes her head. "You're cool, Sloane, and you're going to do great things."
Now I feel my cheeks get warm. That's huge coming from Dawne. "Thank you," I tell her sincerely. "That means a lot."
Denine looks at me. "Follow your heart with respect to college. You'll make the right decision."
I love that I can be honest with my art class friends in a way that I can only really be with Maggie and Ky, but he's different. He graduated two years ago and didn't have a lot of options when it came to college. Plus, college doesn’t seem that important to him. The pressure is real at Dunwoody High. It's like this whole college admissions thing has become its own popularity contest. Being accepted by your peers, being accepted into college, the status that comes with where you actually go to school. It’s all so stressful. I have a moment of panic when I consider what will happen if I don't get into any of the four schools I applied to, and my pulse races.