Not that I have any right to claim her.
The registrar’s office is tucked away inside some campus building and really, for how small this school is, it shouldn’t have been that hard to find.
“How can I help you?” an older looking woman asks, barely looking up from her computer screen. Her glasses hang off the edge of her nose like they’re threatening to fall at any moment.
“I’m looking to enroll.”
The clicking of the keyboard continues. “Enrollment for next fall starts at the end of the spring semester. Reach out to us then.”
“I want to enroll for the upcoming spring semester.”
That catches her attention. Finally looking up, she meets my eyes then gives me a glance up and down, so quick she probably thinks I don’t notice but of course I do.
“Starting in the spring would require special permission from the dean of the department. Do you have special permission?” Her condescending tone is not lost on me. But I’m used to people talking down on me.Time to turn on that southern charm.
Leaning down onto the counter, I look at her through my long eyelashes, ones I know are long because girls have told me so. I don’t really make a point to analyze my eyelashes ever. But, hey, they’ve worked for me in the past.
“Well, m’am, I haven’t talked to the dean just yet, but I was hoping you’d be able to point me in the right direction. Help me out a bit.” I give her a wink for good measure and the blush starts to form on her cheeks.
“You seem older than a typical freshman,” she says, slightly flustered.Now we’re getting somewhere.
“Yes, m’am. I’m startin’ fresh. Startin’ over. With your help that is.” I lean down a bit more, as if sharing a secret with her. “Maybe you can grant me that special permission.”
She looks up at me for a second, I think she might actually do it, but then a door opens behind us and breaks her from my southern charm spell. Blinking a few times, she comes back to reality.
“Speak with the dean. I’m sure you can work something out,” she says, pulling back into her seat and clicking away at her keyboard again. At least, she’s smiling now.
With a nod of thanks, I head back out to find the dean of engineering. I’m going to start the spring semester, even if it kills me.
After a much less flirty but far more successful conversation with Dean Marshall, I walk back toward my car with a spring schedule in hand. I had to convince him that I could catch up if I missed out on anything but that’s easy. I’m a good student. I just haven’t been in school for a while. But I know I can.
Having been the main breadwinner for our family for the past few years, after Dad’s accident, I had to forgo college and work at the factory that everyone in town worked at. My dad worked there first but then he got injured on the job and is paralyzed from the waist down. Since my mom abandoned us shortly after Margot was born, it fell onto me to provide for myself, Dad, Memaw and Margot.
As it turns out, Margot having a boyfriend with a rich daddy who owns an entire company ended up coming in handy for our family. Last summer, Alex’s dad set our dad up with a remote position at his company, earning much more than he or I ever made at the factory. It helped Dad feel more useful, and it helped me be able to go after something I want for once. And that has always been being a mechanical engineer. I want to build things, like the machines I used to work on in the factory. I was always fascinated by machinery. Always taking things apart and putting them back together. See what makes things tick and how they operate. That’s why I didn’t mind the factory work, it kept my body and mind moving.
Tomlin University has an excellent engineering program. Sure, I could’ve stayed local and gone to Clemson or something but I need to branch out. If my little sister can do it, so can I. And look at the success she’s had.
Winner of aNew York Timesinternship contest, it has led her to making great connections she’s using this year to get ahead in her career when she graduates in the spring. She got a fancy boyfriend who treats her like a queen. The world at her feet and now I’m ready for it to be my turn.
For now, I’m heading back to South Carolina. Gonna pack my things and get ready to come back here with Margot full-time after the winter holidays. I’ll have to talk to her about my being here but I don’t think she’d mind. It’s not like I’d be living with her. No, I’ll find a roommate and mind my own business.
Margot has Alex; she doesn't need me. Danika has that fucking guy so she definitely doesn’t need me. Not that that’s even a thought in my mind that she would. She’s never needed anyone.
I’ll stay completely out of everyone’s way. Almost like I was never here.
Chapter Four
Danika
Inthroughthenose,out through the mouth.
I tell myself to breathe a couple more times as my finger lingers over the TU medical school enrollment email. I miss the days where college acceptances or rejections came in the mail. There’s something rewarding about using a letter opener.
I’m standing over the milk station in the cafe, having just received the notification as I was heading to fill my coffee with as much sugar as my body can take. But I haven’t been able to fill the cup. Instead I’m frozen in place, my finger hovering over the email app on my phone.
The email subject line reads, “Tomlin University Medical School Application” without a single indication of whether it’s an acceptance or a rejection.Way to build the suspense.
One thing is for sure, I’m relieved to have received this email while I’m on campus and not last week while I was home for the winter holidays. I can’t even imagine what that reaction would’ve been like from my father.