dolent (adj.)
full of sorrow
* * *
ON the day I was supposed to hear back from Revere and Copley, I woke up at four am. I knew it wasn't realistic for them to send out acceptances in the middle of the night, but I couldn't sleep knowing that there was a chance.
Spoiler alert: there wasn't an email.
I sat in front of my computer for an eternity, hitting refresh every few minutes and waiting to hear some news.
My mom barged into my room, startling me, "Charlotte, you need to go soon."
"What?" I croaked, voice scratchy from disuse.
I hit refresh again.
Nothing.
"School starts in fifteen minutes."
"Fifteen minutes?" I had been watching my computer for three hours?
"Yes, it's five past. How long have you been up?"
"Since three," I mumbled, hitting refresh once again.
She shut my laptop and shoved it into my backpack. "You'd better get going. I won't call in sick for you."
I begrudgingly stood up and followed her downstairs. Glancing at myself in the mirror on the way down, I realized that I looked like an absolute mess. My hair wasn't brushed, I had eye bags the size of quarters, and was I still wearing the hoodie I stole from Eli and the sweatpants I slept in.
"I should get changed. I can't go to school looking like this," I gestured at the ketchup stain on my pants.
"Charlotte," she warned, dangling my keys in my face. "You'll get a detention if you're late a third time this month."
I slipped my shoes on. "Alright, I'm going." Who cares if I got a detention anyway? Ben got them bi-weekly and still got into college.
Ten minutes later, I made it to Calculus right as the late bell rang. It was a miracle, really. The traffic by the school was usually terrible in the morning, and I just happened to luck out.
"What happened?" Delaney grimaced, eyes sweeping over me.
"Been up since four," I mumbled. She held out her ice coffee, which I gratefully gulped.
"And why have you been up since four?" Aubrey asked.
My legs started bouncing at the thought of the unsent emails. "Revere and Copley decisions are out today. Couldn't sleep."
"Did you get anything yet?" Delaney asked hesitantly, subtly glancing at Aubrey.
"No."
Aubrey and Delaney shared a panicked look.
"What?" I grumbled.
They had some sort of telepathic argument, eyes widening and frantically gesturing back and forth.
"Um, I already heard back from Copley," Aubrey sighed after a stale moment.
Adrenaline kicking in, I shot up in my seat. "Seriously? When? What did that say? Good news? Bad news?
"Yeah. I got in." Being accepted into her dream school was an amazing thing, but it looked physically painful for her to tell me.
"I'm really happy for you, but fuck," I sighed, resting my forehead on the desk, "they probably rejected me."
YOU ARE READING
Because of Haven Beach
Teen Fiction"The moon's really beautiful, if you think about it," I blurted. "Yeah?" he asked, mild amusement and curiosity mingling in his voice. "Yeah," I confirmed. "It's just- there's something about the moon that's ethereal. I don't really know how to desc...
