Chapter 10

Ninth grade. I was fifteen.

Winona called me into her office and handed me a form.

"Charlotte, this is the early admissions application for Riverside High School. You should apply," she said.

Riverside High School was the most elite public school in the state.

They only took two hundred kids a year, and only fifty through early admissions.

"Do I even have a shot?" I asked.

"You're ranked number one in our grade right now. You absolutely do," she said.

I took the paper with trembling hands.

Riverside High School.

It was a place I never dared to dream of.

Most of their kids came from wealthy suburban prep schools.

I was just a girl from a rural farming town.

But Winona's gaze was steady. "You need to believe in yourself, Charlotte. You're just as bright as any of them."

I wrote to Grandma about it that night.

A week later, her reply came. "Go take the test, Charlotte. I believe in you."

The exam was in April.

I started studying like a maniac.

I was up at four in the morning to drill vocabulary.

During my cafeteria shifts, I ran math formulas in my head.

After finishing my regular homework, I'd grind through years of past entrance exams.

My roommates told me I was losing my mind.

"Charlotte, you're going to burn yourself out," they warned.

"I can't lose," I told them. "This is my only ticket out."

Seeing my dedication, Sam dug up extra study materials. "These are old Riverside High tests. Study them closely."

My eyes watered as I took the massive stack of papers. "Thank you, Mr. Clark."

"Don't thank me. Just pass the test. That's all the thanks I need."

*****

Test day was April fifteenth. I took a two-hour Greyhound bus into the city.

Riverside High School was huge and gorgeous.

Brick buildings, pristine athletic fields, and kids everywhere wearing crisp, clean clothes.

I was in faded hand-me-downs, carrying a backpack covered in patches.

I stuck out like a sore thumb.

A couple of girls pointed and whispered as I walked by.

I pretended not to notice and kept my head down until I found my testing room.

There were three sections. Language Arts, Math, and Science.

Every single one was brutal.

The final math problem had me stumped for ages.

I filled every inch of my scratch paper.

With exactly five minutes left on the clock, the solution clicked.

My pen flew across the page.

The bell rang right as I wrote the final number. I let out a massive breath.

I didn't stick around to sightsee.

I hopped on the first bus back because I had a dinner shift at the cafeteria.

Mike looked surprised when I walked in. "Kid, weren't you taking that big test? Back so soon?"

"Finished it, so I headed back," I said.

"Didn't even look around the city?"

I shook my head. "Nothing to see."

The truth was, I desperately wanted to explore.

I wanted to see the downtown lights, the skyscrapers, the busy streets.

But I didn't dare. I only had two bucks in my pocket. I couldn't even afford a burger.

*****

The month-long wait for the results was pure torture.

I kept obsessing over whether I'd made the cut.

What if I failed? Worse, what if I got in?

Tuition at Riverside High was two grand a year.

Add housing and food, and it was at least three thousand.

I was dead broke. Where was that money going to come from?

On May fifteenth, the results dropped.

I placed thirteenth. I was in.

When my teacher announced it in class, the whole room erupted in applause.

I just sat at my desk, tears streaming down my face.

For the first time in my life, I felt like the hustle was actually paying off.

After school, Winona pulled me aside. "Congratulations, Charlotte.

"But we have a hurdle."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Tuition. Riverside High offers financial aid, but you can't apply for it until the semester actually starts. Do you have the money upfront?"

I shook my head.

She went quiet for a moment. "Alright. Let me make some calls and see if we can defer your payments."

"Thank you, Ms. Clark," I said.

"Don't thank me. You earned this."

That night, I wrote Grandma a letter.

That night, I wrote to Grandma to tell her the good news.

I left out the part about the tuition panic.

She had already sacrificed everything for me. I refused to add to her burdens.

*****

A week later, my teacher told me the school had agreed to front the tuition until my financial aid kicked in.

I gripped her hands, totally speechless.

"Ms. Clark, I promise I'll pay it back," I said.

"I know you will. Just focus on your education. When you make it big, just come back and visit us," she said.

I went home after graduation.

Grandma was over the moon. "Charlotte, I heard you got into the best school in the city!"

"I did, Grandma," I said.

"Look at my girl going places." She held my hands, smiling so wide her eyes vanished into wrinkles.

But I noticed how frail her hands felt. She'd lost a lot of weight.

"Have you been eating properly?" I asked.

"Oh, plenty. It's just the summer heat killing my appetite," she replied.

I didn't buy it.

I checked the kitchen. The fridge was completely empty.

"Grandma, why haven't you bought groceries?" I asked.

"I have enough."

"This isn't enough for a bird."

I marched down to the local general store and hauled back a bag of fresh produce.

The store owner grinned when he saw me. "Hey Charlotte! Heard about the big city school. Good on you."

"Thanks," I said.

Your grandma's been bragging to anyone who'll listen."

I managed a smile, but inside, my heart was heavy.

She was so proud, but I had absolutely no idea how I was going to survive the next three years.

The costs were going to be astronomical.

I needed to work more hours. I needed to study harder.

I couldn't let down the people pulling for me.

Most importantly, I couldn't fail her.

I didn't take a single day off that summer.

I bused tables at a local diner from eight in the morning until ten at night, pulling in thirty bucks a day.

The owner was a saint.

Knowing I was saving for high school, she always boxed up a massive dinner for me to take home.

"Eat up, kiddo. Don't starve yourself," she'd say.

"Thank you," I'd reply.

By the end of the summer, I'd scraped together five hundred dollars.

Combined with my savings, I had seven hundred dollars.

The day before I left for the city, I forced two hundred dollars into Grandma's hands.

"Use this for your medication," I told her.

Her tears spilled over. "You're too young to be carrying this weight."

"I'm fifteen. I'm practically grown."

"You'll always be my little girl." She pulled me into a hug.

She smelled like old cotton and sunshine. It was the safest, warmest smell in the world.

"I have to go. Please take care of yourself," I said.

"I will. You too. Eat well, and don't be afraid to spend money if you need something," she replied.

I nodded and slung my backpack over my shoulder.

When I reached the edge of the village, I turned back for one last look.

She was still standing there, waving at me in the sunlight.

Her hair was completely white, her posture stooped.

I finally let myself cry.

But I wiped my face and faced forward.

Today, I was stepping into a massive, intimidating world.

But I wasn't scared.

I had my grandmother in my corner, and I had a dream I was going to turn into reality.

I was going to give her a beautiful life.

To make her proud.