My Future, Not Her Punchline

Synopsis

That fall, after my SAT scores came out, I had more than 1550. With a score like that, I was a shoo-in for Riverdale College of Education, the best public school in the state for teacher education. Ever since third grade, I knew I was going to be a teacher. The afternoon I was submitting my ED application, I picked Riverdale College of Education and saved it. Then I went to the kitchen for a glass of water. When I came back, my sister, Olivia Jenson, was getting up from my chair. She grinned and said, "Just checked it for you. I didn't change a thing." I sat down and opened the page again. The ED choice was different. It had changed from Riverdale College of Education to some bottom-tier out-of-state school I'd never heard of. In the top right corner of the page, it said: [Application submitted.] Deadline for changes: Today, 00:00. I glanced at my phone. It was 00:23.