I slowly ripped the top of the envelope, trying not to make too loud of a sound just in case one of the Andersons were somewhere close attempting to listen. My hands shook a little as I pulled out the first page and read the first few sentences:
Dear Eva,
It is with great pleasure that we write to inform you that you have been accepted for admission into Rothmore College. On behalf of the faculty and staff at Rothmore, I congratulate you on this accomplishment and welcome you to the Rothmore family….
I stared at the paper in disbelief. How did this happen? I know I didn’t apply, and according to that recruiter, getting into Rothmore College was near impossible. I certainly hadn’t been able to do any extra curriculars like my peers, and I hadn’t ever dared to hope that my homeschool grades and resume could ever match up to other people applying to other schools, let alone a school like Rothmore. I pulled out the next document which was a thick pamphlet with information about the school.
As I turned the first page, I paused at the most gorgeous face I had ever seen. Golden skin and wild black hair. The face staring back at me from the page looked like it had been carved by the gods. Piercing green eyes with thick black eyelashes stared out at me. He had an exquisite Roman nose, and full lips that were upturned into a smirk as if he was perpetually laughing at the world around him. A small label next to his face stated that his name was Damon Pierce. I stared at the page, awestruck for what seemed like forever, until I finally shook my head and turned the page. No wonder they had put Damon on the first page, even I, with the most limited experience with the opposite sex ever, could recognize that he was perhaps the most beautiful man on the planet.
As I skimmed through the pages looking through the glossy photos highlighting a campus that looked like it came straight from a movie, my thoughts stayed with Damon. If only…I reached the end of the pamphlet before setting it down and staring at the dusty attic walls around me. Rothmore College was hours away in New York City, not to mention it cost $70,000 a year. Before today I hadn’t even contemplated being actually able to get out of the house, let alone go to a school or New York City. I stopped myself from daydreaming and looked at the last paper in the envelope.
We are delighted to inform you that you have been awarded the Rothmore Exemplary Scholar Scholarship for the 2017-2018 school year. As a recipient of this prestigious award you will receive tuition, fees, housing, and books for the school year provided that you maintain a 3.7 grade point average both semesters…
I couldn’t believe it. A dream had literally fallen into my lap. I didn’t care how I got in, or how they found out about me. I could have another life. I quickly pulled out the first page again and saw that school would begin September 1st with freshman orientation the last two weeks of August. A glance at the free real estate calendar the Andersons had given me, after a teacher in my homeschool program had mentioned to Mrs. Anderson that I needed to have access to the dates for assignments, told me it was April 29th. School would begin in less than four months. Four months to figure out how to escape, how to get to New York City, and how to start a new life. It would take all of that time to do it.
Footsteps on the stairs had me throwing the papers under my army cot and sitting down quickly over my tattered quilt. The door was thrown open, and I tried not to look like I was hiding something as Mr. and Mrs. Anderson stepped through the door. “That was quite the performance you put on in front of the Reverend, Eva. Did you think we wouldn’t notice the looks you were trying to give him? You just can’t help but let the devil out can you girl?” snarled Mrs. Anderson. “Four more months” was the last thought I had before Mr. Anderson’s fist made contact with my jaw and the world faded into black.