She Swapped My College Codes, So I Sent Her to a Tech School Chapter 01
With a 1580 SAT score, I ranked second in the entire state.
But the only acceptance letter I got was from a two-year technical college’s veterinary technology program.
Meanwhile, my best friend Jessica Moreau held up her acceptance letter from Ashford University and threw a backyard barbecue for the whole neighborhood.
Her mom, Patricia Moreau, grabbed a portable megaphone and shouted, “My Jessica did it. She scored ten points lower than Emily Carson and still came out on top.”
“Some people let second place go to their head, but look what happened. They messed up their application and ended up at a tech school, just the way things work out.”
The neighbors burst out laughing.
Right there, my mom’s blood pressure spiked dangerously and she collapsed.
My dad rushed her to the hospital, ran a red light to save time, and got hit by a dump truck. The accident crushed his leg.
Then Jessica, wearing a custom-made party dress, walked up to me.
In a voice only the two of us could hear, she said, “Emily, to be honest with you, I changed your application.”
“We were only ten points apart. That spot at Ashford was supposed to be mine.”
I stared at the hospital bills, my chest tightening until I thought I’d collapse.
When I came to, I was back in the school computer lab on application day.
******
Jessica clung to my arm, smiling sweetly.
“Emily, sit next to me when we fill out our applications. I’m so clumsy. I’m scared I’ll mess up the codes. You can double check mine.”
Her voice was like poison, sweet at first, then burning through me.
This was the day.
In my past life, the school made all the seniors fill out their college applications together in the computer lab, so teachers could help.
I sat right next to Jessica without a clue. I logged into the application portal.
I finished filling everything out and was about to submit when Jessica accidentally knocked over a glass of iced tea all over my pants.
She panicked and grabbed napkins to wipe me down.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry.”
“Go rinse it off in the bathroom before it gets sticky.”
I rushed to the bathroom and left my computer unlocked.
When I came back, she was sitting in my chair, tidying up my desk.
“I saw you left your page open, so I wanted to make sure nobody tampered with it.”
“You hadn’t submitted yet, so I went ahead and hit submit for you, no need to do it yourself.”
I was so touched back then.
She smiled and said, “That was what best friends were for.”
It wasn’t until acceptance letters came out that I found out the truth.
While I was in the bathroom for those three minutes, she changed my first choice to Veterinary Technology at Ridgewood Technical College.
Then she deleted all my other choices and hit submit.
I went to the school district to file a complaint. I went to the police. I went to the teachers.
Everyone thought I was crazy.
“Jessica would never do that to you. You two are so close. Don’t throw around false accusations.”
“Exactly. Jessica scored 1570 and got the last spot at Ashford fair and square. Why would she need to change yours?”
Jessica burst into tears and hugged me.
“Emily, I know you’re upset, but you can’t blame me for this. If I could, I would give you my spot.”
Her mom Patricia stood nearby with her hands on her hips.
“You ungrateful brat. Jessica has been nothing but good to you, and now you’re trashing her name because you messed up your own application. You’re just jealous.”
In the end, I became the laughingstock of the whole school.
The incident left my mom with permanent damage, half her body paralyzed.
My dad lost his leg and ended up running a small lawn mower repair stand outside our house.
And Jessica, with her Ashford University degree, graduated and landed a job at an investment bank making six figures.
She came back driving a Mercedes G Wagon, pulled up in front of our repair stand, and tossed five hundred dollars onto the ground next to my dad.
“Here, buy yourself a drink. If Emily can’t find a job, she can always work as a cashier at our family’s gas station. Fifteen bucks an hour, if she’s lucky.”
