She Swapped My College Codes, So I Sent Her to a Tech School Chapter 04
My mom looked confused. “Couldn’t he get into Ashford?”
“Oh, don’t even get me started.” Patricia slapped her knee.
“That boy was so careless. He put the wrong code on his application and applied to a technical college by mistake.”
“In the end, he had no choice but to go there because the rules changed the next year.”
She paused and gave me a meaningful look.
“Now that poor kid works in a warehouse making twelve bucks an hour, exhausted all the time. Meanwhile, the friends he took the SAT with are all making six figures.”
“One wrong step and your whole life is thrown off track.”
My mom’s smile slowly faded.
Patricia kept going.
“That is why I came over to warn you. Be extra careful. Don’t end up like my nephew. What is the point of a high score if you ruin it yourself?”
My mom forced a smile. “Thanks. We’ll be careful.”
“Don’t mention it. We’re neighbors.” Patricia stood up. “Alright, we should get going. Don’t want to interrupt your dinner.”
After they left, my mom grabbed my hand.
“Emily, maybe you should double check your application. Patricia is hard to listen to, but she is not wrong. What if you made a mistake?”
“Mom, I already submitted it. Even if I checked, I couldn’t change anything. Don’t worry. It’s fine.”
“She came here just to mess with us. Don’t let it get to you.”
My mom’s face turned red.
“It just makes me so angry.”
“What was she implying? That you’re going to mess up your application?”
My dad put down his newspaper.
“Ignore her. Once Emily’s acceptance letter comes, we’ll see what she says then.”
I smiled and said nothing.
For the next two weeks, Jessica kept a low profile.
She sighed all day long, saying her score was too low and she would probably get rejected.
In the class group chat, when people congratulated her on her score, she replied: [Not really. I did okay, but Emily did way better.]
Someone tagged me: [Emily’s definitely getting into Ashford. Don’t forget about us when you’re famous.]
Jessica immediately replied: [Yeah, Emily’s going to be an Ashford superstar. She won’t forget us old classmates, right?]
The more humble she acted, the bigger the joke I’d become once the acceptance letters arrived.
And Patricia showed up at the Maple Grove Estates picnic shelter every single day, chatting with the other neighborhood moms.
Every time she talked, she brought up that nephew of hers who messed up his application, laying the groundwork for her daughter’s scheme.
“That’s why I’m saying, you can’t get too cocky. Cocky people mess up.”
“Our Jessica is so humble. She scored 1570 and still says she didn’t do well.”
The other moms nodded along.
“Jessica is such a good kid.”
“Not like some people who get a big head just because they placed second. They are going to fall hard.”
These words got back to my mom.
Several times she got so angry she couldn’t eat. She wanted to go outside and confront them, but I stopped her.
“Mom, don’t lower yourself to their level. In a few days, the acceptance letters will be here.”
My mom’s eyes were red.
“I just can’t stand it. Why do they get to curse you like that?”
I looked out the window.
“It’s okay. It will be over soon.”
There were three days left until the acceptance letters arrived.
Jessica had already booked plane tickets and a hotel.
