“Good.” After peeling the sticky note off, she handed it to me. “That wasn’t the only reason I asked you to come back.”
“I’m fired?” It was a joke but she didn’t laugh.
“Not exactly,” she said, and the sudden sober expression had my stomach plummeting. Was the help her way of softening the blow of my dismissal? “I did something for you, and you’re going to accept it because while I filled out the paperwork, you won it on your own merit.”
What was she talking about?
From under her blotter, she drew out a letter and held it up. “You know Mason’s is a franchise, right? I bought into it years ago? I own this store, but we’re still part of a larger corporation.”
“Um…sure. I think that was in the materials you gave me to read during training.” Though it had been a while, and it wasn’t like I dealt with corporate. Marsha was the manager and the owner. This was her store, and she ran it her way.
“Well, that part isn’t important. Whatisimportant, is that every year, stores from all over the country are invited to nominate employees for scholarships. You have to be solid students with a good GPA, and you have to have declared intentions to attend or already be enrolled in college, and you need three recommendations.”
Excitement threaded at the possibility. I needed all the help I could sew up in advance. “When’s the deadline for submitting it?”
“Last May. There will be another one this coming May, but you won’t be eligible to apply for that one.” The corner of Marsha’s mouth tilted up.
“Oh.” The syllable came out riding a wave of disappointment. “I guess I should have done my due diligence.” In my defense, I’d been hella distracted last April and May, but that wasn’t an excuse. “Wait…why wouldn’t I be eligible this coming May? You said people could apply if they were in college too, and I’d just be wrapping high school.”
“Because you were awarded the scholarship for this year.”
The music faded, the room seemed to get bigger, and I was really happy I had already sat down. “But I didn’t apply…”
“No sweetie, I applied for you,” Marsha told me with a grin. “I nominated you for it, and I talked to some of your teachers at school and they gave me great recommendations. I thought when I asked, I’d get one or two, but every single teacher wrote one for you.” She shook the envelope at me. “Go ahead, open it.”
Disbelief held me hostage. “You—you applied for me?”
“Yes, I did. You work hard, Frankie. I told you that, and I’ve got my own kids in college. I know a good opportunity when I see it. They didn’t get this scholarship the years they applied, but they didn’t have your GPA or your dedication. You make me proud, and I’m so thrilled for you. Now open it.” The last came out on a laugh, and I took the envelope. It was thick, though a standard legal-sized envelope. I slit the back of it as Marsha clapped her hands and I glanced at her.
“Do you know what it is?”
“Maybe, but there’s nothing like seeing the real thing. C’mon…the suspense is killing me. We’re not all young.”
I snorted, but pulled out the fat sheaf of papers and unfolded them.
Dear Ms. Curtis,
It isour honor to present you with the James T. Mason Foundation Scholars Award for academic excellence and perseverance. Each award is given individually based on the merit of the applicant and relies heavily on the presentation of recommendations, which our board weighs along with your academic record, stated goals, and history with the company.
You have been deemed an outstanding candidate and in support of that, you are receiving a two hundred and fifty thousand dollar scholarship to be divided amongst four years of your education…
The restof the words blurred out. A quarter of a million dollar scholarship. I jerked my gaze up to Marsha, and her grin was a thousand watts all on its own. Dizzy, I held up the papers, and then she just pushed up from her chair and dragged me out of mine.
The hug was even better than the one she gave me last week, and laughter bubbled out me. “A quarter of a million dollars.”
“Iknow!”Marsha enthused, and I squeezed her.
“Thank you.”
“Oh honey, it was all you, I just made sure they had all the details on just how exceptional you are. I know it’s not enough to cover four years of Harvard but…”
Pulling back, I stared at her askance. “Marsha, this is awesome. I know I’m going to have student loans but this—this is so much money, and it means that with this, with my savings, and maybe the other scholarships I applied for—I might be able to take out far less in loans. Thank you.”
“I’m delighted for you. I’ve been sitting on this all day. It came in yesterday’s mail, but I didn’t see it until this morning, and I couldn’t be happier.”
Dazed, I could appreciate why she’d waited.
She let out another happy laugh and hugged me. “Now get out of here and go see those boys of yours and celebrate. I’m so proud of you.”