Trent nodded. “Hell of a pass.”
“Thank you. And thank you for everything. I’ll let you know about attending the games.”
Everyone shook hands, and I walked Charlie out, wondering if that was the last time she’d set foot in the stadium as a player.
Chapter 26
Charlie
Boredom.
Over the past week, I’d watched more television than I have during my entire twenty-one years on this planet. I’ve learned how to make a beef Wellington, decorate holiday cookies, and watched couples fall in love without seeing one another. For some reason, that caught my attention more than others. It seemed like a ridiculous notion, but then Collin popped into my brain. The day I first saw him, I heard his voice first. It was deeper than any boy I knew, and it had made my insides tingle… and still did.
Clicking the top red button, I watched the screen go black, and glanced at the clock on my phone. “Two more hours.” I sighed, knowing that was how long was left in the team practice. It was funny how you missed something you never thought about being in your life. Yet I did miss football. Maybe not the hits—my recovering ankle reminded me of that—but being part of a team.
Rather than succumb to another boring show, I grabbed my tablet to download a new book. Something to look at other than the television, ceiling, or the back of my eyelids. A red circle above the little envelope icon forced a groan out of me. I hadn’t checked my email in weeks.
“I guess I’ll read them rather than a novel,” I said. That was another thing I started doing—talking to myself. Because there was nothing strange in that. If I could move around more, I’d ask Collin for a puppy to keep me company.
Delete. Delete. Delete…Email after email seemed more like spam than anything else. I also forgot that Christmas was around the corner. Would my parents be home this year? After my dad’s conference in Switzerland, they’d decided to stay so he could assist at the hospital in Zürich.
I sat up a bit straighter when I saw an email from the Seattle School of Medicine. My heart pounded, my index finger hovered over the message, and my brain raced with what it could be about. Rather than sit and stare at it, I finally decided to tap the screen, and I began to read in a state of shock.
Miss Charlotte Nicholson,
On behalf of the faculty, staff, and board of directors, we’d like to congratulate you on your accomplishments, which led to your acceptance at the Seattle School of Medicine for the upcoming winter session. Thanks to your scholastic achievements, MCAT score, and community involvement, you have been awarded a full scholarship. The details will be forthcoming.
As you know, our school is one of the best in the country, and we hope you select us to begin what we are confident will be an illustrious career in medicine.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Salsbury, PhD,
Dean of Students and Academia
“I’ve been accepted?” I couldn’t believe what I just read considering I deferred my application. Prior to taking Reese’s offer, the Seattle School of Medicine was my top choice. Looking for answers, I perused the rest of my emails, finding one my adviser had sent two months ago. It was in regard to my MCAT score and sending it to my top-choice medical schools. Our messages had crossed, and she’d sent them before I’d told her I had deferred. She’d also congratulated me for having the highest test score in my class and the second-highest GPA.
Yes. I was and would always be a nerd.
Realizing the enormity of this situation, I needed reinforcements. Normally I’d call my parents or Sally, but considering she’d be stuck between a rock (her brother) and a hard place (me), I couldn’t call her. My parents would be overjoyed knowing Seattle was my number-one choice. And with my dad being a doctor, I knew which way they’d lean.
Forgetting my reservations, I sent a text message to Sally.
Hi. Are you busy?
I waited a bit before I saw the dancing dots. They vanished and my phone rang. Seeing a picture of us from when we were kids brought a smile to my face.
“Hi, aren’t you at work?”
She let out a sigh. “Unfortunately. How are you? How’s your ankle? I can’t believe I had to hear it from Collin.”
“I’m sorry. I think I’m in disbelief. Even though I can see and feel the proof. Saying it out loud makes it worse. But I’ll be okay.”
“Then if it isn’t your ankle that has you sounding as though you lost your best friend, which I know for a fact you haven’t, what is it? Did my brother do something? I swear if he—”
“I got into med school.”
“What? Oh my God!” I wondered why I didn’t share her enthusiasm.No, I knew why, because the school is in Seattle and Collin is here.“Again, what’s wrong? Is it a bad school?”