The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth - Alexandra Robbins [163]
Ms. Collins told Blue that she wanted the team to distinguish itself from those of other states by demonstrating that original, independent analysis was important for the health of the country. The team didn’t expect to place because it was so small. A win for Team Hawaii, she said, would entail upsetting some of the judges by challenging traditional thought, rather than telling them what they wanted to hear. She told Blue she was counting on him to make it happen.
Meanwhile Blue held weekly AP Gov parties at his house. As his friendships deepened, even Blue’s mother couldn’t lower his spirits. She didn’t talk about college anymore. She told him that he would work at McDonald’s and live on the streets. She didn’t believe that the Undergraduate Assistance Program was real. He hadn’t bothered to tell her he had made it to the final admissions round.
Blue was already skittish about the looming interview. “I’m so scared I won’t get into college,” he said. Except for English and French, he had As and Bs.
The night before the interview, Blue stayed up late reading political and philosophical books, taking notes for SCH arguments. Blue’s interview happened to be scheduled at the same time his teammates had a practice run-through with the state judges. He wanted to make sure they were ready. At 4 A.M., he noticed that three teammates were online. He asked them if they needed help, then guided them through their work. When one girl seemed to be struggling, he called her. She told him she was having family issues. He spent the rest of the night writing her answers so that she could get some sleep.
At 5 A.M., too excited to doze, Blue brewed coffee and finalized his UAP materials, printing extra copies of his financial forms and personal essay. At 7 A.M., he stopped by school to say hello to his teammates. He handed out $150 worth of social science books he had bought for them and explained how each book related to their units. They wished him luck, but nobody thought he needed it. Blue was now the team leader of a group of Kaloke’s smartest students.
Blue walked into the interview room. The woman who had passed him through to this round wasn’t there. He sat in front of a conservatively dressed middle-aged woman, a twentysomething woman, and a burly man. After they read his essay, they fired questions at him: “What is UAP?” “Name the three requirements a student agrees to in the program.” He nailed these.
Then the younger woman asked, “Do you have a significant other?”
How is this relevant? Blue decided to be honest. “Yes,” he answered.
“What’s her name?”
Blue paused. “Uhh . . .”
“You don’t need to give me her name if you don’t want to.”
“No, it’s just . . .” Blue took a breath. “Well, his name is Michael.”
All three interviewers raised their eyebrows. “Is he okay with coed dorms?” one asked.
“Yes.”
“Have you guys talked about it? There’s no issue with that at all?”
“No, it’s a total non-issue,” Blue said, laughing mildly to show he was comfortable.
Then they asked bland questions that anyone could have answered. Blue had been prepared for challenging inquiries that would give him a chance to let these interviewers into his mind. He grew antsy as they reread his essays and asked him questions only about his mother. In answer to the essay prompt, “Explain how your family will support your participation in UAP,” Blue had written that his mother wanted him to join the military. Blue’s essays were completely candid, at the advice of his guidance counselor. Ms. Pierce had told him to explain how he was different from other students as well as the reasons behind his predicament. He wrote about his mother’s refusal to pay for his schooling, and his peace with that. Emotionally, he wrote, “the support will come from my own personal support group I have surrounded myself with. People who bring