The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth - Alexandra Robbins [164]
“Does your mother want you to go to college or not?” the older woman asked.
“She’s all for it, as long as I can pay for it myself.”
The interviewers seemed to think this was an impossible task. They asked him which scholarships he was applying for, and drilled him on how he would survive college without a supportive parent. The man asked blunt questions about the nature of the $200,000 in investments listed on Blue’s financial forms, which suggested that Blue’s mother could afford to pay for college; she simply didn’t want to.
“You do understand that we need full parental support on this, don’t you?” the man asked.
“Yes, I do, but my mom—”
“Well, I don’t know,” the man interrupted. “Your mom needs to get on board with this for it to work out.”
Hopeless, Blue began to shut down. They hadn’t even cared about his essay. When the man handed him the yellow piece of paper, Blue forced himself to say “Thank you,” and left the room, numb. In the bathroom, he splashed cold water onto his face, trying to ward off tears.
On the drive back to school, Blue thought about getting into a car accident, hunting for an excuse for his inability to get into college. He felt the shadow of his dark period from earlier in the year creep over him.
He called Ms. Collins, who answered her phone, excited. “How was it?” she asked.
“I, uh . . .” Blue’s voice cracked. “I didn’t make it.”
Ms. Collins’ voice changed instantly. “Oh my God. I didn’t expect that. Are you okay?”
In the background, Blue could hear his AP Gov classmates reacting with surprise.
“I don’t know,” Blue said.
“Okay, just come here and we can talk about it.”
When he walked into the classroom, his eyes were moist. Everyone else looked sad. Michael looked like he had been crying. Blue lay his head on a desk. He felt like his only chance at college—and the rest of his life—was gone. Leilani and Kaia hugged him tightly.
On the way to Ms. Pierce’s office, Blue stopped by the lunchroom to see Ty and Stewart. As soon as he approached, they made fun of him.
“How’s the butt sex?!” Stewart called out.
“Ew, don’t touch me; you’re gay,” said Ty.
Blue did an about-face and walked away.
After meeting with his counselor, who was baffled as to why he had been rejected, Blue returned to Ms. Collins’ classroom. He sat there, head down, and slept through the rest of his classes, tallying his first unexcused absences of the semester.
Late Spring to Early Summer
Popular vs. Outcast
Chapter 12
POPULARITY DOESN’T LEAD TO HAPPINESS
WHITNEY, NEW YORK | THE POPULAR BITCH
Whitney was sitting next to the preps when Chelsea said loudly to Bianca, “Hey, Bianca, I have some new information for you.”
“Yeah, I got your message last night. That’s some juicy stuff,” Bianca replied.
“I know. I had to do some research before I found out it was true, but it totally is.”
“I can always count on you as my little source of gossip about everything,” Bianca said.
Madison leaned over. “Giselle, we have to talk to you about something later.”
As Whitney watched her former friends talk over her, she realized that by befriending non-preps, she had become one. Until now, she had been optimistic enough to believe that she could become a floater yet still maintain her ties to the preps. Later that day, Whitney tried one more time to sit with the preps, who discussed Seth’s and Spencer’s prom after-party. “Too many people want to come,” Seth said. “It has to be totally exclusive and only people who are invited can be let in. I made a guest list.” He tossed the list onto the table and the preps looked it over. Everyone at the table was invited except for Whitney. The group continued to talk about the party in front of her.
What the fuck?! Whitney thought, stricken. I used to be like that?! She could understand now where Caroline was coming from. The preps were annoying. Still, she remained at the table as her friends discussed the party. She couldn’t believe that her group was so obviously