Part 2My Application, My Say

At 11:27 pm, while I was sitting in an observation chair, a notification suddenly popped up on my phone.

[Someone is attempting to log in to your application portal account.]

I stared at the message, and a chill shot down my spine.

At 12:41 am, I got a text.

[Your application information has been successfully updated.]

I was sitting in the clinic's IV area with tape still stuck to the back of my hand. At that moment, it felt like my blood had gone cold.

I opened the portal. My password no longer worked.

I spent over ten minutes going through the account recovery process before I finally logged back in.

The moment the page loaded, my vision went dark.

Calvert University, the school I had typed in countless times, was gone. Every one of the out-of-state schools had been removed.

The first choice was now the teachers' college in our county, elementary education under a teaching contract. The second choice was the local community college, nursing. The third was an average in-state college, open to any major.

Every line felt like a slap across the face.

The changes had been made at 11:43 pm. At that time, I had been under observation at the clinic, and a nurse had just changed my IV.

I called the state admissions office hotline.

The person on duty answered in a ed tone. "Our system shows that the account password and the one-time verification code were both entered correctly, and the final confirmation was completed before the deadline. If the applicant believes the changes were not made by them, please submit a written request for review as soon as possible."

Not made by them.

Those words made my nails dig into my palm.

At dawn, my parents showed up at the clinic.

I looked at Mom. "How did you get the verification code?"

Mom's eyes darted away.

Dad set a thermos down on the table. "What verification code? You confirmed the applications yourself. Who are you going to blame now that you've changed your mind?"

I laughed. "I was at the clinic last night. How could I have gone to the school's computer lab and changed my applications?"

Dad lowered his voice. "Callie, I'm warning you. Don't blow this out of proportion. Mr. Ormsby has looked out for you for three years, and you're going to ruin him?"

"Is he ruining me, or am I ruining him?"

Mom immediately pressed a hand to her chest. "How can you say something like that? Mr. Ormsby told us your scores are high, but competition at those big out-of-state schools is tough. What if you end up stuck in a major you don't want? The teaching contract is so much more stable. You'll be a teacher the minute you graduate."

"I don't want to be a teacher."

"You don't understand now, but you will someday."

I looked at her, and it suddenly felt absurd.

They always used "you'll understand someday" to shut me up in the present. Why did they get to decide what my future self would understand?

Before long, Mr. Ormsby called.

I put him on speaker.

His voice was heavy, as if he were dealing with a disobedient student. "Callie, your parents tell me you're very upset."

"Did you log in to my account last night?" I asked.

He sighed. "You shouldn't go around throwing out accusations like that. The portal requires a password and a verification code. How could anyone else just get in?"

"So you're denying it?"

"I only helped you think things through based on your family's situation. The final confirmation was the result of a discussion within your family. If you change your mind now on an impulse, it won't be good for you, and it won't be good for the school either."

The school. He had finally brought up the school.

"How does the school benefit from sending a high-scoring student to a teaching contract program?" I asked him.

The line went quiet for a second. "Callie, don't make your teachers out to be so calculating."

I hung up.

Dad snatched my phone out of my hand. "Who said you could talk to your counselor like that?"

I grabbed the other end before he could pull it away. "Give it back."

He had not expected me to fight back, and he froze for a moment.

I yanked the phone away and stood up. "I'm going to the admissions office to file for a review."

Mom immediately blocked the door. "You can't go!"

Dad's face turned thunderous. "Just try walking out that door."

An old man getting an IV nearby looked over, and a nurse came closer.

"Excuse me, this is a clinic. Please keep your voices down."

Dad gritted his teeth and finally lowered his voice. "Fine. You want to make a scene? Go right ahead. Just don't ever think about coming back home."