This is the sixth part in a series, so if you have not already done so, you might want to read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, and Part V before continuing.
Eliza squaled when she got Angela’s text: “Got into Ithaca!”
Eliza had yet to hear anything back from either Ithaca or her top choice, Juilliard, but she didn’t care about that right now. She was genuinely happy for her friend, so she immediately dialed her number.
She held her phone a few inches from her ear in preparation for the victorious yelling. When Angela stopped to catch her breath, Eliza put the phone to her ear and said, “Yay! That’s awesome. Congrats.”
“Thanks. What about you? Have you heard from them?”
“Nope. I haven’t heard back from any of the colleges I applied to yet.”
“Don’t worry. I’m sure your acceptance is on its way and then we can be roomies!”
“Thanks, Angela. I hope so.”
“I know so. Think how much fun it’ll be!”
Eliza smiled. The thought was appealing. Going off to college was such a big, scary adventure that loomed on her horizon. She was excited and terrified at the same time. It would be nice to have her best friend along for the ride.
But Eliza was really hoping she would get into Juilliard. Ithaca was a great college that had been attended by many successful actors, but Juilliard was … well, Juilliard.
Eliza was hoping she would get into either Ithaca or Juilliard so she wouldn’t have to choose between her education and her best friend.
Eliza came out of her reverie to find Angela planning their future. “I’ve been looking at some of their communications courses and it looks like they have a really great program. I might want to do a double major in theater and communications, what do you think?”
“I think that’s a great idea. Theater’s tough to break into, so it’s always a good idea to have a backup.”
“Yeah, that’s kind of what I was thinking. Have you thought about what your backup’s going to be?”
“Psychology.”
“It’s not a backup if you’re studying it to enhance your primary degree.”
“Why not?”
“Because that’s cheating.”
“You can’t cheat on a backup plan. Besides, who says I’m studying psychology to enhance my theater degree?”
“You did. When you signed up for AP Psych. You said you thought it would help you to better understand the characters you’d be portraying.”
“OK, busted. But it’s not like communications is all that different from the performing arts either.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Maybe I should think about another backup.”
“That’s not what I said. I’m just saying it can help with your primary career goals and still be a backup.”
“I guess. So, what’s your first choice for a dorm building?”
“I don’t even know if I’ve been accepted!”
“Of course you have. I told you, your info packet is in the mail.”
Eliza laughed and played along, trying not to get her hopes up too high in the process.
To be continued…
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