She was oblivious to my sarcasm. “Exactly.”
“You’re wise beyond your years.”
She laughed. “Yeah, well, remember that when you do next month’s schedule.”
“Ah, I see how it is.”
Hannah yanked me in for a quick hug. We were both sweaty, my wavy black ponytail sticking to the side of her face.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever said it,” I told her as we pulled away, “but I’m glad the alumni office matched us up.”
I first met Hannah as her mentor, but I’d come to think of her as family. Like me, she had received a full-ride scholarship to The Kent School, part of an award funded by former recipients to continue to provide opportunities to the next generations. Without that scholarship, I never could’ve afforded the prestigious institution.
“I’m grateful too.” Hannah sniffed and blew out a deep breath. “You’re like the big sister that I never wanted.” Pushing me back, she wiped a stray tear away and rolled her shoulders with a pouty grin.
It was at my five-year reunion that the alumni office approached me about mentoring Hannah as she was entering her sophomore year, and I readily agreed. We had both grown up with similar hardships: single parents and never enough money, spending too much of our childhoods as caregivers when the universe dumped more on us than our fair share. I admired so much the way Hannah never let any of it make her cynical. She made it look easy.
“Seriously,” she said. “You’ve got a few minutes before the email that will change your life. Think good thoughts. Manifest that shit.”
“You should put that on a T-shirt.”
“I could probably pay for college that way.” She laughed and shoved me toward the back room. “Go take a break. I can handle things out here. Come back with good news.”
Slipping into the small, cluttered room, I closed the door and sank into the worn leather chair at the desk, glancing at the clock on the wall above me.
“Five minutes. Good thoughts only,” I told myself. “I can do this.”
In a way, I’d come to want this as much for Hannah as I did for myself. It just meant so much to her to see me succeed. I felt a responsibility to show her good things were possible. Big dreams weren’t out of reach for people like us.
I didn’t believe in luck or manifesting. Only effort. It was perseverance that earned me that Kent scholarship. And dedication that allowed me to excel academically while I was there. Nothing ever came easy. I busted my ass studying, cramming until dawn, always doing that much more than my peers. I wasn’t interested in simply keeping my head above water. I wanted to begreat. Still, I worried that maybe some things would always be out of reach. It was hard to feel deserving when you were used to going without.
So, I started to rationalize the worst-case scenario. If I didn’t get intoACE, it just meant that I had to do another two-year associate degree at Escoffier. That wouldn’t be the end of the world. Still good enough to build a client base and perhaps land a private chef position in Aspen or Boulder. It wouldn’t be London, but I could make it work.
Then I heard Hannah’s voice in my head telling me that was quitter talk.
And in my rationalizing, I’d also missed the alert notifying me of a new email. It was five after ten, and I’d distracted myself into not noticing the banner that had appeared on my phone.
The subject line simply read “Application Decision.”
“Here we go.”
Using my thumb on my old iPhone, I took a deep breath and clicked the email app.
Congratulations, Chef-in-Training!
I read and re-read the first line three times before an enormous grin broke out on my face and I called for Hannah.
When she burst through the door, I handed her the phone so she could read the message for herself. I was a wobbly and runny-nosed mess that mixed tears and laughter.
“I told you! You manifested that shit!” she shouted before beginning to read the opening paragraph aloud. “Congratulations, Eleanor! On behalf of the entire Admissions Committee, we are pleased to notify you of your acceptance to the Academy of Culinary Excellence in London for the spring entry date.ACEis located in one of the world’s food and hospitality capitals, and our position as a premier culinary college offers unbeatable opportunities for participation in internships, research, events and cultural programs. YourACEeducation is an investment in your future, and we cannot wait to help you get started.”
Hannah handed me back the phone, jumping up and down and shrieking, “Holy shit! You did it, Elle!”
“I can’t believe it,” I breathed, reading through the first paragraph again before moving on to the nitty-gritty details. “It looks like I’ll get an acceptance packet in the mail tomorrow, with all of the information on housing, tuition, etc.”
Hannah gave me a concerned look, her blue eyes turning serious. “You’re not scheduled to work tomorrow, but maybe you should come in so you’re not pacing a hole in your apartment floor.”
I knew what she was getting at. I had indicated on my application that I would require financial aid to cover tuition. The total cost of that tuition, and how much of it the school would be willing to cover, were details yet to be ironed out. Getting intoACEhad been step one. Paying for it was my next hurdle.
