
“Just your GED, which you got at an… advanced age.” I see here that you didn’t come to us with a high school diploma.” He purses his lips. It seems to take him forever to go through my records, and when he looks up again, his expression is even more dismissive than before, if that’s possible. He sighs heavily and starts typing, his fingers flying across his keyboard. It’s clear he’s already annoyed about having to meet with me, and I don’t want to piss him off any more. “Willow Hayes,” I say, biting back the urge to remind him that he just said my name a few minutes ago when he called me up to his desk. I have to make something better for myself, and that means I can’t lose this chance. The only way I can ever make something of myself and get out of the shitty world I was born into is to get an education. I’ve been behind since I got here, and if I get kicked out because I can’t pay, I’ll have to start all over again somewhere else. I’m twenty-two years old and only a sophomore, which makes me older than all the other students in my year. The idea of getting kicked out of college makes me feel sick. I try really hard not to sound like I’m begging, but it’s difficult to keep the desperate edge out of my voice.

Are there any other scholarships I could apply for?” “I had a scholarship lined up, but it didn’t work out. “I know,” I say, my fingers tightening around each other. Important Reasons for Having Mirrors in Elevators
