Chapter 1 - The Acceptance Letter
Alia laid out the newspapers on her bed. It had been three days since the last rejection letter from the universities she had applied to had arrived, and Alia's future looked bleak.
"I told you that botany was a load of bacon! You should have applied to psychology because you really need to get your brain checked by a professional" her mother had scolded, slamming the door behind her in a huff.
As harsh as that sounded, with no possible educational future before her, Alia was starting to wonder whether maybe a little therapy might do her some good.
"Well therapy costs money, and I don't have that!" Alia muttered to herself as she uncapped her red highlighter. If she wasn't going to university, then she had to at least get a job so that she could pay for online courses that might at least, get her by while she figured out what next she should do with her life.
Just as Alia started circling a few job openings in the job section of the paper, she heard a few quick knocks on the door of her bedroom.
"Alia! Alia you got one more!" Alia's mother said as she opened the door with a large brown envelope in hand.
Alia sat up, surprised. She didn't remember applying to any more universities, so this came as a surprise.
Alia's mother strode across the room and thrust the envelope into Alia's hand.
"Quick! Open it! Which university is this one?" She asks eagerly.
Alia blinked perplexedly. She felt the urge to tell her mother not to get her hopes up, but she couldn't make out the words. It was a large envelope. It felt thick as if there were various documents inside. Various...acceptance-related documents inside.
Tears began to well up in Alia's eyes but she fought them back as she tore open the seal. Alia gulped as she reached in to pull out the letter. Was it another rejection?
Alia felt tears roll down her cheeks.
"W-we are...Wee...oh mom I can't read it-" Alia said and pushed it back to her mom.
Alia's mom took it from Alia, and upon seeing Alia crying, she reached out to Alia and squeezed her shoulders.
"Hey, sweetie, you know I was just joking about the therapy joke. I'm proud of you, no matter what this letter says. Look at you! With your highlighter, circling jobs and stuff. It's not easy to bounce back from something like this, but you have been handling it well, and you are doing such a good job" Alia's mother says as she hugs Alia.
"Do you really think so? Or are you just trying to make me feel better" Alia said as she hung her head.
"Well I am your mother, and I only want the best for you, so yeah, I believe that, and yeah, I want you to feel better" Alia's mother replied " Now, no matter what this letter says, I want you to know that you always have a place to stay right here with me, and you can take as long as you like, to find your way in the world. You are still my little girl, no matter what. Now, are you really going to let your four-eyed mother squint at the tiny font on this letter, or are you going to read it to me like you always do" Alai's mother said and held out the letter to Alia.
"But mom I'm scared! What if I get rejected again" Alia sighed and wiped away tears with the back of her hand.
"Then we'll burn it! We'll have a nice toasty fire, and we'll toast some marshmallows on it! If they can't send my daughter something useful, then we will make it into something useful!" Alia's mother declared, holding the letter high as if to sacrifice it to the gods.
Alia giggled and reached out for the letter " No mom, we do NOT sacrifice letters to the flames and roast marshmallows over them, we recycle them like normal people"
Alia's mother handed the papers over to Alia " You are always no fun. Alright " Alai's mother said and released her, and moved a little bit away to give Alia some space " Read it! Let's see what it says"
Alia sniffled a little and pulled the letter out of the envelope once more.
"Dear Alia Stenson, we are delighted to inform you that you have been accepted into Mapleville University! We have a very small department that combined the study of Botany, herbology and sustainable horticulture and as we are currently looking for students that have an interest to study one or all of these degrees, we can offer you a full scholarship and accommodation for the full duration of your studies!" Alia read and look up, her eyes as wide as saucers.
Alia's mother gasped, then covered her face with both her hands.
"Acceptance? FULL SCHOLARSHIP? My baby is going to University on full scholarship?!!"Alia's mother gasped.
"I'm going to uni on full scholarship mom!!!!"Alia shouted excitedly and threw her arms around her mother's shoulders " I did it! I made it to uni!!"
Alia's mother hugged her back and they both burst into tears.
"This is amazing Lil Ali! You have done such a good job!! Oh, I have to go and tell everyone!" Alia's mother said and released Alia and got up.
"Do you think dad would be proud of me?" Alia asked as she wiped away her tears, though now they were tears go joy.
Alia's mother stopped in her tracks.
"You know we don't talk about your father anymore" Alia's mother said, then sighed and turned around "I...I know how big this is for you, and...."
Alia nodded " I know, I'm sorry. It's been ten years since he left, but sometimes I still feel like I'm 9 again and I want to believe what he said before he left. I still want to believe that he wanted to come home, to us, you know?" Alia said and looked up to find her mom with tears streaming down her face.
Alia's mother sat back down next to Alia and patted Alia's hand.
"Alia darling, me too. I don't know why he left us, and I don't know why he hasn't sent word, but your grandpa and grandma pronounced him dead eight years ago, and we have to respect their decision. We have to keep our hope, in our hearts, and in our prayers. Yes, if Dad was here, he would be, so proud of you baby girl. So proud" Alia's mom replied and wrapped her arms around Alia and held her tight.
Alia wrapped her arms around her mom and hugged her back.
"Remember what he said?" Alia's mother asked her.
"Reach for the stars, and you will always know that I'm watching over you" Alia replied.
"And that is where he is darling, always, watching over you, and he is proud of you," Alia's mother said.
Alia's mother got up and patted Alia on the shoulder.
"I am very proud of you, and now I am going to tell everyone we know just how I feel!" Alia's mother laughed and practically waltzed out of the room, pulling her handphone out of her pocket as she did so.
Alia dried her face with the back of her hand and pulled out more documents from the envelope.
There was the acceptance letter, several pamphlets advertising the school, the dorms and even the department of science and sustainability. as she started to organize the documents into what was urgent to look over and what was basically leisure reads - the pamphlets - she found that the school had already enclosed the grant that she needed to fill up to apply for the scholarship, the dorm accommodations form so that she could apply for her room right away, a well as vouchers from a local airline so that she could book her flight to the university, free of charge!
Once she had organised everything into manageable piles, a thought occurred to her...where IS Maplevile University?
Alia pulled out one of the pamphlets and checked out the address on the bottom of the pamphlet. She had never heard of a Mapleville town in her area, so she searched country-wide.
Alia pulled her laptop out from her backpack where she had left it since her last rejection letter and plugged it into the power source which was hanging at the edge of her bed. Once the computer booted up she opened up chrome and typed in the full address of the university.
As Google maps loaded up the information, Alia started to realise that not only was this university she had applied for far, it was not even on the main island. This meant that, if she went, not only was she going to be starting a whole new journey on her own, she probably wouldn't be able to bring a lot of stuff with her...Would she be able to survive off the island all on her own?