His Jealousy Sent Me Straight To The Ivy League Chapter 17
On August twenty-eighth, I boarded an Amtrak train to Princeton.
My mom and Mallory came to see me off.
On the platform, Mallory hugged me for a long time.
“Inez,” she said, letting go, her eyes red. “Don’t ever tutor people for free again.”
I laughed.
“Okay.”
Not long after the train pulled out of the station, my phone buzzed.
A new message from an unknown number.
“Inez, it’s me.”
“I changed my number. You don’t have to reply. I just want to say one thing.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It wasn’t a snap decision that night. I started being jealous of you in junior year. You did everything better than I did, better than Talia did, and you still kept helping her.”
“I always thought you stayed by my side because you liked me. So I thought if you couldn’t leave, you would stay.”
“I was wrong.”
“I hope everything goes well for you at Princeton.”
After I read it, I blocked the number.
Then I turned off my phone, leaned back in my seat, and closed my eyes.
The train kept moving north.
I was eighteen years old, and I was going to Princeton.
This wasn’t a place someone had handed me out of pity.
I had earned it myself.
I pulled a piece of candy from my pocket, unwrapped it, and slipped it into my mouth.
Mallory had stuffed an absurd amount of snacks into my luggage.
I looked down and smiled.
A while later, an announcement came over the speakers.
“Next stop, Princeton Junction.”
I opened my eyes, picked up my backpack and suitcase, and got to my feet, heading for the door.
When I stepped off the train, the early September sunlight fell across my face.
A little warm, a little unfamiliar.
I turned my phone back on.
A message instantly popped up in the freshman group chat.
It was from my new roommate.
“Inez! Are you here yet? I’m waiting on the platform! I’m the one in the white T-shirt with the ponytail!”
Dragging my suitcase toward the exit, I typed as I walked.
“I see you. I’m coming over now.”