His Jealousy Sent Me Straight To The Ivy League Chapter 06
The graduation ceremony was held in the school auditorium.
By the time I arrived, the first three rows were already full.
Conrad was sitting in the second row, waving at me.
“Inez, over here! I saved you a seat.”
Talia was sitting beside him.
I walked straight to the last row and took a seat in the corner.
Conrad was visibly surprised, but he didn’t come after me.
Talia turned to look at me, then leaned toward Conrad and whispered something in his ear.
They both laughed.
The ceremony dragged on forever.
The principal spoke. The dean of students spoke. The student representative spoke.
I barely heard a word.
All I could think about was the college counselor’s message.
*Admission status.*
What admission status?
At last, the principal announced the end of the ceremony.
Students began to stand and file out.
Conrad threaded his way through the chairs toward me.
“Inez, want to get lunch? I already made—”
“No. The counselor needs to see me.”
I stepped around him and headed for the administrative offices.
Conrad followed me for two steps.
“What is it? Want me to come with you?”
“No.”
The college counselor’s office door was open.
There were three people inside.
My counselor, Ms. Davison; the dean of students; and a middle-aged man I had never seen before.
“Inez, come in. Sit down.”
Ms. Davison pointed to the chair across from her desk.
After I sat, the unfamiliar man handed me a business card.
*Princeton University, Admissions Office, Mr. Sullivan.*
“Inez,” he said, “first, I need to confirm a few things. Your SAT composite is 1520, correct?”
“Yes.”
“You won a national gold medal in a science competition, correct?”
“Yes.”
“You also received a category award at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, correct?”
“Yes.”
“And you have published two papers in a professional journal as the corresponding author?”
I paused.
“Yes.”
Mr. Sullivan opened the folder in his hands.
“Based on the full evaluation for our special scientific talent program, your competition record and publication achievements are exceptionally strong. There’s just one thing we need to confirm.”
He looked up at me.
“In your application portal, Princeton is listed as your first choice. Is that correct?”