Thank you for reading this story! Also, thanks to Hutch-is-gorgeous for beta reading it. Hopefully you all will enjoy this chapter. What do you think will happen next?
Chapter 3: Preparations
Thursday, February 15th, 1962
I waited impatiently for school to be over. I needed to get to the post office. I'd spent lunch in my car, filling out the last of my college applications. I had done the rest early this morning. I hoped I hadn't made any mistakes, but considering it was somewhere around four in the morning when I'd started, I wasn't counting on it.
Now, I was sitting in class counting down the minutes until freedom. I had avoided Jack all day. It wasn't as hard as I was expecting it to be. I guessed it was because of yesterday's holiday. Susan and I didn't have any of the same classes this semester, so I was able to avoid her too. It's not that I disliked either one of them, but I was feeling anti-social today. I had a mission to complete and I couldn't rest until it was done. Five minutes to go. Pay attention, Hutchinson! I told myself. This will probably be on a test or something. I tried to focus on what Mr. Turner was saying, but I honestly didn't care right now. I'll need stamps. I hope I have enough cash. I should check before I leave. I bought that shirt the other day, how much was- The bell rang, putting an end to my thoughts as well as the school day. I gathered my books and ran out to the parking lot. I threw everything in the backseat and headed off to the post office.
When I got home, I kicked off my shoes at the door and went to the living room. Kirsten was sitting on the floor, homework in organized stacks in front of her. Mom was reading the paper.
"I mailed my college applications," I announced. They both looked up at me. Mom smiled.
"Good, I was wondering when you were going to do that," she said. She almost looked surprised.
I bet you were. I heard what you and Dad said about me.
"How many did you apply to?" Kirsten asked.
"I don't know, most of the ones I had information from. I didn't bother with Florida though. Too hot and humid."
"Why so many?"
"I figured I might as well know all my options," I explained. "I'll only hear back from a few I bet."
"Have you selected a major yet?" Mom asked.
"No, but I put down a couple I think I might want to do."
"Which are?"
"I don't remember, Mom. Anyway, I got homework I need to start on before supper." I turned and practically ran upstairs. I didn't have urgent homework. I just wanted to get out of the conversation. I didn't want to tell my family what I had decided to major in yet. Or rather that I hadn't yet decided what to major in. I had put down a few different things on the applications, but I wasn't set on any of them. I figured that's what college advisors were for. I could worry about a major later. College wasn't until fall. I had time.
Sunday, March 4th, 1962
Spring Break was this week. Jack's family was going to Virginia Beach. I had been invited to tag along, but I'd declined the offer. I wanted to spend some time with my family before summer jobs, college and who knows what prevented me. It was finally starting to sink in that I was almost done with high school. I knew that when I was, life would never be the same. Even if I stayed in Duluth and went to UMD like Kirsten, it would still be different. The days of family suppers with everyone were numbered. They had become less frequent already due to our varying schedules.
This afternoon, Kirsten and I had decided to go hiking. She had found this particular trail with one of her friends from college and was dying to show it to me. It was cool, but not too cold outside, so we'd decided today was the day. It was a really beautiful trail through the woods, even though the signs of spring were still faint. It felt good to get outside without having to bundle up for a polar expedition. It was nice to spend time with my sister too. I didn't get to do that very often these days.
"Wanna race up this next hill?" Kirsten asked with a smile on her face.
"So I can beat you?"
"I wouldn't count on that, half-pint!"
"I'll take that chance. You're on!" I broke into a sprint, getting a head start.
"Hey! Cheater!" Kirsten protested as she ran, trying to catch up. I dodged around a puddle and narrowly avoided tripping over a tree root. I could hear Kirsten right behind me. The hill was steeper than it looked. When I got to the top, I threw myself down on a fallen log. Kirsten joined me a half second later.
"I win!" I grinned, panting.
"Only because you cheated!" she admonished. I smiled bigger.
"Did not! Score one for baby Hutchinson!" I held up one finger in triumph.
"An illegal head start is cheating, and your legs are a lot longer than mine. How tall are you now, anyway?"
"Around six feet. I'm beating you on the growing too!" I laid down on the log, still trying to catch my breath.
"I don't think that's a fair competition either, Kenny," she said. I chuckled.
I loved arguing over stupid things with Kirsten. It was pointless, but it was so much fun. I'll miss it if I end up leaving, I thought sadly. It was one of the reasons I hated the idea of growing up sometimes. I didn't want things to change.
"So, college. Can't believe you're old enough for that," Kirsten remarked, looking out at the scenery.
"Me neither. Didn't I just start first grade?"
"I remember when you were born."
"You were only two. How can you possibly-"
"It was kind of a big deal. It stuck out to me. You were this tiny little blond thing that cried a lot and couldn't play with me."
"You hated me, didn't you?" I nudged her.
"Nope. Quite the opposite, actually. You were sorta cute."
"Were?" I questioned.
"Well...Mom might still think so. You were such an interesting novelty. Then, you grew a bit and started having a personality. That was a bit rough sometimes." We both smiled, remembering. We'd had our fair share of sibling squabbles, but we'd always patched things up in the end.
"Where'd that time go? And how is it March already?" It felt as if the world was moving at twice it's normal speed since senior year started.
"I know! You're gonna be making your valedictorian speech before you know it."
"Don't remind me." I sighed. "I haven't even started on it yet."
"Why not?" she asked.
"I don't want to do it. I hate that kind of thing. You know how I get."
"It's not a huge deal. Just keep it short and sweet. You'll survive," she advised.
"Easy for you to say, little miss extrovert!" Kirsten had always been more outgoing than me.
"Point taken. But really, try not to worry about it. You have enough other things to occupy your mind at the moment, like college."
"I know. I heard back from one. It was a no."
"Sorry."
"It's all right. I didn't want to move to Kentucky anyway. Too many chiggers!" I shuddered dramatically.
"Are you hoping for a certain one to accept you?"
"Not really. I don't know what I want honestly," I told her, not bothering to hide the frustration in my voice.
"I think that's your issue. It was hard for me too. I didn't know either at first. I thought for sure I wanted to move away for school, go someplace new and exciting. Then, I got accepted at UMD and decided I'd stay. Eighteen is really young. You have to decide what you want, but that takes time. More time than one school year."
"Yeah. Sometimes I think that if people quit asking me about my plans, the planning might go better," I admitted.
"I know what you mean. The pressure doesn't help and then you're expected to deal with other things too."
"Like grades, family, job, extracurriculars, and relationships."
"Exactly! Speaking of, are you still seeing that girl? Susan?" I nodded. "She seems nice. How's that going?"
"Fine. I think she's over the fact that I ignored Valentine's Day."
"That was risky."
"That's what Jack told me, but she still said yes to another date."
"So, are things getting serious?" Kirsten shifted to sit Indian style on the log, facing me.
"I don't know. Define serious," I asked.
"Like is she a candidate for the future Mrs. Hutchinson?" She raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"No, I'm way too young for that!" I snorted.
"Okay, maybe that's a bit premature. Do you see you two lasting after graduation?"
"I hadn't really thought about it," I admitted. "Kind of like a lot of other things after graduation..."
"Look, you don't know where life is going to take you yet. You could be at UMD with me in the fall or some other state far away. But I don't think it's really that important where you go, Kenny. You're in charge of your own future now. You have to decide who you're going to be. It took me a long time to realize that." Kirsten stood up and offered me a hand. I took it and let her pull me to my feet.
"I'll keep that in mind, Kirsten. Thanks." I really will. She had a way of making the gears turn in my head. It was helpful at times, but it also forced me to take a good hard look at myself.
"Race you back down?" Kirsten challenged me. I nodded. I wouldn't cheat this time. We both laughed as we ran full speed back to the car. We both touched the hood at the same time.
"Tie!" we shouted in unison. I am going to miss this. Big time.
Friday, March 16th, 1962
Prom was in thirty-five days. The only reason I knew that was because of Jack. He was obsessed. He was campaigning hardcore for prom king and trying desperately to get me to care. He had tried to get me to care about every school dance since the fateful square dance first date fiasco in ninth grade. I had found a good excuse not to go to all of the dances since. I'd almost ran out of excuses when junior prom rolled around last year. Luckily, I was blessed with the flu two days prior, so I got to stay home. Jack and Susan were both on the planning committee this time. They were talking about it now, as I was trying to eat my lunch in peace.
"I think the decorations are going to be great," Susan said.
"So is the food. We even decided to have a tray of vegetables for people like Hutch here," Jack added.
"Isn't that great, Ken?" Susan asked.
"Sure. I heard the food is usually all sugar and processed garbage," I replied.
"I'm the one who wants to be a doctor and he's the one all worried about health," Jack teased. Susan giggled.
"Veggies have done him some good though. Just look at him!" She looked at me appreciatively. I felt my ears redden. I hated being complimented. I never knew how to react.
"Uh..." I struggled to come up with something to say. Jack saved me.
"Maybe I should eat my carrots too. Then I'll have to be prom king! What are you going to wear, Hutch?"
"Jack, I don't even know what I'm wearing tomorrow! Why would I know what I'm wearing over a month from now?"
"I would like to know what you're wearing too. I need to buy my dress," Susan added. "I gotta go. I'm supposed to meet with the yearbook committee before lunch is over. See you later, Ken." I waved goodbye to Susan and returned to my lunch.
"I take it you asked her?" Jack asked. I set my sandwich down and shot him a look.
"No. We're dating, so it's reasonable to just assume were going together. Now will you please stop talking about this stupid dance so I can eat without getting indigestion?"
"Excuse me for being invested in high school culture! It's the last one ever! Why not enjoy it? Oh, I forgot to tell you! I asked Heather and she said yes! I think she might be voted prom queen. Wouldn't that be something? If we were both-"
"Jack! Enough!" I pointed at him. "You have to stop talking about anything prom related for the rest of the day. It's just an event. An excuse to get dressed up and pretend we're more important than we are. And don't even get me started on prom royalty! It's just a dumb popularity contest! It's practically designed to make people feel less than-"
"Who's going on about it now? Shut up and eat your vegetables!" Jack interrupted.
Friday, April 13th, 1962
I reached into the mailbox and pulled out the mail. I leafed through it, looking for anything of interest. Junk, Mom's, Kirsten's, Dad's, Dad's, junk... Mine! I smiled as I stared at the envelope. It was from a college I had applied to. I had received answers from most of them so far, but there were still a couple I was waiting on. I hadn't opened most of them yet. I'd decided after the second one came that I would wait and open the others all at once. Today's would go into the box under my bed.
I heard a car door slam in the direction of the Blake's house. I watched Nancy struggling to unload a stack of boxes from her mother's car. I put the mail back in the box and jogged over to help.
"Need some help there?" I offered. Nancy's cheeks turned red as she nodded. I grabbed two of the boxes from the top of the stack she was carrying. They weren't heavy, just awkward.
"Thanks, Ken. I could use it! I kind of went on a shopping spree this afternoon!" She unlocked her front door and went inside. I followed.
"Did you buy half the store?" I asked. Nancy giggled.
"No, just a prom dress or two," she corrected me.
"Two?"
"I found next year's dress too! And shoes for both! Isn't that great?" Nancy set the boxes on the kitchen table. I did the same with mine.
"Hooray?" I was confused as to why she was so excited.
"They were on sale, okay? Buy one get one half off. See?" Nancy pulled the lids off the two boxes containing the dresses. I didn't know anything about dresses, but they looked nice. One was a pale purple and the other was light blue.
"Very nice. Great deal. Very modern. The purple one says, 'I'm fancy and I demand respect'. The blue one says, 'I want to have fun, but not too much fun'. Very bold statements. Brave choice," I teased. She frowned.
"Stop it! I'm excited I even get to go. Now don't rain on my parade!" Nancy was a freshman, which meant that she could only go to prom if an upperclassmen asked her.
"I'm not! I'm happy for you, really. You'll be the most de moda, hermosa reina there!"
"Are you still teasing me? What does that mean in English, Ken?" Nancy demanded.
"Fashionable, beautiful queen." I smiled at her.
"Honestly?" She smiled back.
"Ask my junior year Spanish teacher if you don't believe me. Who are you going with again?"
"Jimmy Stanton! He asked me last week."
"Good for him! I hope you have a great time. I gotta go. Unless you have more grunt work you need me to do?" Nancy giggled and shook her head no.
Once I had retrieved the mail, I headed up to my room. I pulled the box out from under my bed and added this one to the growing stack of potential acceptance or rejection letters. I jumped as Kirsten startled me.
"You ever gonna open those?"
"Eventually."
"What are you waiting for?"
"The last minute," I joked.
"Obviously. But you're going to have to do it sooner or later. Why wait?" Kirsten asked.
"I'll do it soon," I answered. Why am I waiting? Shouldn't I just get it over with? Like I did with sending them out. Just take a block of time and do it until it's done.
"Supper's ready by the way. I'll eat all your pancakes if you don't hurry up and come down!" She threatened, leaving my room.
That night, I couldn't sleep. Putting it off is pointless, I thought. It was time. I suddenly had to know what those letters said. I switched on my bedside lamp, then leaned over the side of my bed until I found the box I was looking for. I pulled it up on top of the blankets and opened the lid. I ripped open the first one and began reading. I skipped to the first line that mattered:
Dear Mr. K. Hutchinson,
After careful consideration by our admissions department, we regret to inform you that we are
unable to offer you a place at our university for the 1962-1963 school year.
I stopped and sighed. I wasn't particularly disappointed, but starting on a negative note wasn't helping my mood. Guess I won't be going there then. I reached back into the box on my lap and chose the next one. It was from UMD. This one has to be an acceptance...Right? I opened it and read. I was right, it was an acceptance letter. I was relieved that staying local was still an option. I continued reading them until there was only one left. So far, I had four rejections and three acceptances. Two of the acceptances had offered me some form of academic scholarships. I stared at the return address on the final letter and tried to remember why I had applied to somewhere so far away. This must have been my wild card. I don't think I'd ever actually go there. Why bother opening it? I tore open the letter anyway. I was curious. I read the usual introductory lines and discovered I had been accepted.Hey, that's neat. Probably still won't go there, but neat! I read further. I dropped the letter in shock. I couldn't believe what I had just read. They had offered me a full ride for the first year. It was the best offer I had by far. If only it wasn't over 2,000 miles away...Then, I might consider taking it. I put the letter back in the box and put it back under the bed. I knew what my choices were now. I had three, four if I counted the wild card, and three if I wanted any kind of scholarship. I had hoped things would be clearer once I knew what schools were an option, but I still felt lost.
I turned off the light and laid back down. I managed to push the thoughts of what college to go with away, but different thoughts came. Except this time, they were about what Kirsten had said over a month ago. You're in charge of your own future now. You have to decide who you're going to be. Her words had been echoing in my mind for a while now. Who do I want to be? What do I want? I let my thoughts go to my relationship with Susan. I remembered what my sister had asked me. Do you see you two lasting after graduation? I had told her I wasn't sure, but deep down I knew that was a lie. It was time to be honest with myself. I don't. I knew what I had to do. I have to end things with Susan.
