The BSC Legacy – Book 4: Adolescence Passing
By: CNJ
PG-13
5: College Prepping Time
Dawn:
"...I still have to finish
my application for Tucson U," I told Sunny over the phone one afternoon
in early November when Mary Anne was at a Beacon meeting and Richard
and Mom hadn't come home from work yet. "Most likely, I'll wind up going
there." It was good talking to Sunny again.
"Hard to believe we're almost
ready to graduate," Sunny said softly. "If only Mom..." she hesitated and
we both knew. Her mom had died of lung cancer two years ago, so she wouldn't
be there to see Sunny graduate this spring. "It's going to be hard," she
finished softly.
"I can imagine," I said
softly. We were quiet a minute as we thought about Sunny's mom, Betsy Winslow.
She really was a wonderful person. It had been a terrible blow, not only
to Sunny, but to all of us in our group out in the West Coast to lose her.
It's horrible to think about, but what if my mom weren't around to see
Mary Anne and me graduate? Thinking about that reminded me of Mary Anne's
natural mom, who'd died when Mary Anne was just a nine-month-old baby.
I wondered if Mary Anne would feel that void too at graduation. I also
remembered how wonderful Mary Anne had been with Sunny when Sunny had come
to visit Stoneybrook shortly after her mom had died. Slowly, we continued
on with college discussions, but with the memory of Betsy Winslow in mind.
Sunny had applied to Bay University in San Francisco, San Francisco U.
and Sweet Valley U. down below Los Angeles. She also told me that Ducky
goes to Sweet Valley U. as well. She also told me that Maggie wants to
apply to Arcata U. in Northern California, but her dad is pressuring her
to apply to Stanford U. and to a lot of other big-name colleges.
"Ivy League label," I muttered.
"Yeah..." Sunny agreed.
"I really wish her dad would get off her back."
"Is her mom standing stronger
or what?" I asked.
"Yes and no," Sunny hesitated
a minute. "Sometimes she does over everyday things especially since she's
gotten out of rehab and is working part-time...but she's still backing
away from big issues like college and Maggie's future."
"Has Maggie applied for
a scholarship?" I asked. "That way, her tuition would be paid for and her
dad can't use that fact that he's paying for this or that as an excuse
to dictate her life choices.
"Yes, a couple," Sunny told
me. "She even applied for one on the East Coast, which would get her away
from her dad's control."
"Good, good," I nodded.
"Tell her to keep applying and to hang in there. It is ultimately her life
that'll be affected, not her dad's."
"I will," Sunny said. "Hey,
it's been swell talking to you and I'll tell the others hi. I've got to
run down to my dad's store and take something to him, so talk soon."
"Okay, bye," I said. After
I hung up, Mary Anne got home and we decided to start dinner for Richard
and Mom. I think Mary Anne enjoys being the head editor of the school newspaper.
There was the November issue of the Beacon sitting on the counter
and it was neat seeing my stepsister's name on the roster at the top of
all the names of the Beacon staff. At dinner, Richard mentioned
that he'd be going out of town next week on a case. Sharon talked about
a new design her architecture firm was working on. As we ate, I thought
about how this year was flying by and that the times of all of us sitting
like this at the kitchen table as a foursome were numbered counting down
the days until we left for college. As it is, we luck out if all four of
us can get here for dinner more than a few times a week.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mary Anne:
Dad was out of town for a
week. His case was in Montana, so he'd flown there the next Monday. Hard
to believe Thanksgiving was two and a half weeks away. All week my friends
and I compared college apps and several of us mailed ours. Kristy had sent
hers out to Fellowman in New York City. Mona sent hers out to Staten U.
in New York City and so did I; in fact we did it the same day, dropping
ours into the mailbox near her house that Friday afternoon on the way home
from school. I'd also sent my application to New York U. One more to go,
I thought; I still was working on my application to Arizona U. That night,
Dawn had a baby-sitting job and wouldn't be home until late, so it was
just Sharon and me home for dinner that night.
"This house is going to
feel so empty when you and Dawn leave for college next year," Sharon said
softly. "I can't believe you're both seniors."
"Me either," I picked the
olives out of the casserole before eating the rice and chicken. Sharon
loves olives, so she finished them for me, then we cleaned up the kitchen
and I went upstairs to do my homework for the weekend and finish my application
for Arizona U. It was around ten-thirty when I went down to say goodnight
to my stepmom. I was a little surprised that she was up watching the late
news because she usually goes to bed by ten, even on weekend nights.
"Hi..." she whispered when
she saw me. I sat next to her and gave her a hug, then my eyes wandered
over to the TV. It was about women in the middle east. As I watched, I
saw that it was more about the women in Afghanistan and I saw that they
were all wearing burkas, the thick long veils covering their faces and
bodies. To my horror, the newscast revealed that these women were forced
to wear the burkas and that they'd had all kinds of restrictions posed
on them and were kept out of work and forbidden to do all kinds of things.
For even a minor violation, they could be killed! There was one story of
a woman who was shot when she accidentally exposed her arm.
"Oh, God," My breath caught.
"This is as bad as the way the Nazis treated the Jews back in the 1930's."
"Yes, it's terrible," Sharon
nodded. Some of the scenes were so heartbreaking and it detailed that so
many women were suicidal and sat for hours just rocking endlessly in numb
fear or crying softly. A lot of these women had been doctors, teachers,
writers, and lawyers and had had active lives before this new radical government
took over a few years ago. One sight brought tears to my eyes. What really
made me start bawling was a woman who'd been killed by her own husband
for being suspected of adultery, leaving three kids motherless.
A chill ran down my back and I started crying for real. Sharon reached
out and put an arm around me. I leaned on her and really let go,
just wept, my heart aching for those poor women.
"I know, it's awful," Sharon
soothed. I kept crying into her shoulder for a long time, even after the
broadcast was over.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
E-mail messages back and forth:
Steps4ever(Mary Anne) to all:
Hey, what do any of you
know about the new radical Taliban in place in Afghanistan? Are any of
you aware of the plight of women there?
Bizprez(Kristy):
I'd heard about the government,
but what's happening with the women?
Numbers(Stacey):
I heard that the women
are considered virtually nonpersons there, but I don't know too much more.
Steps4ever to all:
I just saw the really
heartbreaking newscast about the conditions women face there and it made
me bawl my eyes shut. I'm still wiping away a few tears as I write
this...they're forced to wear these long burkas and they're kept
out of school, jobs, and are basically prisoners in their own homes. They
can't go out without a male escort and can be killed for any "violation."
There's an epidemic of suicidal behavior among them there, which is no
surprise. God, can you imagine?! It reminds me of the shit that
went on when the Nazis grabbed control of Germany in the 1930's.
Animalover(Mona):
Wow, that does sound
chilling. Maybe we could find a way to spread awareness, maybe around
school or something.