She Ripped Up My Transcript for My Brother,Then He Couldn't Go to College

"Don't bother filling out your college applications. You're not getting into any Ivy League."

I was in the middle of entering my picks when my fingers froze over the keyboard. I whipped around to face her.

"What?"

Mom cracked another sunflower seed between her teeth, taking her sweet time spitting out the shell.

"I opened your academic transcript file and threw it in the trash."

"No university will accept a file that's been opened. You're done with school."

She finally looked up, her gaze drifting across my frozen face. The corner of her mouth curled into something that wasn't quite a smile.

"Perfect timing, really. Just go straight to work."

"That burger place on the corner needs help. I already talked to Mrs. Wang. You start tomorrow. Two months, and you'll have enough to cover your brother's tuition."

My hand tightened around the mouse. My knuckles went white, my fingertips trembling.

But I said nothing. Because I knew my transcript file had been sealed by the school three days after scores were released and mailed to the state admissions office.

Right now it was sitting in a steel cabinet in the records room, a bright red seal stamped across the flap.

The file she'd torn open was my brother's.

And she had no idea.

——

When I didn't respond, her temper flared.

"What's that look for? I say a few words and suddenly you've got an attitude?"

She spat out another shell. It landed squarely on the floor I'd just finished mopping.

"I opened it for your own good!"

Her voice climbed higher, shrill with self-righteous conviction.

"Who knows what you've been hiding at that school of yours?"

"Sneaking around with some boy? Getting into fights? Or something even worse?"

The bedroom door swung open and my brother Adrian Henson shuffled out in flip-flops, his hair a tangled mess from sleep.

"Mom, some classmates are coming over tonight. Make something good."

Mom's entire face transformed. A beaming smile bunched every wrinkle together.

"Of course, of course! I'll make a whole spread. Won't embarrass you, don't worry!"

As she spoke, she reached over and grabbed the torn file from the wastebasket beside the coffee table, papers and all, stuffed it into a black garbage bag, and tied it shut.

That evening, Adrian's classmates showed up.

Seven or eight boys crammed into our tiny living room, loud and rowdy.

A few of them spotted me and grinned.

"Hey, class president! Where are you applying? Ivy League?"

Adrian sat dead center on the couch, gnawing on an apple. He let out a cold laugh.

"Her? She's going straight to flipping burgers."

The living room went quiet.

The boys exchanged glances, confusion and disbelief written all over their faces.

"The class president? With grades like hers, she's not going to college?"

"Mom accidentally lost her transcript file." Adrian talked through a mouthful of apple, the words half-muffled.

"No way she gets a replacement in time. Miss the application window and it's over."

Mom walked out right on cue carrying a plate of golden fried chicken wings. At the mention of me, she rolled her eyes.

"She's a girl. What does she need all that education for? I let her finish high school. That's more than enough."

"Better she gets a job now and helps support the family."

Every pair of eyes in the room turned to me, heavy with sympathy and disbelief.

I sat on a small stool in the corner, an old magazine open in my lap, perfectly composed.

I even gave the boy who'd asked the question a small smile.

They moved on, talking about what majors they planned to pick.

Adrian, whose scores barely qualified him for a low-tier private school, was going on and on about studying computer science, becoming a hacker, making a fortune. Spit flying with every word.

Then one boy with glasses pushed them up his nose and said, dead serious:

"Guys, seriously, keep your transcript files safe. A senior from last year lost his. Couldn't pass the background check, lost his spot at a military academy. Had to take a gap year and retake the exams."