Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Rosalina's Poing of View
"I can't open it," I said to my best friend, Chrissy, as we walked out of school.
"What do you mean you can't open it? You have been waiting for this since forever?" Chrissy asked
"Open it for me, please," I said as I held the letter out for her to take
"Okay," Chrissy said, and she took the envelope out of my hand. I watched as she ripped the seal of the envelope and took the letter out. I watched nervously as she unfolded the letter and read what it said.
"So, what does it say?" I asked, and Chrissy looked at me with a frown on her face. "I didn't get in, did I?" I asked.
"You got in," Chrissy said, and a smile appeared on her face.
"Really," I asked
"Yes, here look," Chrissy said and she held the letter out for me to take. I took it out of her hand and smiled when I saw the words that were on the paper. "Oh my God. I got in," I squealed in excitement.
"Congratulations, Rosalina. I am so happy for you. You got into Harvard," Chrissy said as she hugged me. My phone dinged, letting me know someone messaged me. I took my phone out of my pocket to see my mom had texted me.
"Come right home. We need to talk," my mom said in the message. Just thinking about my mom made me worry. I knew she wasn't going to like it when I told her I got into Harvard.
"I have to go home. My mom wants to talk to me," I said
"Are you going to tell her about Harvard?" Chrissy asked
"I don't think that's a good idea. You know how my mom will feel about me leaving," I said
"Rosalina, you have to tell your mom. I know she will be sad at first, but she will understand," Chrissy said
"I know I have to tell her, but not today. I will do it later," I said, and Chrissy sighed.
"Rosalina."
"I have to go. I will talk to you later," I said
"Okay," Chrissy said, and I headed to the bus to go home.
"My name is Roselina Bailey, and I am seventeen years old. I am five foot three and have long black hair and green eyes. It has only been my mom and me since I was born. My dad died in a car accident before I was born.
My mom has been trying to find love since he passed. She has dated more men than I can count. My mom falls in love quickly but the relationships never last more than a few months.
When her relationships end, my mom takes it very hard and can barely get out of bed. I am the one who takes care of her when she is heartbroken. Just thinking about my mom makes me wonder if I will even be able to go to Harvard. I know she will be depressed if I go, and I won't be able to be there for her the next time she meets a man and he breaks up with her. I am afraid of what she might do to herself if I leave. She has told me many times that she would kill herself if I left. It takes almost ten hours to get to Harvard by car from where we live. That is why I have been saving money so that she can come with me. The school gave me a full scholarship so I won't have to worry about tuition. Hopefully she will agree to go with me.
Once the bus reaches my stop, I press the cord, and the bell will go off, and the bus driver will stop.
"Have a good day," Larry, the bus driver, said as I got closer to him
"Thanks," I replied as I exited the bus. The walk to our apartment complex takes about ten minutes.
"Hey, pretty girl," A drunken man says as I walk to the entrance of the apartment complex but I just ignore him and open the door and walk into the building. The apartments that my mom and I live in are not on the good side of town. There is always drug related activity going on. I am so happy I have a chance to get us out of that type of enviornment.
"Mom, I am home," I said as I walked our small two bedroom apartment.
"We are in here, Sweety," My mom said
"We," I thought to myself as I walked to the living room. My mom was sitting on the couch with a man who looked to be around her age. He had blond hair and blue eyes. When I walked into the room, they both stood up quickly, letting me know the man was very tall, way taller than my mom, who was only an inch taller than me.
I was sure he had money because he was wearing a nice suit and black dress shoes. I looked at his wrist to see he had a nice Rolex watch.
"Um, I didn't know we were having company," I said.
"Sweety, I would like to introduce you to Jeffrey Jackson," My mom said
"It is nice to meet you, Lina. Your mom has told me so much about you," Jeffrey said
"Hello, Mr. Jackson," I said
"Please, call me Jeffrey," he said, and I looked at my mom.
"You said you needed to talk to me about something," I said
"Let's sit down and talk," my mom said. My mom and Jeffrey sat together on the couch while I sat across from them on a chair.
"I am just going to say this. We are getting married," My mom said
"What do you mean you are getting married?" I asked, shocked.
"Jeffrey asked me to marry him, and I said yes," My mom said.
"Hold on, let's back up a bit. When did this happen?" I asked
"Today. I asked your mom to marry me, and I am so happy she said yes," Jeffrey said
"I wanted you to come home because you need to pack your bags," my mom said
"Why?" I asked
"Because the two of you will be moving in with me on Saturday morning."