Live on Air: He Changed Her Future

I host a late-night campus radio show and have been on the air for three years. I take calls about cheating, scandals, and even people threatening to end their lives. The final night to submit college choices is also my last night on the air before graduation. At 11:30 pm, an anonymous call comes through. It's a guy. "Host, I changed my sister's college choices for my mom tonight," he says. "I have two sisters. Ever since we were kids, the older one has been better at everything than the younger one. "She gets better grades, she's prettier, and even strangers praise her. "This year, my younger sister is just 20 points short of the cutoff, while my older sister is certain to get into a top university. "So I changed all my older sister's college choices to schools she can't get into. That way, she has to wait a year and apply again. "She's smart anyway. If she takes the exam again and reapplies, she can get into an even better school. It all works out in the end." He pauses. "We just want my little sister to win for once. That's not too much to ask for, is it?" I grip the microphone but say nothing. Suddenly, another guy's voice comes through the line. "Host, I'm the older sister's boyfriend. We've been together for three years. Honestly, I do feel bad about this. "Could you play her a song? She listens to your show every night. If she hears it and comes to see me tomorrow, we can still talk about which schools she should apply to. "If she doesn't hear it, then I guess it doesn't matter." I take a deep breath and reach out to end the call. Suddenly, the producer cuts to a piano piece. I freeze, my blood running cold. It's the song I taught my childhood best friend to play, note by note, back when I was 16 years old. Only the two of us know this song. Chapter 1 Lena's POV My boyfriend, Zeke Judson, was still talking on the other end. "Host, we didn't do anything wrong, right?" he asked. "She's so smart. She'll shine wherever she goes." He paused. "Besides, she should have checked her college choices before the deadline. If anyone's to blame, it's her for being careless." At the same time, I opened the laptop beside me and logged into the college application system. I signed in, and the page loaded. The three top universities in the state that I had originally chosen were all gone. In their place were Branford University's literature program, Halton University's history program, and Fulton University's classics program. I was the state physics competition champion, and none of those programs had anything to do with my academic focus. It was already 11:32 pm, with less than half an hour remaining before the application deadline. I immediately clicked to change my college choices. The very next moment, a message popped up on the screen. "You have reached the daily limit for changing your college choices. Please try again tomorrow." I felt a jolt of panic. I opened the appeal page and selected the emergency change option, but a cold, impersonal message suddenly appeared. "Manual review is available weekdays from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm." It was now 11:35 pm. I refused to give up and called the 24-hour emergency appeals hotline listed at the bottom of the page. All I got was a busy tone. I tried again, and it was still the same. On my third attempt, someone finally answered. Before I could speak, a mechanical automated voice said, "Thank you for calling the emergency appeals hotline. There are currently 87 callers ahead of you." At the same time, Zeke's voice came through my headphones. "Host, do me a favor. Could you play that piano song again? If she hears it and comes to see me, we'll still have time to talk it over." I said nothing as the automated voice kept announcing the number of callers. "There are 72 callers ahead of you." "There are 56 callers ahead of you." The producer held up a whiteboard. It read, "Lena, 19 minutes until we go off the air. Should we start the closing remarks?" I didn't look up. I just gripped my phone and listened to the voice on the other end. "There are 31 callers ahead of you." 30 seconds had already passed, and every second brought the deadline closer. I was running out of time. "There are 14 callers ahead of you." I was almost there. I stared at my phone screen. Once the call connected, I still had a chance. My brother, Ian Stroud, was still talking, his voice reaching me through my headphones. "My younger sister has lived in her older sister's shadow since they were kids. She has always come in second. "This year, she was just 20 points short. Host, tell me. What's wrong with giving her a chance to win?" I pressed the mute button. "There are three callers ahead of you." "There are two callers ahead of you." "There is one caller ahead of you." At 11:55 pm, the line finally connected with a beep. I grabbed my phone. "Hi, my name is Lena Stroud! Someone changed my college choices without my permission. I need to change it back—" The person on the other end cut me off. "Miss, we can't process college application appeals online. You must bring your registration documents and state ID to your local admissions office. The office is open from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm on weekdays." I was so desperate that I started to cry. "But today is the last day. The deadline is midnight! There are only three minutes left. Please, can't you make an exception? This will affect the next four years of my life!" The person on the other end sighed. "Miss, we understand how you feel, but remote changes are not allowed." With a beep, the call ended. The producer walked over and slapped the whiteboard down in front of me. It read, "One minute left. Play the closing remarks!" At the same time, Zeke's voice drifted through my headphones. "She really didn't hear it. Forget about it, then." A message appeared on my laptop screen. "The college application deadline has passed. No further changes can be made." I leaned back in my chair and stared at the ceiling of the studio. It was over. I was done for. Then Zeke's voice suddenly came through my headphones. "Lena?" Chapter 2 Lena's POV I froze, gripping the headphone cord tightly. Just as I was about to answer, Zeke's voice came through again. "Lena, I don't know if you're listening to the show right now, but—" "That's enough. She's definitely not listening." Ian cut him off. "She's way too proud to be listening to a sappy late-night radio show like this." With a beep, the call ended. I leaned back in my chair. They hadn't recognized me. They were just sending their message out into the night. For three years, I never told anyone that I hosted a late-night radio show at school. In that suffocating home, this was one of the few spaces I could call my own. I took off my headphones and shut down the equipment. I had just opened the station door when my phone buzzed. It was a message from Zeke. "Our college choices are finally settled. We're about to start a new chapter in our lives together. Get some rest." I stared at the screen and laughed bitterly. What did he mean by "a new chapter in our lives"? For them, it was a new beginning. For me, it was the end of everything. … The next morning, I opened my room door to find Mom at the dining table, putting a big piece of pork rib on Mandy's plate. She said, "Mandy, eat up. Your exams are over, so you can eat as much as you want!" I pulled out a chair and sat down. Mom immediately looked at me. "Lena, you chose those top colleges in the state, right? With your scores, you should have no trouble getting in." Ian spoke up too. "Mandy didn't do as well as you did. We'll be lucky if she even gets into a decent enough college. You'll both be in-state, so look after her." Mandy suddenly leaned toward me with a smile. "Lena, I know you get great scores, but anything can happen. What if you don't get in?" She covered her mouth and giggled. "I'm not wishing that on you. I'm just worried about you." The doorbell rang as soon as she finished speaking. Zeke walked in carrying several drinks. "Come on. I'm taking you two shopping for new clothes today. I'll pay for everything!" Mandy jumped out of her chair and excitedly spun around while holding Zeke's hand. "Zeke, you're the best!" … Half an hour later, we were at a mall downtown. Zeke and Ian walked on either side of Mandy. I was several steps behind them, like I didn't belong there. Inside a clothing store, I spotted a white dress and reached for it. A hand shot in front of me and snatched it away. Mandy held the dress against herself and turned to Zeke. "Zeke, does this look good on me?" A look of admiration flashed in Zeke's eyes. He nodded repeatedly. "It looks great. The dress really suits you." Mandy turned to me with a sad look. "But this is the only one left." Ian impatiently cut in. "Lena, you don't even care about dressing up. Just let Mandy have it." Zeke stepped forward, pulled out his credit card, and handed it to the cashier. He said, "Lena, go pick out something else. I'll buy it for you." For the next two hours, everything I liked ended up being something Mandy suddenly wanted too. By the end of the day, I hadn't bought a single thing, while Mandy's shopping bags filled the back seat. She stuck out her tongue at me and said, "Lena, there's no room in the back anymore. Could you take a cab home?" Zeke looked apologetic. "I'll take Mandy home, then come right back for you, okay?" I replied icily, "No need." The moment I said that, Zeke drove off, leaving me alone by the road. Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice behind me. "Lena Stroud?" I turned around and saw Luke Clayton, the winner of the state writing competition this year. We had met last year at the National Youth Writing Contest. "Why are you here alone? Did you come out to buy things for college?" he asked. "By the way, where are you going for college?" I smiled bitterly. "I might not be going to college." Luke froze, his brows furrowing. "How? You won the state physics championship. There's no way you could've ended up without a college offer." I shook my head without saying a word. Luke stared at me for a while. Then he suddenly remembered something and straightened up. "Wait. You said you might not be going to college…" I stared at him, stunned. "After that contest, Professor Wilson from Branford University reached out to me about their literature program," Luke said. "He said the university had reserved a special admission spot for the winner, and that's you. "But everyone at school knew you planned to apply to an in-state science program with Zeke, so I turned it down for you." Luke stepped closer. "Do you want me to contact Professor Wilson again?" Chapter 3 Lena's POV The moment I pushed open the front door, I saw the trash can in the corner of the living room stuffed with my things. My first-place certificate from the state physics competition and my outstanding student award had been torn to pieces and mixed in with fruit peels and scraps of paper. "What did you do?" I rushed over and yanked the certificate out of the trash. Mandy pouted, looking completely unbothered. "Come on, Lena. Why are you yelling? We're both going to college. What's the point of keeping these old awards? They were taking up space, so I just threw them out for you." I was shaking with anger. "I stayed up countless nights and worked through test after test to earn these! Who gave you the right to touch my things?" "What's all this yelling about?" Mom rushed out of the kitchen and immediately stepped in front of Mandy. "What's the big deal? Mandy was only trying to help clean your room. You should be thanking her instead of yelling at her." Ian came out of his bedroom too and leaned against the doorframe with a sneer. "Lena, you kept all these old papers just to put them on display and show Mandy up, didn't you?" he asked. "We're family. Why do you have to be so petty and calculating?" I clenched the stained certificate in my hand and said nothing. Then I turned and went back to my room. Growing up, everyone said I was smart and gifted. But I only did well in school because every weekend, Mom took Mandy to amusement parks while I was left home alone studying. I was tall and fit because Mandy always got to ride on the back seat of Mom's scooter, leaving me to run to school. After 12 years of running to school every day in all kinds of weather, I had ended up with strong, toned legs. Everything I worked so hard for went toward giving Mandy the pampered life she had. Now they wanted to destroy my future too. … Three days later, we had our high school graduation reunion. The class president, Ralph Anderson, raised his beer and called out, "Come on. This one is for Lena, the state physics competition champion! She'll breeze into one of the state's top physics programs!" Mandy suddenly giggled. "Come on, Ralph. You're getting ahead of yourself." She twirled the fork in her hand. "Getting a high score is one thing. Getting into colleges you choose is another." The private dining room fell silent for a moment. Ralph paused, confused. "Mandy, what do you mean? With Lena's score, she could get into college with her eyes closed." Zeke set down his glass and sighed. "Lena has always been too confident. She wouldn't even let us see her college choices. What if she got it into her head to pick some random programs and ends up getting rejected from all of them? She could really end up with nowhere to go." Mandy immediately chimed in. "Exactly. If Lena really gets rejected from all her choices and has to retake the exam, what will you do, Zeke? Wouldn't you two end up doing long distance?" Zeke gently ran a hand through Mandy's hair. "It's fine. I'll just come back and see her more often on weekends. And while I'm here, I can look after you too." The classmates around us exchanged uneasy glances, and the atmosphere became painfully awkward. A few young women who were close to Mandy started whispering among themselves. "No way. The top student could end up without a college offer?" "What if she can only get into some random college? It'd be ridiculous if that's the only place she could go!" I sat there watching Zeke and Mandy put on their little act, then smiled and said, "You're right. Who knows which college I'll end up at?" As soon as I finished speaking, my phone buzzed. It was a message from Luke. "It's done. Your special admission letter from Branford University will be mailed to your house tomorrow." Chapter 4 Lena's POV Two weeks later, the college admission results were officially released, and the living room erupted. Mom slapped her thigh, tears of excitement filling her eyes. "Mandy got in! It's not one of the state's top colleges, but it's still a good school!" Ian patted Mandy on the head and said proudly, "Mandy, I told you you'd surprise everyone this time!" The doorbell rang, and Zeke walked in carrying a large bouquet of baby's breath. He walked right past me and placed the flowers in Mandy's arms. He said to her, "Mandy, the college I chose is right next to yours. If you ever need anything, just call me." Mandy held the flowers and shyly leaned against Mom. "Thanks, Mom, Ian, and Zeke." Mom finally turned to me, as if she had just remembered I was there. "Lena, what about you? Have you checked yours?" The smile vanished from Ian's face, replaced by a solemn expression. "Mom, I just checked for her." He paused. "Lena didn't get into any of them." The living room fell silent. Mom was stunned. "What do you mean she didn't get in? Wasn't she the top student in the state?" Mandy's eyes widened as she covered her mouth. "What? How could Lena…" Ian held up his phone and shook it. "What's the point of always being better than Mandy? When it mattered most, Lena still couldn't come through." Zeke smiled knowingly. "Mandy really knows how to surprise everyone. You outdid Lena this time. Good for you!" Mandy laughed gleefully, then spoke as if she were trying to be thoughtful. "Mom, don't be too hard on Lena. I already checked. There are still openings for students repeating senior year at our old high school. "Since we're heading to school today to tell the teachers my good news, we can get Lena signed up to repeat senior year while we're there." Mom kept nodding as she pointed a finger at my face. "Lena, you've gotten way too full of yourself. Let this teach you a lesson!" Mandy walked over and gently tugged at my sleeve. "Lena, it's okay. There's nothing embarrassing about taking another year. You're smart. I'm sure you'll get into a good college next time." … Third-Person POV Half an hour later, they all headed to the high school. When they reached the hallway outside the school office, Mandy's homeroom teacher warmly greeted them and congratulated her. Several classmates passing by stopped when they saw Mandy and the others. "Lena didn't get in? The top student in the state got rejected from all the places she applied to?" "I heard her college choices were ridiculous. She's known for being a science whiz, yet she applied to Branford University's literature program. What made her think she had a chance?" "She really got too full of herself. Did she seriously think she could do anything and get away with it?" Mandy stopped. She sighed and said to the classmates beside her in a deeply sympathetic tone, "Lena just set her sights too high. She always wants the best of everything. If she'd played it safe, this wouldn't have happened. If only she were more grounded like me." Zeke stood beside her and remained silent. He didn't join in or defend Lena. He just stood by and watched as she became the school's laughingstock. Lena's mom, Amber Tully, couldn't wait any longer and pushed open the school office door. "Ms. Zimmer, Lena didn't get into college this time! She's too ashamed to even come to school," Amber said. "I'd like to sign her up to repeat senior year. What do we need to do?" Cara Zimmer was writing at her desk. At those words, her pen suddenly stilled. "Lena didn't get into college?" she asked incredulously. Cara's expression turned strangely serious as she looked at everyone before her. She said slowly, "Lena was accepted into Branford University's literature program."