Rejection
By Tan Michael Nguyen
Scotty
McCloud was in no particular rush this morning.
He woke up on time. Traffic was
light. He was hitting every green light
on
He cautiously looked around for any patrol cars. There were none. Scotty’s smile became a full grin. I will not be denied. Not now, and definitely not tonight.
By the time he reached campus, there was already a line of cars waiting to enter the school grounds. Most of them were parents dropping off freshmen, sophomores, and the unlucky juniors who still couldn’t pass the DMV behind-the-wheel test. Scotty looked around. The lot was filling up. He might have to park in the neighborhood, which would inconvenience him with a slightly longer walk to class. However, he spied an empty spot near the corner. So did the lone sophomore in the lime Audi. Scotty accelerated, cut off the screaming sophomore, and smoothly parked his Focus.
“Hey learn to drive dipshit!!”
Scotty smiled. His family lived in Little Saigon for a while, and if there was anyone who needed to learn how to drive, it was those crazy Vietnamese people. They had taught him quite a bit about aggressive driving. Besides, seniors have priority. And I will not be denied. Not now, and definitely not tonight.
School passed without incident. Scotty loved school. He loved learning. His AP government class was especially fun. There was something about law that made him passionate. He hoped one day he could become a lawyer, maybe a Senator, or even President of the….
“GOOD MORNING CLASSSSS!!!” That was Mr. Friedman, the AP government teacher. He was an eccentric man whose voice was set to either “loud” or “louder.” I love this guy. Maybe that’s why I love this class. “I bet you are ALL wondering ABOUT that EXAM you all took. Well, I have it HERE!!” Scotty looked at his exam. A+. He smiled. I will not be denied. Not now, and not tonight.
When lunch rolled around, Scotty headed straight to the asphalt basketball courts. Every Wednesday, he joined his friends Jimmy, Marcus, and James in a little game of 2-on-2 basketball. It was a close game, and Jimmy was guarding Scotty. Scotty executed a smooth cross-over and began to take it to the hole. He then changed his mind and pulled up for a jump shot. Jimmy, desperate to block the shot, ended up fouling him. Scotty made the bank anyways.
“What the hell….that was ALL luck!” Jimmy exclaimed in disbelief.
“Hahaha, well, you know how it goes,” Marcus chimed. “When you’re on fire, you’re on fire.”
Scotty mocked an apologetic look. “Guys, I’m sorry. This is simply my day. And I will not be denied. Not now, and not tonight. And definitely not by you, Jimmy!”
“Ohhhh, yea!!... Tonight’s THE night huh?” James scratched his head, trying to remember.
“Yup, 7:00pm, on the dot.”
“You know the time? That’s really sad, man you know that? But hey…If I were you, I’d be excited too. Well, how does Stephanie feel about it?”
Scotty smiled slyly. “Oh you know…she’s a little scared. But excited.”
“Yea baby! I better here something good tomorrow!”
“Oh, don’t worry, you will. You will. Hey I’m gonna head off. See you guys around.”
Scotty left his friends. They always made him feel good. I will not be denied, not now, not tonight.
He walked back to cafeteria, when a pair of hands roughly grabbed him and smashed him into the nearby lockers. It could only have been one person. And judging by the long blond hairs, smooth skin, and toned body, Scotty knew he guessed right: It was Stephanie Fuller. Scotty beamed. There was no one else he wanted to see more.
Scotty and Stephanie were an odd couple. They were politically active, both on campus and in their Congressional districts. In fact, they had met two years ago at a huge Iraqi Anti-war protest. The funny thing was, they were on opposite sides of the rally. Scotty jumped and screamed in support of the troops, but Stephanie absolutely refused to support the war. They were at the front lines, posters in hand, screaming at the opposition, mere inches away. Police in riot gear were present, but did not engage. Scotty and Stephanie were probably mere yards from each other when a huge thunderstorm erupted. Somehow, they both found themselves squished together underneath a small oak tree, neither one interested in yielding that spot to the other. They sat there for about an hour, both subtly trying to push the other into the rain without making it obvious that they were trying to push each other into the rain. Naturally, they fell in love.
Their
classmates all gave them about a month before the infatuation imploded on
them. The month turned into two
months…into 6 months…into a year…and now it’s been two years. What most people didn’t understand was that
both Scotty and Stephanie were mature enough to realize that a person’s
politics did not define their character.
Moreover, they both had close relatives currently serving a tour of duty
in
Scotty ran his fingers through her hair, and kissed her long and tenderly. Whereas Stephanie was rough and tomboyish, Scotty was gentle and sensitive. He gently, barely touched her cheek. It thrilled Stephanie to her core. “That ballet was really fun, Scotty.”
“Oh yea? You gotta tell me about it then. I was too busy sleeping.”
“You were too busy SNORING.”
“Hey, I was up for the intermission wasn’t I?”
“Only because they gave complimentary Fig Newtons.” Stephanie grinned, and let go of Scotty. She gave him a look and said, “So…ready for tonight?”
“I’ve BEEN ready for two years now. And I won’t be denied.” With Stephanie, however, Scotty couldn’t keep the bravado up. He knew nervousness leaked through his voice inflections, and he knew Stephanie caught it.
“Sweetheart, you’ll be fine. Tonight will be fine.” Stephanie stepped in closer and looked into his brown eyes. “Besides, I don’t see how you COULD be denied…..But I got class now.”
“Let me walk you.” Scotty and Stephanie’s fingers interlocked, and they went to her class.
**
Scotty swooped home, ran upstairs, and quickly changed into his pajamas. They were striped green on a red background. Christmas colors…Mom is too cheesy. He looked at the time. 6:55pm. Only 5 more minutes. He turned on his computer, and logged online. He went to his most visited website, and browsed around.
7:00pm…7:01pm. 7:02pm…7:03pm…
Damn, Stephanie’s late. She knows how much this means to me. Well, it can’t hurt if I went first. He opened a new internet window, and logged in. I will not be denied.
He looked at the loading screen. He was waiting for this for a long time.
**
Stephanie parked her car on Scotty’s driveway and let herself right in. She had been around this house so many times that Mr. and Mrs. McCloud didn’t mind her anymore. She said a quick hello to Mrs. McCloud and went straight to Scotty’s room. It was deathly quiet. She knew she was late, but it shouldn’t matter right now…
“Scotty…?” He was on his bed, head faced away from her. Stephanie hesitated, and nervously walked in. She saw the computer screen, and knew without a doubt what was up. Slowly, she walked up to the screen. She could not believe what she read:
Office of Undergraduate Admissions
Dear Mr. Scott McCloud,
We are sorry, but we will not be able to offer you admission to our university in the fall….
Tonight, Scotty McCloud had been denied.