My Childhood Crush Tricked Me Out of My College Spot

Ashford High had only one early-admission recommendation spot for Halloway University. Ms. Halloran, the college counselor, slid the confirmation form across the desk to me, the top-ranked student in our grade. “Verity, the deadline is in three days. Keep an eye on the time.” My classmate Elowen shot to her feet. “Ms. Halloran, who’s the alternate?” “You are.” Elowen immediately went looking for Cassian, my next-door neighbor and childhood friend. “There’s no way I can get into Halloway on my own. You promised you’d help me.” “What’s the rush?” Cassian replied. “Getting that idiot Verity, who only ever thinks about me, to give up her spot will take one sentence.” Later, Cassian really did take my Halloway recommendation spot from me with a single sentence. It wasn’t until six years later that he realized the price of that spot was something he could never afford. ... I was carrying a letter when I reached the stairwell and saw Elowen coming down with her arm looped through Cassian’s. The moment she saw me, she let go. “Verity, are you looking for Cassian?” I nodded and held out the letter. “Cassian, I like you.” The students coming downstairs slowed to watch. Cassian took the letter and raised an eyebrow at Elowen. “What did I tell you? There’s our chance.” Elowen covered her mouth with a soft laugh, though her eyes never left the letter. “So this really is why you came to see him. Should I make myself scarce, then?” She asked the question, but didn’t move an inch. Cassian folded the letter and slipped it into his pocket. “I’ll give you an answer before the deadline.” He smiled. “You’ve waited all these years. Three more days shouldn’t make a difference, right?” Elowen smiled too. “Verity, you should consider yourself lucky Cassian’s even willing to think about it.” Then she followed him downstairs. As she passed me, she added under her breath, “Hope you get what you want.” Three days later, just before the confirmation deadline, Cassian appeared outside my classroom and jerked his head toward the hall. “Come out.” The moment I stepped into the hallway, he took my hand and fastened a woven bracelet around my wrist. Whistles erupted from the classroom. “Well, look at that. Our campus heartthrob actually said yes?” “Not like he has anything to lose by having some fun.” Cassian handed me two brochures from our state university. “Verity, we can give this a shot, but I don’t do long-distance.” He tapped the brochures. “Give up the Halloway recommendation and apply through regular admissions with me. After graduation, we’ll officially be together.” The teasing stopped instantly. The student sitting beside me squeezed into the doorway and stared at him. “You’re trading a relationship for her recommendation spot?” Cassian’s face darkened. “This is between me and her.” Then he turned back to me, his voice softening. “Verity, we’ve known each other our whole lives. This is the first real thing I’ve ever asked of you. You’re not going to say no, are you?” I looked at him quietly as memories flooded back. When we were fifteen, he’d pinned a silver oak-leaf brooch to my collar beside the school field and promised we would never part. Whenever I had a fever, he climbed over the wall to buy medicine for me and stayed until dawn. The year I lost a major competition, he stuffed a stack of letters into my desk. Every single one contained the same sentence: Cassian will never lie to Verity. So all those kindnesses had been deposits paid in advance. The better he treated me, the harder it became for me to refuse him. I couldn’t understand when he had become this person. Someone in the classroom sucked in a breath. The girl beside me gave an incredulous laugh. “You seriously think you’re some kind of prize?” Cassian ignored her and tightened the bracelet around my wrist. “Verity, do you trust me?” “Are you saying yes because you actually like me?” “I’m standing right here. How could this be fake?” Just then, Cassian’s phone rang, and Elowen’s tearful voice came through the speaker. “Cassian, my chest hurts. I can’t find my medicine either.” Cassian immediately let go of me. “Where are you?” “The nurse’s office.” He turned and hurried away. After a few steps, he looked back. “Sign the withdrawal form today. Don’t keep me waiting.” A key slipped from his pocket and landed beside the wall. I picked it up and chased him downstairs, but he was already gone. I went to Cassian’s house alone. After unlocking the door, I was about to leave the key in the entryway when a notification chimed from the computer in the living room. The chat window was still open. Elowen had just sent him a message. “She still hasn’t signed?” Cassian had replied earlier. “Almost. But I already said yes to her, just like we planned.” “She believed you?” “She’s wearing the bracelet. What do you think?” Elowen sent a smiling emoji. “How long are you planning to keep pretending?” “Until the list is finalized. Then I’ll slowly start icing her out.” “What if she makes a scene?” “I’ll sweet-talk her a little. When has she ever really been able to stay mad at me?” I took out my phone and photographed the chat. Another message popped up on the screen. “Once the recommendation spot is mine, make her give up the graduation speech too.” “She writes well. I can just change the name on her draft.” Then another message appeared. “Verity already has everything. What’s wrong with making her give me one more thing?” I stared at those words and suddenly wanted to laugh. All those years we’d spent growing up together had been fake. They had gone to extraordinary lengths just to take what belonged to me. The next second, I heard the front door unlocking. Cassian was back.

Cassian pushed the door open and saw me standing in the living room. “What are you doing here?” “You dropped your key.” His eyes flicked toward the glowing computer screen. “Did you touch it?” “No. I think a message just popped up.” Cassian stared at me for two seconds. I raised my wrist. The bracelet was still there. “You’re sure that if I give up the recommendation spot, we’ll officially be together?” His shoulders visibly relaxed. “Of course.” Cassian walked over and put his hands on my shoulders. “I’ve known you my whole life. When have I ever lied to you?” I looked at his face and, for the first time, found it unfamiliar. So when someone truly wanted to deceive you, even their eyes could look sincere. I stepped out of his grasp. “Is Elowen okay?” “She was just too stressed.” I couldn’t help laughing. “The recommendation affects her entire future. Of course she’s stressed.” Cassian frowned. “Don’t talk like that. You have good grades. You can still get into a great school through regular admissions. She’s in poor health. She wouldn’t be able to handle not getting accepted.” He shoved the admissions brochures into my hands. I took them, too tired to say another word. Thinking he’d convinced me, he urged, “Go back to school and sign the form. Don’t keep Elowen waiting.” At four thirty that afternoon, I returned the withdrawal form to Ms. Halloran. Her brows immediately knitted together. “Verity, are you sure?” “I’m sure.” Elowen and Cassian were waiting outside the office. The moment I finished speaking, Elowen rushed inside. “Ms. Halloran, where’s the alternate confirmation form?” Ms. Halloran glanced at her. “The process isn’t even complete yet. What’s the hurry?” Elowen flushed and hurriedly explained, “I’m afraid we’ll miss the deadline.” A few minutes later, the alternate form arrived, and Elowen signed her name at once. Only after finishing the final stroke did she look at me with reddened eyes. “Verity, I never wanted to steal your opportunity. But since you’re giving it up anyway, it would be a shame to waste it.” Several teachers in the office looked up. I stared at Elowen’s hand, which was pressing hard against the form. “Whether you stole the opportunity is another question. But could you stop clutching that form like someone’s about to snatch it away?” The wounded expression on Elowen’s face froze, then turned awkward. “The paperwork’s already done. It can’t be changed now anyway.” Cassian stepped in front of her. “Stop giving Elowen a hard time. You withdrew voluntarily. She’s simply next in line.” I nodded. “I wasn’t giving her a hard time.” Elowen blinked. Cassian, however, smiled and tapped the bracelet around my wrist. “Wait for me tonight. We’ll celebrate making our relationship official.” Elowen immediately grabbed his sleeve. “Cassian, I still don’t feel well.” Cassian steadied her. “I’ll take Elowen home first. Wait for my call.” They left side by side. Ms. Halloran looked at me. “Did you really give up the spot because of Cassian?” I took off the bracelet and stuffed it into my pocket. “No. I gave it up because I have a better option.” I went straight to the top floor of the administration building, where the liaison officer for a special program was already waiting. A confirmation form for the National Young Researchers Program lay on the desk. I turned to the final page and signed my name. The official seal came down. “You leave the day after tomorrow,” the liaison officer said. “Six years of specialized training, beginning with an intensive training period. Once you report, all personal devices will be held by the program.” He asked me one last time, “Are you sure?” I put away the confirmation form. “I’m sure.”

The next day, the school began organizing the graduating students’ records. I packed my belongings into a document envelope, leaving only a discarded draft in my file box. Elowen came over and pressed her fingers against the envelope. “Verity, can I take a look at your graduation speech?” I pulled the envelope away. “What do you need my speech for?” “I took a year off school. I don’t have enough experiences to talk about.” Elowen smiled ingratiatingly. “Let me borrow a few stories to fill mine out.” I closed the file box. “They’re my experiences, not stories.” Cassian walked in carrying a hot drink and casually set it in front of her. “What’s wrong with letting her use it as a reference? Elowen just got the recommendation. Her résumé can’t look too empty.” I looked at Cassian. “Changing my name to hers counts as using it for reference?” Elowen’s eyes immediately reddened. “I never said I was going to copy it.” I hugged the envelope against my chest. “Then write your own.” An announcement came over the PA system, calling every class downstairs, and students began filing out. Elowen stayed behind, clutching her chest. “I don’t feel well. I’ll go down later.” Cassian was about to stay with her, but someone downstairs called for him. He pushed the hot drink toward Elowen. “Wait for me.” I took my official documents to the records office. Before leaving, I saw Elowen staring at the file box on my desk. A few minutes later, I returned with my sealed-document receipt. The lock on the box had been forced open. Elowen was crouched beside the desk, holding a pen in one hand and flipping through my discarded draft with the other. The moment she saw me, she jumped up and knocked the box over with her elbow. Pages scattered across the floor. “What are you doing?” She didn’t answer. Instead, she grabbed a sheet of paper and rushed to the doorway. “Verity, do you really look down on me that much?” Her crying drew students from the hallway. A newly written sentence appeared on the page in her hand. “An alternate will always be an alternate. Don’t dream of replacing me.” Cassian pushed through the crowd. Elowen immediately held up the page, her shoulders shaking with sobs. “I was only trying to help her organize her things. I never expected her to have written something like this about me.” Cassian barely glanced at the page before grabbing my wrist. “Apologize.” I yanked my hand free. “I didn’t write that.” “It’s your paper. Did the words magically appear by themselves?” I pointed at Elowen. The pen in her hand didn’t even have its cap on yet. “Want to have the handwriting examined?” Elowen’s face immediately went pale. Cassian quickly stepped in front of her. “Fine. I won’t pursue what you wrote. But she only wanted to borrow a speech. Did you really have to be this aggressive?” “If she has no experiences to write about, she can go make some herself.” I stared at Cassian. “She broke my lock, took my speech, and now she’s trying to justify it.” Cassian shoved the draft into Elowen’s arms. “I’m borrowing it for her. Happy?” The students watching erupted. “Seriously? Just because he’s popular doesn’t mean he can steal things with that pretty face.” “Exactly. How is that any different from outright robbery?” Cassian swept them with a cold stare. “It’s just a few sheets of paper. Verity isn’t that petty.” I didn’t stop them. Elowen wiped away her tears and immediately clutched the draft tightly. “Cassian, you’re always so good to me.” She flipped through a couple of pages, her eyes growing brighter. “I’ll use this at tomorrow’s graduation showcase.” At the same moment, a notification appeared on my phone. “7:00 a.m. tomorrow. Holden Central Station. National Young Researchers Program check-in point.” I put away my phone and watched them take my discarded draft. “Fine. Good luck tomorrow.”