Chapter 6

Time flew by, and soon the first round of college acceptance letters started arriving.

Gavin watched as other students proudly showed off their letters, and for the first time, he started to feel a little anxious. He badgered Dad to contact the “admissions officer” and ask about his acceptance letter from Sunshine University.

This time, it took a while for the call to go through.

“Hello?” a lazy voice finally answered.

Dad immediately switched to his overly polite tone, practically groveling over the phone. “Oh, no rush, no rush! Just wanted to ask—when is my son’s acceptance letter going to be mailed out? He’s just a kid, you know, getting a little impatient. Think you could speed things up for us?”

The man on the other end didn’t miss a beat, responding with absolute confidence, “Of course! Don’t worry, I’ll get it sent out in the next couple of days.”

Hearing that reassurance, both Dad and Gavin relaxed, their worries melting away.

Gavin’s confidence returned in full force. He waited eagerly, day after day, for that letter to arrive.

Whenever he saw other students on the street crying tears of joy over their acceptance letters from state schools or second-tier universities, he couldn’t help but mock them.

“You call that a college?” he’d sneer. “Pathetic. I’m going to Sunshine University.”

A few days later, the “admissions officer” called Dad again.

This time, he told him that Gavin’s letter had already been mailed. To back up his claim, he even sent a photo of the acceptance letter with Gavin’s name on it.

Seeing that photo was all the proof Gavin needed. He practically vibrated with excitement, going around town boasting to anyone who would listen.

“If you losers are proud of getting into those garbage schools,” he’d say, “you’ll be blown away when you see my letter from Sunshine University. It’s already on its way!”

Then he’d whip out his phone, showing off the photo of his “acceptance letter.”

Some people were impressed, looking at him with envy. But not everyone bought it.

“Why doesn’t it have an official seal?” someone asked skeptically. “No legitimate university would send an acceptance letter without one.”

Gavin’s response? A murderous glare and a string of curses so vile he practically insulted their entire family tree.

Five more days passed, and still no letter.

At this point, Dad called me, clearly starting to panic.

“Stella,” he said, his voice filled with urgency, “Gavin’s acceptance letter was mailed five days ago. Even if it was sent from California, it should’ve arrived by now! Do you think someone at your office intercepted it because they’re jealous Gavin got into Sunshine University?”

Before I could respond, he barreled on, “Or worse—what if someone else stole Gavin’s spot? You’ve heard of those cases where people bribe their way into college with someone else’s acceptance letter, haven’t you?”

Listening to his ridiculous accusations, I could tell Dad was spiraling.

The fact that he still hadn’t questioned whether this “admissions officer” was real was almost impressive. Was he just naïve, or straight-up gullible?