“Ellany!!!” my boss yelled.

“Yeah, Tony?”

“You’re in big trouble.”

Uh…okay…uh-oh.  Had I left a toilet seat up in the ladies’ room?  Had I forgotten to lock the CEO’s office last night and somebody snuck in and stole his special t.v. tupee?

“Your sister just called and informed me…” a big grin spread on his face, “YOU JUST GOT A (correctly assume a really good score here) ON YOUR SAT’S!!!!!”

I screamed and jumped into his arms.  Based on my score, I was going to college with a 70% scholarship!  Plus, I had been saving.  PLUS…I just so happened to be working at a ministry that awarded scholarships to employees for THAT school and that school ONLY for their first semester.  PLUS!…my landlady’s crazy daughter wasn’t going!  Clearly, ORU was a go.

With only a few weeks left to spend in Texas, I asked Debra if I could move back in with her.  I couldn’t take being treated like “family” with that family anymore, though I was thankful for the strange route that got me up to a school I’d never heard of.  I spent my last few weeks piling up as much cash as I could and planning my last summer in California.