“Check it”
“I don’t want to”
“Yes you do. And besides you’ll for sure get in”
“No, I really don’t want to. What if I don’t get in?”
“You’ll get in, I can feel it!”

I looked around the quiet resource center. Everyone was going about their business as my best friend sat next to me in quiet anticipation. The Mac’s hummed as the students stomped out their homework.

“Should I?” Part of me wanted to look; the last four months had been killing me. But at the same time, what if I didn’t get in? I’d wanted this as long as I could remember. Plus no deferred student had been denied in years but I could always be the first. I could be that first failure.

“Yes” she nodded enthusiastically. I looked around the room again and took a deep breath. “Fine”
I turned to the computer and sighed, whatever it said was final, I couldn’t change it. My hands shook as I hesitated on the link; this was the moment that every student felt their life depended on. We’d all felt the pressure. I clicked on the link and watched as the page loaded. Just for a second I allowed myself to get excited, to think about what it would be like. I held my breath as I frantically searched the emerging text and images for the little box.

‘We regre…’

I shut the browser and took a deep breath. It was over.