Sam began the school year at Washington High School eager for a fresh new start coming off of a great Junior year to his standards. He ended the year with fantastic grades and a great attitude going into his senior year. Things were not too appalling as his Varsity soccer team was crowned State Champions with a 3-1 win over Jefferson high school.

Sam had made a plethora of new friends throughout the years that shared interests with him. His best friend, Jake, had played soccer with him on an extremely talented and skilled roster. After being promoted to the varsity team, both Sam and Jake devoted much of their time to soccer, as they were both attempting to be recruited for it.

The more time that passed after soccer season, Sam’s will to get back on the field became stronger and his hope for a scholarship from a Division 1 school rose. He was widely regarded as one of the top prospects in the state of California.

The next day came as Jake jaunted down the hallway in a gingerly stride. He approached a group of kids who were discussing the arduous history project that was looming over them.

“HEY GUYS! DID YOU HEAR?” cried Jack, “I just got an offer from Stanford for soccer.” His voice resonated down the hallway as he hollered in joy about his recent success. Congratulations went around as the group of boys basked in the glory of their classmate.

Throughout all the cheering, Sam slipped away into the lunchroom to get a snack. He then went off to his 5th period class, completely ignoring Jack’s triumph.

Sam entered the vast double doors of Mr. Wilkes band class. From the first step into the room, the smell of fine brass permeated the area. For the past 3 years at Washington High School, Sam had used band as an escape from the troubles and hardships of life.

Sam went to sit down in his usual first row seat only to be confronted by an unfamiliar face. He stood up and greeted himself,

“Hi, i’m Martin. I just moved here from Nebraska and i’m eager to play first trumpet.” Martin was an odd looking kid. He had freckles and short hair. He was rather short for a freshman. Sam was almost always used to being the best in his band class. When Mr. Wilkes started conducting, it seemed as if Sam just could not keep up with Martin. Almost as if all his talent had gone away with the snap of his fingers.

As band class drew to a close, Sam began to walk to his next class. AP Chemistry with Mrs. Bryant. Since freshman year, Sam had been fascinated with chemistry and now has the opportunity to take it again. The dimly lit classroom brought a sense of familiarity to Sam after an almost upside down day.

“Alright class, today we will be doing a lab. You are going to use the NaCl or sodium chloride solution and mix it with the HCl or Hydrochloric Acid. After that, I want you to take observations of the reaction and write up a lab report on your findings. You may begin” instructed Mrs. Bryant. Sam began a somewhat common procedure for him. He began by making a hypothesis, then he began to carry out the experiment. He picked up the beaker of Hydrochloric Acid and set it down next to him. Then he picked up what he believed to be was the Sodium Chloride but was instead Potassium chloride. The beaker bubbled up and started overflowing before it exploded.

“Everyone back up, I’ll clean this up, you guys can wait in the hall” called out Mrs. Bryant. Sam looked dejected as he felt that it was all his fault. It seemed as if nothing was going right for him as everything that was familiar to him now seemed to be foreign. He hadn’t received any offers from top schools for soccer, his band skills seemed to be non-existent, and now he messed up on his favorite subject.

He then trotted home on what seemed like a 10 hour walk of shame through the ups and downs of the San Francisco streets. As soon as he arrived at his house, Sam trudged to his room and laid down on his bed. He stared up at the white ceiling of his room, trying to rationalize the reasons behind all of the “tragic” events that happened to him. While doing so, he received a phone call from his best friend Jake. He let it go straight to voicemail as he felt depressed from what he thought was an atrocious day.

“Hey Sam, How have you been. I wasn’t sure if you heard, but Stanford just granted me an offer to come and play soccer for them on a full ride scholarship. Don’t worry, I know that you will get an offer soon. Keep working, I wish you the best. Bye!”

Tears started rolling down Sam’s eyes slowly. He was jealous of his best friend who had always been good to him. After hearing this message and carefully dissecting it, Sam decided that he wasn’t gonna let one rough day ruin his mood.

As Friday came around, Sam strutted into school with a rejuvenated look upon his face. He walked into a group of his friends congregating around the doors of the lunch room. He walked up to Jack and pulled him aside to discuss the phone call that he had the previous night.
“Hey Jack, listen. I’m really sorry for being so jealous of your success. I guess I was just upset that I still don’t know if i’m even gonna get any offers from any major Division 1 schools. Anyway, I just wanted to congratulate you now.”

“It’s okay Sam, I know how anxious I was before I got this offer and I understand what you are going through, but don’t worry, you will get your chance” replied Jack.

After getting this reassurance from his best friend, Sam knew that he was going to be just fine.

As Sam walked to his first period class with Jack, he was stopped by his guidance counselor and pulled aside for a moment.

“Hey Sam, I have great news. You just got a letter from Georgetown. I think it may be about recruiting. Why don’t you take a look at it” suggested Mr. Thompson. Sam pried the letter open, curious of the contents inside. He quickly scanned scanned the letter and realized that his desire for a division 1 soccer scholarship had been granted.

“Jack! I got it. From Georgetown. I guess we both got what we wanted in the end.” Filled with enthusiasm, Sam bustled to his class to share the news. At that moment, he realized that all his struggle and craving for his scholarship now came to a close, and he was ready to finish his senior year in a lively manner.