Babysitting the Bad Boy

Chapter 38

Tate didn't even bat an eye, "Okay, so which ones are you thinking? If you're even thinking yet." He said.

It took me a second to respond, "I have no fucking clue," I said with a small laugh, shaking my head, "they're all such great schools, and I haven't done any tours to them yet because none of them were on my radar before." I said.

"Why weren't they? Do none of them have programs you're interested in?" He asked.

I shook my head, "No they actually have pretty great programs for what I'm interested. I want to go for communications. Not sure exactly what aspect yet, but I know communications. I just never thought I'd get into them so I never even bothered looking those directions." I said.

He was thoughtful, "Well I know I don't go to school with you but I've heard it from Cole all the time; you're pretty fucking smart. Aren't you taking six AP's?" He asked.

I nodded, "Well that's pretty fucking impressive that you aren't dead yet. What's your GPA?" He asked.

On a 5 point scale I have a 5.3" I responded.

He just stared at me, his mouth hanging open slightly, "I'm sorry but...how is that possible?" he asked. 

"AP classes are weighted higher than normal classes because of their level of difficulty, so basically a 'B' in an AP course accounts for and 'A' in a regular course. So I have A's in most of my AP's, so they bring my GPA above a 5 because of their weight." I said.

He nodded, "Yeah no, I completely understand why you would think you wouldn't get into those schools." He said sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes but still found myself fighting off a smile, "Seriously, Ariel. That's extremely impressive. Not to mention the fact that you're literally from Ireland. And you're a fighter, literally and figuratively. The schools would be stupid not to want you. And they've proven they aren't stupid." Tate said seriously.

I just kind of brushed him off by just shrugging, "Listen, any of those schools is an amazing choice. Especially for communications. I'd say your first step should be trying to set up a tour at all of them. A one on one tour. Ask any and every question that comes to your head. Ask about the dorms, internship opportunities, the food, the clubs, the night life, the safety, everything. Then make a pros and cons list for each school. And talk to your family, ask around. And then try and start narrowing the list down." He said.

I stared at him, "You really have this figured out, huh?" I asked with a small smile. 

He smirked, "That was just everything that I looked at when I was applying and making my lists. I think it covers a lot of bases." He said with a shrug.

I nodded, "Yeah, yeah it does. Thank you, Tate." I said sincerely.

He smiled genuinely, "Don't worry about it. You have my number, if you're feeling stressed, or need someone to go on a tour with, don't hesitate to call, okay?" He asked.

I nodded, "Yeah. I will. Thank you." I said as he nodded and stood up to walk away.

He stopped on his way out and turned to look over at me, "And, Ariel, I know you think you don't deserve these scholarships. But you do. You deserve all of it. And when you make your final choice, be selfish. Put yourself first. You need to know your worth." Tate said finally, before walking out of the room, leaving me to sit there and absorb what he had said to me. 

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Before I knew it it was only a week before winter break, and I had still not made any progress in narrowing my choices of college. And I had also still not told anyone about which schools I had been accepted to. Which was becoming more and more difficult, since the acceptances had begun rolling in.