Chapter 2

I gazed down at the paper in my hand with awe and excitement, reading the first line over and over again.

Dear Miss Valery Mosely, we are pleased to inform you that your enrollment to Colorado's University of Modern Arts has been accepted.

Accepted! After countless enrollment forms and pamphlets, sample photos and 'why is our college right for you' essays; I finally got in! My hopes had been dwindling with each rejection letter and I had begun to reconsider my direction in life. Either go after something other than photography or enroll in the local community college.

I felt a huge weight being lifted off my shoulders, for months now I had been holding so much stress on myself. Beginning to panic that my plans for the future were not panning out the way I had thought them too. I turned twenty today, and although it was not unusual in this day an age for people to get a late start going to college it was not something I had planned on.

All was well now, though, I had the letter in my hands and would be attending one of the top school on my list before I knew it. I mean that literally, classes started on November 3ed, today was the 24th of October, a mere ten days!

The excitement started to wash away and was quickly being replaced with anxiety; I lived in Ohio, Colorado was on the other side of the U.S, I needed to be at the school at least a week before classes started to get settled in.

That only let me five days until I had to leave, and with such a short time to get things ready, I will probably be scrambling about for the last three making sure everything was set to go. I looked around the living room, watching as the boys played their video games; Little Lea doing her homework and Sam in the kitchen fixing up the last bits of dinner.

All of us kids were kind of paired off, Sam and I were connected at the hip, and the same went for Josh and David. Even though there was a gap in ages, we were family, and age didn't really matter to us. Before Emma started working her and Lea had been like the rest of us, best friends, partners in crime. I loved all of them in a different way, Sam was my go to girl, I told her everything, I vented to her when I was upset, I went to her when I needed a distraction and a few good laughs. Emma and I used to be really close, but we kind of drifted apart, but she was still always there for me when I needed her. Together we were a force to be reckoned with, no one messed with us, and if they did, boy would they regret it.

Josh was, well, Josh. There really is no other way to explain him, he seemed like a mans man on the outside, tough, laid back and care free. When it came down to it though he was a sweetheart, though when riding his emotions he was a man of few words, they were always the right words. Lea and David were kind of the odd men out, to old to baby and take for granted, but not old enough to be included in everything. They were  good people though, all the kids were, and damn I would miss the hell out of them.

Tears begun to sting my eyes, I knew this day would come, when I went off to college and left home; But I didn't think it would be this hard to leave everybody, we are a close knit family, none of us had ever been away from home long, let alone out of state. Hell, me and Sam even shared a room, neither of us liked sleeping alone. For a moment, I considered throwing the acceptance letting away, going to the local college and going to school from home. I knew I would never truly be happy that way though, this was my dream.

I sat back on the couch and sighed, I knew I would go no matter how hard it was, no matter how much I would miss them. I could always fly back when I had spare time, and I am sure everyone would come to see me as well. We all had cell phones, and were all big on texting it wouldn't be that bad, right?

"God I hope not," I said to myself, thumbing the letter in my hands. The whole situation seemed surreal, I was strangely numb, yet every few minuets my stomach would do a strange flip flop in excitement.

Then a new thought sobered me up, telling my parents. Oh, they would be happy for me, and as excited as I am; But factor me leaving home and going out of state, I could see their reaction now. My father, standing there, stern faced as he imagined me leaving. My mother, a little glassy eyed as she tried to be happy and not cry. Which, of course, would probably make me cry, and them Sam and Lea would start crying because I was crying, and the boys would stand there silently like my father.

Suddenly I wished the boys had not checked the mail, I hated it when the entire family got all emotional like that. All us girls balling our eyes out, as the men stood there saying nothing, trying to be strong for us. It would be a mess, it always was, we would all be thinking about it for the rest of the night, as well as the next morning. Each of us taking turns running to the bathroom trying to get our tears under control.

Now it was all I could think about, I was going to be on edge until mom and dad got home from work. I was even starting to think about not telling them, just leaving the letter on the counter after I left for work for them to find in the morning. That would not be fair though, and I would spend all day at work dreading going home and facing them.

This was the only downfall to having a big family, that and the fact that no one really knew what the word 'privacy' meant, we were all so close. Damn, I hated being the oldest, Lea had it good; By the time she grew up and moved away from home everyone would be used to it. I was the first one to go, and it would only be that much worse. Hell, when Emma got her job and then a second one she was almost never around, my mom hated it, same as everyone else.

She was still in the same town though, in the same state, all it really took was a phone call saying 'Hey, we are going out to dinner tonight, your coming, right?' and she would be there, easy as that. There would be no more family dinners for me for a while, no late night trips to Wal-Mart, no random family game night.

I had the sick feeling I was about to totally devastate my family, damn damn damn.

I looked down at my phone for the time 5:40, they would be here soon, dinner was ready and it would not be long before we all sat down at the table together. Either I was going to have to tell them myself, or one of the kids would blurt it out for me. I planned on staying silent for sure, I was in no hurry to have to tell them myself. The kids liked giving out exciting news, I was only indulging them.

Reviews

[Annolyn]

This chapter reminds me of the first time I moved far away from my family. Though mine wasn't as big as the family you describe, your words reflect nearly exactly what I was feeling. Very nice flow too. I still miss those spontaneous family outings. You are a very talented writer. I look forward to reading on.