Midfield Academy: Book 3

Chapter 65: Recommendation Letter (15 years, 5 months)

Raven chewed on his cheek and stared at the flier. He read it for a third time and adjusted the books in his arms. A studio abroad to Rome, Italy was being offered to one of the students, just one. Swallowing hard, he went over the requirements. His grades were good. He could easily get some of his teachers to write him reference letters. It also helped that the one deciding the winner was his roommate's father. There was an essay component, but he felt pretty good about his writing ability.

"What're you lookin' at?" Jesse said, leaning over his friend's shoulder.

Raven jumped and looked away. "Nothing. I just wanted to see if anything was going on this week."

"Liar." Jesse rested his arm on Raven's shoulder and skimmed the poster. "You want to go to Europe?"

Bowing his head, Raven didn't respond.

"Damn, Ravy. Your dad is worse than mine sometimes. From what I heard from Daven, getting him to let you come here was an ordeal. He's never going to allow you to go to Italy."

"I was just looking." Raven turned sharply and started down the hall.

Jesse jogged after him. "I'm being realistic. I wasn't trying to piss you off."

"I'm not." Raven turned the corner and hurried to the cafeteria. Hopefully, food would make Jesse forget about the poster.

"You seem kind of mad." Jesse followed him to a table where they put down their books and bags down. "Whenever you're annoyed with me you go into full-on pout mood." He dipped down to get a look at Raven's face. "Like right now."

"I'm not mad!" Raven clenched his fists and marched off to get in line.

He could hear Jesse laughing behind him. That little outburst made it kind of obvious that the sub was upset. Raven knew it was a long shot to ever get his father to agree to let him go to Europe even if he was chosen. He picked up a tray and started down the line.

Jesse placed a tray next to his roommate's. "Just apply." He picked up a chocolate pudding cup.

Raven took one as well. "What?"

"Apply, if you win then you can figure it out after. But most likely you won't get it. I mean the dominant and the girl campus is also in the running. A sub has never gotten a study abroad. So just apply so you don't have to 'what if' yourself to death."

Taking a deep breath, Raven nodded. "Okay, I'll do it."

***

Raven knocked on the door of Dr. Wood's office.

The counselor smiled at him and waved the boy in. "Hello, Raven. What can I do for you?"

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Raven sat down and gripped his knees. "I need a recommendation letter."

"Oh," Dr. Wood smiled, "applying for college scholarships early. I'd love to write you one." He clicked his pen. "What's it for?"

"Not for college."

The man glanced at the boy in front of him.

Raven kept his eyes pointed at the ground. "I want to apply for the study abroad."

With a sigh, Dr. Wood clasped his hands on the desk. "Have you talk to your father?"

The boy shook his head. "I figured it wouldn't matter unless I won." He peeked up for a moment. "It's a chance to experience something new. There's a whole world out there, and I'll never get to see any of it because of my rank."

Dr. Wood leaned back in his chair. "I'd prefer if your father knew about this."

"He'd get mad and tell me I couldn't apply. I just want to try. I want to see if I'm good enough to beat the higher ranks. If I can't go, then I can't go. Second place can go instead, but I want to try. Please."