My Sugar Step-Daddy

Chapter : 2. Acceptance letter..

For the hundredth time, I checked my emails again on my tab in the hope of seeing the one I am waiting for. But unfortunately, there are no new emails currently. With a big sigh and a disappointed heart, I turned it off. Then I grabbed my phone and bag before getting out of the dormitory.

“Hey! Going for work already?” I was crossing the beds of my dorm friends when one of them stopped me.

“Yeah. There’s too much rush at the restaurant nowadays. I have to go early to help.”

“Got any reply from them?”

“No. Nothing yet.”

“Oh! Don’t worry. It will be here soon. Good luck and be safe. See you at night.” I nod at her before leaving for my work.

The classes just end half an hour ago. Everyone’s changing clothes and getting ready to relax or chat with friends while I am on my way to work. I didn’t even get enough rest and feel tired already. But the day is still young and I have a long way to go. The restaurant is only a ten minutes walk from my school, so transportation isn’t necessary. Besides, I get to feel the fresh air and see other faces than the regular if I walk there.

I am always the first one to reach to my job, besides the manager because I had to clean the whole place up before customers starts coming in. It’s just a small fast-food restaurant for which I didn’t have to work too hard. I actually love to work here because my coworkers are really nice to me.

“Hey! How’s your school today? Anything special?” Just as I reached there, I was greeted by the manager who is a middle-aged man.

“Nothing special. Just as usual.” I tried to avoid him today and went straight to my task because I know what he is asking for. He wants to know if I got the admission letter yet. They all know how desperate I am to get into that university.

I put on my cleaners dress and wore gloves before starting to clean the kitchen. That is the first place which needs to be cleaned to start making food if the customers come early. Once I was done cleaning the dishes and the counters, I started wiping the floor. Making sure all the surfaces are neat and clean, I go to clean the bathroom at last. By this time, the customers are already coming in. So I had to hurry a bit. And once I was finished cleaning everything, I change my clothes, wash myself clean before going to the next part.

“So, what am I today?” Wiping myself dry, I went to the manager to know who’s helper I am going to be today.

“Sous chef. Manny needs you in the kitchen today.”

“On it.”

I went straight to the kitchen, took an apron out from the locker, and started helping the chef to make food. I usually cut all the vegetables for him and sometimes fry some stuff. But I know how to cook every dish on the menu. I saw him do it and taught it myself because I know I might need this skill one day.

“Hey! Did you get it?” I was busy chopping some salad when I saw Maya’s head peeking in through the kitchen door.

“No. Not yet.”

“What..? Are you sure?”

“Maya. Get back in here. There are customers waiting for their food.” The manager called her back because it was the rush hour. I don’t even know when did she joined her shift in all this fuss.

“Coming! I will be back once it clears up.” She gave me a pointed look before getting back to serve the customers. I took a deep breath and focused back on my task.

It was 9.30 PM when the restaurant started clearing up. People are still coming in and it will go on till 11. But for now, we all can relax a bit. It was time for me to start packing up. So I was cleaning the dishes that piled up in the sink to wash when Maya came to me.

“Hey, Babe.. Still didn’t get the letter? Did you check carefully? Maybe it went into spam or something..”

“I checked. It’s not here.”

“How is that possible? They were supposed to respond by now. Are you sure you send the documents right?”

“I am sure. I checked it four times before submitting. It’s not here. Maybe it won’t be here. My qualification matches their requirement that doesn’t mean I will be chosen. There are probably thousand of applications pending on their list with much more qualification than mine. Let’s not hope that I am going to get in there.”

“Why not? And it’s very rare to get scores like you. You are the best. There must be an error somewhere. There’s no way they will reject you.”

“I don’t know. I just don’t know..”

“So, if there is an error and somehow your application didn’t reach to them, what is your Plan B? What are you going to do after this?”

“I.. I don’t know. I don’t have a Plan B. The only thing I could do after this is go back home and find a job there and spend the rest of my life somehow. I have put my everything in this. All my hope and my soul.. I can’t even think of anything else rather than this. It was my dream. It was my grandma’s dream. How can I let go and do something else instead? I just can’t.” I dropped everything I had in my hand back in the sink and was about to break down when she came to hug me.

“Hey! Don’t be sad. It won’t come to that. I am sure you will get the admission. Maybe they are taking some time to select the right ones. But there’s no way they will reject you. Keep trusting yourself. You will make it. I know it.” I gave her a smile and hugged her back, which actually comforted me.

I felt a little calm after that and finished the rest of my work before eating my dinner there and walking back to the school. The dinner time at school is 8.30 and I get back by 10. So, I had to eat at the restaurant for the night which they kindly offer me free. By the time I get back, half the students are already asleep and half are studying. I also have my finals in two days and I have to study too. But by this time I am too tired and sleepy for that. So, I took my pill that filled me up with energy in no time, and start reading for the next three of four hours.

The next day came, and I got up as usual. I attended my classes, ate lunch, chatted with a few of my friends and finished the rest of the classes before going back to my dorm. My heart is really heavy today because I just found out that most of my friends are already accepted in their designated courses while I am still waiting for my acceptance letter. Maybe I am not getting into my dream university. Maybe I am not going to become a doctor as I wished for. Maybe my life is supposed to end like my mother.

The bare thought of turning into someone like my mom sends a chill up my spine. I can’t be like that. I can’t play with someone’s feelings for money or live off of their income for the rest of my life. That’s just wrong. So, with my last hope, I sat on my bed and turned my tab on. Closing my eyes, I prayed to the god to make a miracle. And as soon as I turned it on, a ding noise caught my attention. I got a new mail.

My heartbeat got faster when I saw that it was a reply from the university I applied to. This is it. This is the moment I was waiting for. This is the letter that is going to decide my future. So, remembering the god one last time, I tapped on it to open the mail.

“Dear Ms. Elora Campbell.

On behalf of the University of Sydney, I am pleased to congratulate you on our acceptance of your application. We were very impressed by your academic history and achievements and feel that you would make an excellent addition to our university’s MBBS course.”

A loud scream came out of my mouth as I got up from my bed and started jumping around in excitement as soon as I saw that. It made everyone stare at me strangely, making me calm down and sit back down. Some of my close friend came to check on me and when I told them that I got accepted in MBBS at, they all congratulated me in joy. Once they were all gone, I took my tab and went to meet the principal. I think he deserves to know that I got the admission because if it isn’t for him, I wouldn't have reach to this place ever.

“Sir. May I come in?”

“Yes. Uhh.. Elora. What brings you here at this hour?”

“I got accepted at the University of Sydney with MBBS. Here’s my acceptance letter. I just came to say thank you. If you didn’t help me through these years, I wouldn’t have made it to this far. It’s all because of you and I will be forever grateful to you.”

“Don’t be silly. It’s all you. If you didn’t have that will to keep going, nothing could have helped you out. Not even me. It was all your hard work. I am so proud of you that you made it this far and I am sure one day you will come to visit me again when you will become a successful doctor.”

“I will surely do, sir. Thank you.”

“By the way. Have you planned everything for your admission? You know you have to apply for a student loan as soon as possible to gather the admission fee in time. You should look into it right away.” I was stunned for a minute to hear that.

“Admission fee? Do I have to pay for that? I thought the scholarship was going to take care of it.”

“Well. Not all of it. I think you don’t know that Sydney University only clears half the amount with the scholarships. The students have to pay the rest, including the hostel fees and etc.. It says here that the fee is 83,000 AUD. So, they will cut like around 40,000 or something. You have to pay the rest.” For that instant, it felt like my soul left my body. I got so close to my dream, but I can see it drifting away now. How am I going to get that money?

After discussing more about it with the principal, I returned to my dorm. He is suggesting that I take a student loan and pay it off by working it out slowly, as others do. But I know I can’t do that. Taking a student loan means putting myself in a forever debt. Besides, I can’t push myself day and night to work to get that money and couldn’t focus on my main task, which is studying. I am doing it now and I know how hard it is to manage both. And the study of medicine is not so easy. I have to put my entire focus on it if I want to graduate with good marks.

And even if I do take it now, what will I do next year? I have to pay every year for five years and I won’t be able to take another loan. I will end up giving up almost near the finishing point. I can’t do that. I have to manage the money in some other way. I think it’s time now. It’s time to take the money out that grandma kept for me. This is the moment I need it the most. And to get that, I have to go home and face my mom again.