Chapter 23

Though mid-terms were still roughly a month off, Susan couldn't help but think of them being over and the trip with Mizuki, and more than just for the playtimes they were planning. While the issue of what college to choose was slowly falling into place, Susan had the more-than-vague feeling that she was missing something important. Perhaps the campus visits would settle the matter, and while the trip with Mizuki promised to be fun, there was the good chance that the real purpose of the trip would be more valuable.

Still, Susan thought about it on the way home from Riverside that evening. Twice she had to stomp on the brakes to avoid hitting deer. It was getting to be the season when they were more active, and the time she was on the road between Riverside and Spearfish Lake was when they were moving most. Car-deer accidents were common in the area, and Susan didn't want to mess up the Cavalier by hitting one.

After barely managing to miss the second – Susan swore she was going to have to clean the deer crap off of her outside rear-view mirror – she slowed down to considerably under the speed limit and continued to mull over the question. Somewhere on the slow drive the rest of the way home, what seemed like a good idea crossed her mind: Myleigh had straightened out her thinking on the issue once before. Perhaps it would be a good idea to run the revised idea past her again, just for an independent opinion.

So, on Saturday morning Susan called Myleigh again and asked if she could come see her. "Why, of course," the Weatherford professor replied. "It should be this morning, since Trey and I are to go sailing upon the waters with Randy and Nicole this afternoon. The season for that is waning, and Randy wishes to soon initiate preparations to store the boat for the winter. Trey is doing yard work this morning, so we would not be disturbed."

"I'll be right over," Susan replied. "I really don't think this will take too long."

"Oh, we can take the time we need, within reason," Myleigh said.

In a few minutes Susan and Myleigh were sitting on Myleigh's back porch, each holding cups of tea and watching Myleigh's husband at work with a rake. "Basically, I want to see if you can pick any holes in my thinking on this," Susan said. She then proceeded to give Myleigh a fairly detailed account of the colleges she was thinking about and the reasons for and against them, much as she had done with Mizuki a couple days before, and included a couple of points that Mizuki had brought up. Myleigh questioned her on a few points, if only to get a better idea of what her thinking on the subject was.

Finally, Susan reached the end of her list. "So," she asked, "what do you think?"

"Well, first I must say that I'm a little disappointed that you have ranked Weatherford so low," Myleigh told her, "although I suspect I can understand your reasoning in wishing to do so. I understand that you like your parents, but wish to loosen the apron strings a little, so that much is laudable. I confess my decision on where to attend undergraduate school was based entirely on economics and the desire to place as much distance between my parents and myself as I could afford. I'm not the first person to do that, of course; although I have to say that your brother's girlfriend was the most extreme example of that I ever heard."

"University of Alaska, Fairbanks," Susan grinned. "You can't get much more extreme than that. Even Germany would be closer. Then as soon as her mother showed up there, she transferred down to Florida somewhere. That gave her mother the message, and the next fall she joined Henry at Central."

"That was the story Randy told me," Myleigh laughed. "Your situation is of course different, and for the most part I agree with your reasoning that Weatherford is a little close for what you want to do, but please do not reject it for just that reason. As to the others, I really cannot fault your reasoning. Michigan State sounds like a very good place for you, but, as you say, getting accepted could be a problem. I would, however, point out that you might wish to give a little more attention to Southern Michigan, mostly because it is new and flexible and innovative. There is a certain excitement in being a part of something being built, rather than just being maintained. Though they probably would not be interested in my specialties, I cannot help but wonder if there might not be a special thrill in teaching there, just for that reason."

"I've picked up some of that," Susan admitted. "My friend who wants to go there is particularly interested in that angle, and I have to think she has a point. The problem is the money. On the surface it's not a lot more expensive than the other state schools, including State itself, but when you figure in the fact that they don't have much of a financial aid package, then some of the shine goes away. Don't get me wrong, I could cover the difference with student loans. It might be worth the trouble of dealing with them to go to State just since the name is so recognizable, but I'm having trouble selling myself on doing it to go anywhere else I'm likely to be accepted."

"That's not a good attitude to have," Myleigh told her. "Pick the place that is best for you in the long run. I'm not saying that you not heed the financial aspects, for they are indeed important, but there are other options open where at least some of the differences might be mitigated. I would especially urge you to investigate grant and scholarship programs. There are some interesting ones that are not well known. For instance, I sit on a board that distributes scholarships and grants from the Jennifer Walworth Foundation. That would not be of much use to you, for they are entirely aimed at students with an interest in the arts, specifically music."

"I didn't know that. I know she has money, but I had no idea she used it for that."

"I must admit we've never awarded a scholarship to a student from Spearfish Lake," Myleigh shrugged. "But it's not surprising. Qualifying students have to demonstrate both financial need and rare talent, and there has never been anyone from here in music who qualifies. But there are other programs out there, and from my position I have a little influence here and there. Would you mind greatly if I were to make a few discreet inquiries about possibilities?"

"I would be grateful. When you get right down to it, the difference between what I can afford and what I can't isn't all that much, but over the three years I'll have remaining in college, maybe four depending on some programs, it could add up real fast. Something to bridge that gap would be wonderful."

"I'm afraid that I cannot promise anything, but I shall do what I can to speak a kind word in the right places. In any case, you should investigate the field and apply for anything you can find that remotely meets the required criteria. I can tell you from personal experience that two hundred dollars here and five hundred there starts to add up after a while."

Susan got a grin of her own. "I can do that," she said. "Thank goodness for the Internet."

"Yes indeed. It is amazing how it has changed things in a matter of only a few years. It was not long ago that I was squeezing every penny I could find and applying for every grant I heard about, and being able to search online only became a reality as my penurious period was ending. Had I been but a few years younger things could have been considerably different."

They talked about a few more angles to the question, and Susan felt she had picked up some useful ideas. "I suppose I really ought to be going," she said finally, "but once again, it's been good to talk some of these things over with you."

"Feel free to approach me with such questions at any time," Myleigh assured her. "My advice may prove to be worth only what you pay for it, but I'm pleased to be asked."

It was another nice afternoon, and it was getting to be the time of year when those were getting increasingly rare. From the deck on her house, where Susan was in the nude catching some of the last sun she would probably enjoy this year, she could see trees starting to turn color; those that hadn't were looking like it wouldn't be much longer. Off in the distance she could see a little piece of the lake, and one time when she looked carefully she could see a sailboat out on it. It was probably Myleigh and her husband and friends, she figured; there weren't a lot of sailboats on the lake, and most of the pleasure boats had been taken out after Labor Day.

As she watched, she realized that two big things had resulted from the discussion with Myleigh – Southern had moved up on her list a notch, maybe to a point fairly even with Grand Valley. The idea of being part of something new and innovative was intriguing and deserved more thought. The other thing that came clear was that Albburg had probably slid down the list even more; it seemed likely that grants and scholarships might not apply to foreign schools. That wasn't saying it was entirely out of contention, but it somehow seemed much more distant.

More and more it seemed as if a campus visit to the three schools really in contention, State, Grand Valley, and Southern, was a good idea and might solve some issues. In addition, being able to do the trip with Mizuki seemed like it would make it worth the effort all by itself.

When Monday rolled around, Susan had the usual junior reporter tasks to do at the Record-Herald. By now she was getting used to them and could do them more efficiently. That was good, because her mind was more and more on the school board meeting that evening. There had been considerable talk around town, and there had been more letters to the editor come in, so it looked as if this meeting was going to be one to remember.

Susan's suspicions were confirmed when she and both of her parents showed up for the meeting. Her father had warned that they might want to get there early to be sure of getting good seats, and that proved to be good thinking. They were there plenty early, and the parking lot was already pretty full. They got inside to discover that the meeting had been moved from the library where it was normally held to the larger cafeteria, so it was pretty clear to someone that there was going to be a fairly good crowd show up.

It was Susan's first time in the high school building since she'd marched out on the first morning of classes. Although she knew that she was still listed as a student there, she didn't feel like one, and the building felt foreign to her. Not counting the few minutes in Mr. Delahayne's class a few weeks before it had been over a year since she'd attended a class there, and it really seemed like something out of her past.

They got seats close to the front of the room, since if the big crowd they were expecting showed up it would be easier there to hear and understand what was said. And it looked like a big crowd was coming; as Susan looked around the room was filling up, and before the meeting started people were standing around the edge of it. Battle and Rickenbaugh were there early, mostly standing around and talking with people in small groups, though at enough distance Susan couldn't make out what was being said. As the meeting time approached they took their seats at the long tables at the front of the room, and the other board members with the exception of Aho soon joined them.