Back to the Dream Page
In the second week of April, on a gorgeous Tuesday afternoon, instead of going to Gabriella's house right away to study, Troy had decided to divert them to the park for a little break before heading back to the grind after school. He had to forgo golf this year because of his recovering back, but it didn't really seem to get him too down. 'Maybe it was all the golfing this summer,' thought Troy.
After he parked his truck, Troy ran around to help Gabriella out and walked over to their spot by the lake with their hands laced together. They sat together on the bench for a few minutes, Troy's arm draped around Gabriella's shoulders as he held her close, both just savoring the moment of being together. After all these weeks, neither could get enough of just being together, nothing having to be said, nothing more than cuddling or looking at each other.
"If Chad could see us now, he'd throw up," joked Gabriella, which made Troy laugh at the thought.
"Yeah, I know. What can I say? My best friend I picked out in pre-school definitely is not the up and up affectionate guy, but he loves Taylor with everything he has. Your best friend has all the patience in the world to be with him," stated Troy.
"Sometimes I think she wonders if she really does herself sometimes, but she is just as crazy about Chad as he is her," replied Gabriella with a smile. "It's hard to imagine one without the other actually."
"Just like us," returned Troy as he leaned over and softly kissed Gabriella. "Gabriella, I know we have been dancing around this topic the past few days, but with us both knowing the schools we have gotten into, what are we going to do?"
Gabriella instantly knew what he was referring to. Troy had gotten his acceptance letter from UCLA with scholarship yesterday but was waitlisted for Berkley and NYU. Also yesterday, Gabriella had gotten acceptance letters from Berkeley and UCLA with scholarships while she was waitlisted for Harvard. Taylor was actually rejected from Stanford, but was accepted to UCLA with a scholarship offering while Chad reported that he got into UCLA with full scholarship but not into Ohio State. The rest of the gang had also gotten the final word on all the schools they had been waiting for yesterday and everyone was in a rather contemplative mood as they needed to now face their future and figure out where they would spend the next few years of their lives.
She thought for a few minutes before she summed up the scenario. "So in regards to the two of us, we were both accepted to University of Albuquerque and UCLA, those are our two common schools. You also have a scholarship offering at Duke and acceptance to USC. I have MIT and Berkeley with scholarships there as well."
"Right. I know you made it clear you weren't that interested in U of A before, so what about going to UCLA together? We both have a scholarship there, obviously for different reasons, but I think we'd be happy there. It's California, sunny weather, and we'll be together at a great school for both sports and academics," said Troy, trying to make his case.
Gabriella paused as she saw the excitement in Troy's face at this prospect. "Look Troy, I know that's the most obvious and most desired answer here, but is that fair to both of us? I thought Duke was your goal school with their college basketball team and everything."
"Well yeah," admitted Troy.
"And although UCLA is definitely a strong school, MIT seems just a little bit stronger to me academics wise," added Gabriella.
Troy didn't want to believe what he was hearing. "So you're saying that we should go to different schools and be separated by time and distance?"
She took her time choosing her words before saying, "I don't want to be separated from you at all, Troy. You should know that by now. I want to spend every day together, but will this be how both of us feel in five, ten, twenty years from now? To know that we compromised both of our dream schools to be together?"
"It sounds to me like you just don't want to be together," stated a stubborn Troy.
"Troy, will you listen to what I'm saying and not what you don't want me to say?" asked Gabriella in frustration. "You mean everything to me. When I almost lost you when you were in the coma after the accident, that became even clearer to me than before. I would be crazy to not want to spend every moment I could with you. But, and I know that word is a bit ominous, if we don't do what each of us feels is best as far as our college choices for ourselves, can you honestly tell me that you wouldn't have any regrets when we're together after graduation from college but you may not have been scouted as much as you would have been at Duke?"
"No, I wouldn't because you would be there with me," responded Troy. "I am sensing you would though if you weren't at MIT in four years."
"Perhaps, but maybe not. Here's my point. I think that we both have our hearts so intertwined together that we want to go to the same school so we are together but at the same time have two different dreams that may not be fulfilled at the common school of UCLA. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you gave up Duke and things didn't happen for you at UCLA," confessed Gabriella. "I'm not saying it won't, but it is a possibility. I think that we should just make the best decision for ourselves when it comes to this and not talk about it further."
"So basically you are saying you are going for MIT even though we are going to be separated by a lot of land in between us," summed up Troy.
Gabriella let out a frustrated sigh. "No, that's not what I'm saying. I have four schools to consider, just as you do. What I'm going to do is think about what the schools have to offer me and decide on what school is the best overall. Honestly Troy, would you still love me if I was that girl that just followed you wherever you went, agreed with everything you said, did whatever you wanted to do with no opinions or thoughts?"
Without a thought, Troy shook his head, suddenly understanding what she was saying. "No, that's why I'm with you, because you are your own person. You fight me when you think something is wrong and you keep me in check. I guess that's your point, huh? That we should make our own decisions to fulfill our own identities and not our couple identity."
"Something like that, but you've pretty much summed it up," agreed Gabriella.
"I guess I can understand that, but I still don't want to go a single day without you by my side," confessed Troy. "What if you meet some other guy who steals your heart away, some brainiac genius who invents the next microwave popcorn evolution that prevents the kernels from popping?"
Gabriella laughed a little at his example before she looked him in the eye and smiled. "You don't have to worry about that, but you do have to trust me. There's a lot of things we would have to talk about if you still want to be together if we do decide on different schools since I know you've expressed distaste for long distance before."
"Yeah, but that was all before you," replied Troy. "Okay, so we are in agreement. We decide on the college that's best for each of us and then reveal it after the acceptance of the college of our choice is mailed?"
"Sounds like a good time to do it. No anger, no hurt feelings, okay?" expressed Gabriella.
"Well I can't promise that, but I'll try," said Troy.
Gabriella placed both of her hands on the sides of Troy's face and just lovingly stared into those familiar blue eyes. "You, Troy, are everything to me and you always will be. Just remember when we decide these schools, they are for ourselves, not each other, but it doesn't change how madly in love I am with you."
Troy couldn't help but grin at these words. "Just as I am madly in love with you too. Come on, let's go do those assignments we have so we can spend some more time together later tonight."
Gabriella nodded her head in agreement as Troy pulled her up from the bench. Before they left their spot though, Troy gathered Gabriella up in his arms and held her for a few moments before he kissed her, like he had never kissed her before, to which she responded in the same manner. It took a few minutes longer than intended after they stood up from the bench but eventually, the couple made it back to Troy's truck and headed to the Montez household for some studying and more quality time together.
After Troy left and Gabriella finished up all her school work, she took out her personal notebook and started to make a list of pros and cons for each school. She had just finished it when her mom popped her head into the room.
"You look very deep in thought, daughter. What's on your mind?" asked Ms. Montez as she took a seat next to where Gabriella was resting her head on her hands.
Gabriella let out a sigh before she said, "Troy, college choices, what to do. This pro and con list I made seems to make total sense to me, but there's this huge negative for my leading school."
Ms. Montez looked over the list that her daughter had made and saw the negative in big bold letters. "No Troy," read aloud Ms. Montez. "Well, that certainly is a negative. Did you and Troy decide to go to the same school then?"
"That's the thing, I made it very clear to him today that we shouldn't compromise on this decision, that we both need to do what is best for both of us, but I myself can't get myself to follow it. What should I do Mom?" asked Gabriella.
"That's almost as bad as just blindly following Troy to college, Gabriella. You need to make this call on your own," returned Ms. Montez. "But, if I was in your shoes I would listen to my heart and my mind and find a compromise."
"Which means?" pushed Gabriella.
Ms. Montez let out a small laugh. "Which means that I would make the choice of the school with all those positives on your list and only two to three negatives, even including the big one, send in your acceptance, and then live every day like there was no tomorrow with Troy. But, that's just me. You are your own person and only you know what's truly best."
"Argh, why is this so hard? This would have been so much easier if I didn't end up with a boyfriend," stated Gabriella.
"True, but you do have one and he's someone very special to you. I know this because I highly doubt you would have fought so hard to keep him and to take him back into your life after everything if he wasn't. Be selfish for once in your life, Gabriella. This is a huge decision and I'd hate for you to make it just so you were happy socially but not intellectually as well," said Ms. Montez before she kissed the top of her daughter's head. "And with that, I wish you sweet dreams, dear daughter."
"Good night, Mom," responded Gabriella as she stared at her list again. 'God, what am I going to do?'
"Troy?" called out Mrs. Bolton from the living room as soon as Troy walked through the front door. "Is that you, son?"
"Yup, it's just me," returned Troy as he headed for the stairs.
"Why don't you come on in here and spend some time with your dear old mother? I won't have you around for much longer I think," said Mrs. Bolton.
Realizing that his mother was right, Troy sighed and turned around to head to the living room. "Hi Mom," greeted Troy as he kissed her on the cheek and plopped down into the recliner. "How was your day?"
"Good, there was a lot to do. What I want to know about is you. How is the college decision making process going? I know you got waitlisted at a few schools, but you still have some great opportunities at Duke and UCLA, not to mention U of A. Any of those three top contenders?" asked Mrs. Bolton.
"Well, yes and no," replied Troy.
"Typical male, short answer to a long question. Elaborate for your dear mom, all right?" ordered Mrs. Bolton.
Troy nodded his head in understanding. "Well, Duke is the college I really want to go to. There's the scholarship that they have offered, I like their campus from when we toured there last school year, and their basketball program is phenomenal."
"But?" prodded Mrs. Bolton.
"But there's no Gabriella there," answered Troy.
"Ah, so that's the problem. You don't know if you want to go to the school of your dreams or go to a college that's all right but be with the girl of your dreams. That is a tough one," agreed Mrs. Bolton. "What does Gabriella think?"
"She thinks we shouldn't compromise. Gabriella and I talked earlier today and decided, after she beat me over the head with this idea of no compromise for a while, well we decided to make our own decision and tell each other after we send in the acceptance forms to the chosen college. If we go to the same school we do, but I have a feeling we aren't going to," revealed Troy.
"Because you want to go to Duke so much?" questioned Mrs. Bolton.
"That and she is almost in love with MIT, I think. She glowed when she talked about it right after that visit she and her mom and Taylor made I think in January or February, and then again after the MIT alumni social. None of my choices even get me close to her," stated Troy. "And it sucks, totally."
"You could always drive or fly every once in a while to visit each other," suggested Mrs. Bolton.
"We're talking over twelve hours driving, 705 miles of separation approximately," said Troy. "I already mapped it out."
"So you really have been thinking long and hard about this," returned his mom. "Well, I can say that I'm at least happy that Gabriella pushed to make sure you each made your own decisions here. I would hate to have seen both of you make a decision to be together at a school you wouldn't have enjoyed as much and then resenting each other for it down the line. I've seen that happen among my old high school friends."
"What do you mean?" asked Troy. "That we would hate each other?"
"Well not necessarily hate, but I had two friends in high school who were in a similar position. My girl friend wanted to go to school in California while my guy friend, her boyfriend, wanted to go to school in Texas. They decided to go to a local college, maybe U of A, and were happy for the first semester or two. After that, she started feeling like he was suffocating her and he felt that he had given up a number of opportunities at the college in Texas that he wasn't getting here and that it was her fault. They fought a lot and then they broke up, never getting back together but their college choice was already made. I think she eventually was able to transfer to the school in California but she added two years to undergraduate life for it," explained Mrs. Bolton. "So you see, even compromising on a school has its own pitfall."
Troy adamantly shook his head. "That so wouldn't be me and Gabriella, we love each other too much."
"Maybe, but how do you know, Troy? You can't be for certain. All I'm saying is that you making the choice for the college you are going to go to for four years should be your own decision and no one else's, not mine, not your father's, and not Gabriella's. I think you already know that Duke is for you, but you need to make peace with the fact that you will be a long distance away from her, 705 miles you said I think, but that you can make it work if that's what you two want," replied Mrs. Bolton. "Just think about what I've said, that's all. I think that you and Gabriella make such a cute couple and have the potential to make it as far as you envision, but you have to work at it, just like you worked to get her back this past fall semester."
"Thanks Mom," said Troy before he got up and hugged her. "I think I'm going to go upstairs and finish some things for school, but I truly appreciate what you said. I'll give this a really good thorough thinking, okay?"
"Works for me. Good night, Troy," replied Mrs. Bolton. She watched from the couch as Troy went up the stairs to his room, his body language still revealing how confused he was with this whole scenario. 'I know you'll make the right decision for yourself in the end, you just need to commit to it. Welcome to the adult world, dear son of mine!'