Rejection

            Sitting by her mail-box, Allison impatiently waited for the blue mail truck to come into view.  Picking at her nails because she had nothing else to do, she tried to calm her excitement.  She waited for her potential acceptance letter to her dream college, Stanford.

            Suddenly, from the corner of her eye, Allison saw a blue streak slowly making its way to her house.  She jumped to her feet and stared expectantly at the mail truck.

            After a few minutes, the mail man pulled up to Allison’s house, leisurely got out of the truck and sluggishly handed Allison her mail.  Snatching it from him, Allison quickly rifled through all the envelopes to fine the one she was looking for.  Grabbing hold of the letter from Stanford, she forgot about all the other mail, which fell carelessly to the ground.

            Ripping the letter open, Allison quickly skimmed the content.  Numbly staring at nothing, she let the letter fall to the ground.

            Feelings of inadequacy and sorrow filled Allison as she attempted to hold back her tears, but they overwhelmed her eyelids and gushed from her eyes.  Her knees buckled and she toppled to the ground.

            What had seemed like such a bright, sunny day had abruptly turned cold and gray. Allison vaguely heard thunder growl in the distance. Too dazed to feel the pelting rain begin, she just sat by her mail-box getting soaked.

            Crushed, Allison stayed put until she realized the rain had stopped and the sky was splashed with color from the setting sun.  Gathering what strength she could, she stood up to walk into her empty house and to start the long journey of moving past the pain.