Chapter 151

Early summer had just finished filling out her college applications and quickly returned to her room to study.

The sky outside had already darkened. Shaw and Carman washed up and settled into their room, chatting and getting ready for bed.

Although they were excited about Summer applying to Harvard earlier, they didn't take it too seriously. The thrill had passed, and they were more focused on the moment.

Carman laughed softly, "I see Summer is quite confident about getting into college. We're not hoping for Harvard. We're not comparing her to Calvin. As long as she gets into any college, I'll be thrilled. I'll even buy fireworks to celebrate."

Shaw, more cautious, said, "Let's not get too excited just yet. Even getting into a regular college is tough for us. If we set our hopes too high and she doesn't get in, she'll feel terrible."

Carman nodded, realizing he was right. She took a deep breath and said, "You're right. We should stay calm. No matter what, our family will be fine."

Shaw nodded, "Exactly."

While Shaw and Carman were calm, Henry's family was not.

They weren't hoping for Henry to get into college for the prestige but to get him an opportunity to leave the countryside.

They didn't understand much about the application process. After dinner, the two kids went to bed, and the four adults discussed the matter.

Alston called Clement, "Send Henry another telegram tomorrow. Tell him to apply to schools in Boston. If he's not confident about getting into college, put down a couple of trade schools as backups. The easier, the better, as long as he can come back to study."

Clement understood and nodded, "Got it."

In the West House, Becky's family wasn't too stressed about the college applications.

They had discussed it long ago, and now it was just about filling them out.

After finishing his applications, Calvin studied as usual until bedtime. He didn't stay up late to review, following Ada's advice that he didn't need to study until midnight every day.

The next morning, Summer had already left when Calvin woke up.

Everyone else got up at their usual time. While washing up in the courtyard, they exchanged a few words.

Ada ran into Shaw and asked with a smile, "Which schools did Summer apply to?"

Shaw, embarrassed to be direct, smiled and said, "We applied to three random ones, just giving it a shot."

He didn't want to mention Harvard in case it became a joke in the neighborhood.

So he shifted the topic to Calvin, continuing to smile, "Calvin must have applied to well-known universities, right?"

Ada nodded, "Yes, we applied to two in Boston and one in New York."

Shaw wasn't very familiar with these schools. He recalled Summer's list last night, which didn't include any New York schools, so he asked, "Where is that school?"

Ada replied, "It's in New York, just below Harvard and Yale."

Shaw nodded, "That's not far, and the school is excellent. Calvin is really promising."

Ada smiled, "We have high expectations for him."

Shaw agreed, "He has the ability to match those expectations."

The washing-up time was short, and after a few more words, they each returned to their rooms.

After breakfast, Shaw and Carman left for work. They ran into Alston and Clement, who were also heading out.

Alston pushed his tricycle to the front yard.

Outside the main gate, he pedaled the tricycle ahead, while Shaw, Carman, and Clement walked behind, chatting about the college applications as they went.

After they parted ways at the alley, Clement headed to the post office instead of going to work immediately to send a brief telegram to Henry.

***

Evening.

The kitchen at the Tran Creek Farm.

Henry, Charlie, Gabe, and Sophia sat around the table.

Gabe read the telegram from Clement and said, "There's no need to think about it. With us skipping school most of the week, there's no way we're getting into college. I doubt we have any chance even at the trade schools."

They hadn't even started preparing for exams since signing up. For them, high school math and science were like foreign languages.

They didn't even consider applying for college. Gabe and Charlie still didn't understand why Henry suddenly decided to apply.

It seemed like a waste of the registration fee and time.

But now that they had signed up, they had to fill out the applications.

Henry said, "Stop talking and just fill them out. We need to turn them in."

To Charlie and Gabe, it didn't matter what schools they wrote down. So, they followed Sophia's lead and filled in the same schools as Henry, then submitted their forms to the farm office.

On the way back, Henry and Sophia didn't walk with Charlie and Gabe.

They walked slowly, taking a quiet path.

When they were alone, Henry said to Sophia, "If we don't get in, let's apply to get married."

They knew their chances were slim. When he received the telegram about the college entrance exams, he hadn't planned to sign up. He knew he wasn't good at studying and had no strong desire to return to the city.

But Sophia tearfully told him she was pregnant with his child, forcing him to sign up.

When he first heard the news, it hit him like a lightning bolt. But he quickly accepted it and proposed marriage.

They were both of age, and once married, having a child wouldn't be a big deal.

But Sophia didn't want to marry in the countryside and cried about it for a long time.

If they married and had a child there, they would lose their status as educated youths and wouldn't be able to return to the city.

Before telling Henry, Sophia had considered getting rid of the baby but failed.

The baby grew strong inside her, unaffected by any of her hardships.