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Once classes were finished that afternoon, I grabbed a bite to eat at the campus cafe before heading to the library. It was my favorite place to study since it gave me a reason to turn off my cell phone, which had been inundated with phone calls from my parents for days.
I ignored the email notifications once my laptop was booted up. All except one, which caught my attention immediately.
Dear Ms. Isabella Dayton:
We’ve received your request to cancel your tuition autopayments. Please contact us as soon as possible to discuss alternative payment methods.
Sincerely,
Miranda
Head of Student Accounts
I nearly trippedover my feet, running outside, frantically dialing their phone number in the process.
“Student Accounts, this is Miranda speaking.”
“This is Isabella Dayton. Why was my autopay canceled?”
“Oh, yes, Ms. Dayton. I’ve been expecting your call. That’s what I was wondering, too, since your parents are Exley University alumni.”
I ignored the stares from other students as I paced manically back and forth in front of the library. “Did they call you and cancel it? Or do you need the new expiration date? Maybe they got another card.”
“I’m afraid not, Ms. Dayton. Someone signed onto our website and canceled it this morning. We do offer alternative payment plans…”
I hung up on her and buried my head in my hands. There was no point in me hearing anything more out of that woman’s mouth.
My parents had officially severed their ties with me.
At $25,000 per semester, there was no way that I could afford to continue school without the help of my parents. I berated myself for not choosing a state school and taking out student loans. It would have meant cutting the cord when I was only eighteen, but at least I wouldn’t be screwed over during my senior year. It’s what I wanted to do, but my parents convinced me that Exley was the better fit for me. Since I was a little girl, I had no control over my life. It’s like I was always living someone else’s dreams, as if my life was predetermined to go one way.
After packing up my laptop inside the library, I hightailed it to my car and drove to my bank’s nearest branch. The teller was all smiles as I approached her window.
“Good afternoon. How…”
“I need to withdraw all of the money in my account.”
The teller looked justifiably concerned as I flung my driver’s license and banking information at her. “Of course. May I ask the reason why?”
A sea of glares fell upon me. It felt like everyone in the bank was watching me, but that could have been a symptom of the growing paranoia in me.
“I can’t, I mean…it’s a long story. I’ll probably open up my own account here, though.”
The teller nodded as she typed away on her keyboard. “I’m so sorry, Ms. Dayton, but your account has been closed.”
“What? That’s not possible!”
“Let me call over to the main office and see what happened.”
I was out the door before she even dialed their number.
If my parents wanted to cut me off, then I’d rise to the occasion and put myself through college like an adult. Hell, Emily was doing it, so why couldn’t I? All I’d need was a part-time job and to take out a student loan.
As my foot hit the gas pedal and weaved in and out of traffic, I refused to let my mind wander too much. The what ifs were too much for me to handle. What if I couldn’t handle a job while attending school full-time? What if I couldn’t get a student loan big enough to cover all my tuition? What if I couldn’t get a student loan at all?
By the time I pulled into the parking lot of Lenny’s, I had vowed to do anything necessary to finish college. If I had to survive on four hours of sleep per night, then so be it. I wasn’t going to let my parents take away my education as punishment for not following through on their promise of being Jason’s servant for the rest of his life.
All that mattered was that I was a free woman.
