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There was once a school in Bonnet Valley, but it closed when I was young due to dwindling enrollment. The public school system was infected with liberal ideas that were dangerous to our growing minds.
“We gotta finish loading these bales, Dan.” I’m the driving force of the group, always pushing them to finish the work in record time. Being the oldest comes with responsibility.
“Come on, real quick. It’ll just take a minute.” Dan rushes in. He’s typically the one trying to push boundaries. “Go ahead, Adam.”
I sigh in defeat. “Fine, if we do it quick.” I clear my throat, beginning in my best adult voice, “Levi, Silas, Dan, and I have all applied and been accepted into Ole Tex University, just a couple hours east. We know this is not what you had planned for us, but we’ve thought of a way to give you peace of mind.”
“Stand up a little straighter,” Dan interrupts.
I shoot him a glare, straightening to my full height before continuing.
“The dorms are set up to house four boys in one suite. Dan and I can be in a room that’s connected to a bathroom with a room on the other side with Levi and Silas. We can keep each other out of trouble and avoid the crazy college experience that is so detrimental to the youth of the nation. We—”
This time, Silas is the one who interjects. “You sound bored. I don’t think you’re selling it. Maybe you should bring up the church sooner?” he suggests.
I sigh, squinting up at him in the glaring sunlight. “We’ll go to church every Sunday and Wednesday,” I say, my tone slightly mocking at this point. “We can have weekly Bible studies in our dorm—maybe we’ll even get the guys in our hall to join. I want to study agriculture, so I can come back and help increase our revenue on the farm.”
In truth, I would love to pursue a degree to increase the potential of our multigenerational family farm. We make a good living, an outstanding one, but I know there are technological advances that could only propel us further into the future.
Dan puts on his practiced innocent face. “I want to become a veterinarian to help with the birthing calves and such.”
Silas and Levi follow up with their degree plans.
Dan starts clapping loudly. “Bravo, bravo! Then, I’ll follow up with how much we hope they’ll pray about it, how we will miss our home every single day, and how grateful we are for them. If that doesn’t do it, then I guess we’re stuck here forever.” He tosses a water jug back into the truck bed.
Silas does the same. “You really think they’ll go for it?”
I don’t answer. I’m twenty-one years old, but I’ve never left this farm for longer than a family vacation. Going to college has been in the back of my mind since I was about sixteen, but I think I’ve been afraid of everything we’ve been warned can happen on a campus full of hormonal young adults. The high levels of teen drinking, fornication, and overall lack of good morals seem to be real issues.
I can’t help but wonder what the girls will be like. There aren’t many around here, and I’m blood-related to about seventy-five percent of the ones my age. The kids I’ve grown up with all really feel like family anyway since we’ve known each other since we were in diapers. I’ve barely laid eyes on any girls that I’m attracted to.
Are there any nice girls at OTU who are interested in being with a farmer?
“We’re asking on a Wednesday at church, so they can pray over it. I think it’s our best shot.” Levi wants a college education more than the other two, who really just want to get out and experience life beyond Central Texas.
I know what I want is to help grow our farm’s profit, but I would be lying if I didn’t admit to myself that a small part of me is curious to see what life beyond the cornstalks is like.
“Well, here goes.” I bang on the trailer to let the driver know that our break is over.
I can hardly believe it, but they agreed to let us go. I never really expected to leave our tight-knit, wholesome community in Central Texas. Excitement licks through my veins at the prospect of increasing the revenue of our farm. I could be the first one to secure a college degree that could exponentially benefit the business.
Our parents set up a meeting with the resident assistant to discuss the dynamics of our dormitory. They weren’t pleased to hear that girls were allowed in the boys’ dorm.
“We enforce a strict open-door policy. The only reason they’re allowed to is because the students need to work on group projects together, and the library meeting rooms will fill up,” the RA reassures my stern-faced parents.
I breathe a sigh of relief as they nod at each other. The explanation must suffice.
Next, they visit the local church, and Silas’s dad sets up a lunch with the pastor and his wife. They are enthusiastic to learn about the potential of four new college-aged students interested in the young adult ministry. We promise to be present for the Wednesday meetings.
I’m walking with our group of twenty-one on the tour of the campus. Because of our family taking up thirteen spots, the only other members of the group are Silas, Levi, and their families. We seem to be of particular interest to the students milling about the grounds.
“Oh my!” my mother audibly gasps as a thin, dark-haired girl with tattoos, wearing a crop top and the shortest shorts I’ve ever seen, walks by us.
I hope the girl doesn’t realize we’re all staring at her. My younger brother turns to follow her with his eyes, and I smack the back of his head. I might want to look, too, but I know better.
We all stop in at the cafeteria to eat lunch. My sisters can cook so much better than this, and I’m a little disgusted at the greasy-looking gravy for the chicken-fried steak. I’ll never complain about it out loud, but it seems like for the price of the meal plan, the food should be better quality.
The tour finally completes, and our family piles into the fifteen-passenger blue van, sans two of its usual occupants. With as many as possible links with the adults in the community, our parents bid us good-bye with a prayer of blessing.
