Page 113 of Ours
Cory looked at the clock and debated whether or not he had enough time to ask Derek or Nic to jerk off—thanks to Carl and his training, that rule was in effect again. He sighed—Mom said dinner would be ready soon, so probably not. Sitting at his desk, Cory knew he was just looking for ways to procrastinate anyway. He stared at the acceptance letters in front of him. Three of the colleges he applied to let him in with full scholarships. It was great, but Cory figured—hoped—that he’d only get into one, making his decision for him. Instead, he had to decide between three schools in three very different parts of the country.
Cory was terrible at making decisions. Derek and Nic didn’t even bother asking him to pick a place to eat anymore. He’d hem and haw forever otherwise. And this was a much bigger decision than Burger King or Wendy’s. He also hadn’t talked to his mom yet about college, or leaving, or … anything else. He was planning on talking to her that tonight—about college, that was. He had to—deadlines were closing in. He just needed to make a decision first.
That should be easy enough, right? Except they were all great schools with excellent computer science programs. There was the San Diego Technical Institute, located on the sunny and very gay-friendly west coast; the Technology Institute of Massachusetts, a school he’d heard about since he was a kid; and then finally John Adams University in Washington D.C., a city Cory had visited a few times as a kid and loved. Cory re-read the acceptance letters half a dozen times as he clicked through each school’s website, looking for anything that might affect his decision.
“Cory!” Cory suddenly heard his mom’s voice echo from the hallway. “Dinner’s ready!”Crap. Putting down the letters, he walked to the kitchen to see his mom preparing a couple of plates for the two of them and followed her to the table.
The meal began in relative silence, the sound of forks and knives scraping over plates the only thing audible. Cory stared at his plate quietly, suddenly feeling much more awkward than he ever had at dinner before. Every time he tried to open his mouth to talk about college, he found himself shoveling more food in instead.Why is this so weird?
“So, have you decided on a school yet?” Julia asked without lifting her gaze from her plate.
Cory spluttered for a moment before regaining his composure. “Uh, n-no. Not yet. You knew about the acceptance letters?”
“I saw a few letters from schools in the mail, but I didn’t want to pry. But you’ve been pretty quiet about it, and I don’t think you have much time left to accept,” Julia pointed out the obvious. “Now, if you’re nervous about leaving home, HCC is right up the road, and we—”
“I got in. To three schools. Full scholarships,” Cory cut his mother off before she tried selling him on the local community college again.
“Oh, honey, that’s amazing.” Julia stood and walked around the table to hug her son. “I knew you’d do it.” She kissed him on the forehead before taking her seat again. “Which schools?”
“Um, San Diego Tech, TIM, and John Adams,” Cory found himself mumbling, once again feeling awkward. He basically just told his mother he was moving across the country one way or another.
“Oh, wow. Those are all great schools, honey. I’m so proud of you.” Julia smiled at her son warmly, if not a little sadly.
“Yeah, but…” Cory knew why she had that sad look. “They’re all pretty far away from home.”
“Oh, honey…” Julia came back around to his side of the table, this time with her chair. “Of course, I’m going to be sad to have you leave, but I always knew that it would happen one day.” Julia squeezed her son’s hand. “I figured it’d be right around now. I hope that’s not something stopping you from picking a school.”
“No, it’s not that exactly.” Cory squeezed his mom’s hand back. “It’s just weird, thinking about leaving. Not just you, but everything. High school, the town, my friends…” His not-quite-boyfriends.
“It’s natural to miss all those things, sweetie,” Julia reassured him. “But you’re also going to learn and see so much more out there in the world. And you can always come back and visit. Youbettercome back and visit.”
“College just always seemed so far away. I can’t believe it’s already here.” Cory frowned. “Everything is happening so fast.”
“That’s life, honey,” Julia told her son. “One minute you’re raising an adorable little boy, and the next, he’s nearly dying in a rainstorm before he leaves for college.”
“Ha-ha, Mom.” Cory tried not to roll his eyes as she teased him.
“I’m serious. If I ever find out you’re lost in the woods like that again, I’m putting a GPS tracker on you.” Julia stood once more and moved back to her seat, resuming her dinner. “Now why don’t you tell me about each school? Let’s see if I can help you make a decision.”
Cory looked at his mother fondly. He was really going to miss her. “Well, San Diego Tech just finished a new computer lab…”
“It’s so nice being home,” Linda said from across the table.
“I forgot how much I missed sitting at the dinner table with you both,” Robert added.
“Yeah… Real great having you guys back,” Derek droned as he absentmindedly pushed around the food on his plate. Ever sincehis parents returned, it had just been business as usual. They barely even asked him about the night of the storm.What is the point of them coming home at all?
“So, tell us about school, Derek,” Linda started. “Did you pass everything alright?”
“I mean, you guys saw me graduate. What do you think?” Derek responded wryly. He knew he was acting like an ass, but he was really beyond caring anymore.
“Derek! Don’t speak to your mother like that!” Robert admonished.
“Or what? You’ll leave again?” Derek rolled his eyes at his father’s reprimand. “Big fucking deal.”
“Language!” Linda almost shouted from her seat.
“What has gotten into you?” Robert questioned his son.
