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“I… can I see this letter?” Luke asked the mailman, giving him a sheepish look as he held up the envelope.
“Uh, sure. This is for The Crab, though?” The mailman still looked extremely confused, and Luke didn’t blame him. He was whipped into a frenzy for mail that wasn’t even his.
“What’s going on?” Sandy asked, craning her neck to see what the commotion was.
“Is everything okay?” Daniel’s brows furrowed.
“Yeah. It’s just that it’s news from IU for Hannah. About her audition for the music school.” Luke held it up. “Can I take their mail to them?”
“Sure. Here’s the rest of it.” The mailman handed Luke a small stack of mail. Luke tucked it behind the envelope from Indiana University.
“Thanks!”
Luke rushed off, jogging for a few moments before breaking into a run. People turned to look at him in confusion, but that didn’t slow him down. He had to get to Hannah.
He burst into The Crab and spotted Hannah serving a table, a big smile on her face. Even though he was itching to burst toward her and tell her the news, he waited until she was done with the table before striding to her side.
“Oh, hey, Luke!” Hannah said.
“Come with me.” Luke took her hand and walked her toward the back.
“Wait, what? Why?” Hannah held on, putting down her tray as she passed by the counter. “What’s going on?”
Luke waited until they were in the back to pull the envelope from under his arm. Hannah rested her hand on the wall, her face going white in an instant.
“Is it…” She tentatively reached for the envelope, her hand inches from it like it was a hot pan on a stove.
“It is.”
Hannah pressed one hand to her forehead and the other to her stomach, like she felt ill. “Luke, I don’t know what to say. Or what to do.”
“Open it, of course.”
“I know but…” Hannah took a deep, shuddering breath. “It’s a lot. I hardly knew I wanted to do this a few months ago and now I really, really want it.”
“No matter what happens, you’re still ridiculously talented,” Luke said softly. “Open it.”
Hannah reached for the envelope again before pulling her hand back. “No, I can’t do it. Can you open it?”
“Sure.” Luke slid his thumb under the envelope’s seal, dragging it across.
Hannah had turned her back, pacing around with her hands on her hips. Luke’s fingers trembled as he pulled the letter and the folder tucked inside from the envelope. His eyes went straight to the first sentences.
Dear Ms. Jenkins, we are pleased to inform you that…
“You got in!” Luke said, reading down the page. “With a scholarship!”
“Wait. What?” Hannah whipped around and grabbed the letter from him. Her eyes widened as she read it, looking between him and the paper as if she didn’t think it was real. “Luke. I… I got in.”
She threw her arms around him so hard that Luke nearly fell backward, but he stayed upright. He hugged her back, the smile on his face so broad that it almost hurt. Hannah eventually let him go and looked back at the letter. But this time, her expression was more torn.
“What’s up?” Luke asked. “Are you not excited anymore?”
“No, I’m completely excited about this.” Hannah held up the letter and the folder describing the program. “But I don’t know how I’m going to tell my dad.”
* * *
Hannah’s mood had been a rollercoaster the entire day. One second, she was elated knowing that she had gotten in and gotten a scholarship. But the next, the thought of telling her father about it sent her into a spiral of doubt and anxiety.
