Chapter 1

"Have you decided what school you're going to yet?" Kelsey asked as we sat down for lunch in the cafeteria.

"No, but I do have it narrowed down to just three choices. Right now, it's between Harvard, UCLA, and Evergreen."

"You have got to be the only person to even consider turning down Harvard. It is no wonder your parents are freaking out."

I looked up at her and glared. For a fleeting moment I was furious. How could she side with my parents? My anger quickly died down like it always does. I guess it was a bad habit, the anger. It would wash over me like a wave crashing against the shore and retreat just as quickly.

"Kelsey, you know why I'm doing this. Harvard is a great school, I am not denying that, but it does not have an arts program."

She looked at me incredulously. She never did understand how important my art was to me.

"Besides, Harvard is not offering me any scholarships. UCLA and Evergreen are. Evergreen is offering a full scholarship. They are wiling to pay for my tuition and room and board."

"You never mentioned that," She responded passively. She still was not convinced. It was obvious. Sometimes I wondered if my parents paid her to be my friend. She always seemed to side with them whenever we were having a disagreement. I shook the thought out of my mind and greeted Kelsey’s boyfriend, Julius, as he approached our table. I was being paranoid. My parent's are not that bad.

Hi. My name is Justice Winters. I am eighteen years old and a senior in high school. I live with my parents and my younger brother, Michael. I also have an older brother and sister but they are away at college. My older brother, Dustin, is a Harvard alumnus and is currently attending Harvard law school. My older sister, Nicole, is a junior at Stanford University (pre-med) and she plans on being a surgeon like my mother. Both of my parents are Ivy League alumnus. My dad went to Princeton and my mom went to Yale. My mom is a neurosurgeon and my dad is a lieutenant in the NYPD. Yes, we live in New York City. Brooklyn, to be specific.

Like I said before, I am in my senior year of high school and I have about two weeks to decide what college I will be attending in the fall. My parents want me to go to Harvard (no surprise there) but it is unlikely. To be honest, I would not mind going to Harvard if there was a fine arts program there, but there is not. So that leaves UCLA and Evergreen College.

I would love to go to UCLA and live in Los Angeles with all the stars but that seems unlikely. College is expensive and, as I have been told a million times, my parents will not pay for me to study art insert disgusted snort here. Basically this means that Evergreen is the only choice. It's in Olympia, Washington. Evergreen has a very good fine arts program, they are offering me a full scholarship, and it is very far away from my parents. Evergreen here I come!

Now all I have to do is tell my parents.

"I do not care about what you want! You are not going to some hippie college across the country to study art! Sweetheart," I cringed a little when she called me that "you were accepted into Harvard. Do you know how many kids would kill to be in your position? You cannot turn down this opportunity to go to Evergreen. I mean honestly, dear, no one has even heard of this school. I really thought you would be over this art phase by now."

"It is not a phase, ma!" I groaned. We had this conversation too many times.

"You will not be attending Evergreen in the fall. You are going to Harvard. I will hear no more arguments. This is final!"

I was sitting on the kitchen counter playing with a tennis ball. I chuckled lightly at her last statement. This is final.

"At the risk of sounding immature: you can't make me. I am going to Evergreen, mother, and there really isn't anything you can do about it."

"Yes there is!" She spun around to face me. She was holding a ceramic plate in her hand that she had been about to put into the dishwasher. "Your father and I will not watch you waste the next four years, and possible your life, on art. We are not paying your tuition if you decide to go to that school," She smiled triumphantly. She thought she had me. She thought she had won.

I let my face drop for a moment, letting her think she had indeed won, before I put on a sad smile. It was the smile I had always given her when we argued and she had made a grave mistake. It was the smile that let her know she was not going to come out of this argument the winner. It was the smile that almost made her hate me.

She dryly asked "What?" I could tell she was bracing herself for whatever I might have had under my sleeve. It was always like this between us. Our relationship was just one big war and right now we were in the middle of a very important battle.

"Like I said before, I am going to Evergreen," I hopped off the kitchen counter and made my way towards the doorway leading to the stairs and eventually my bedroom. Once my back was to her and I knew she could no longer see my face, I let a small victorious smile play on my lips. Before I was completely out of the doorway I said as calmly as I could manage "I was offered a full scholarship, ma."

I heard the ceramic plate come in contact with the ground with a loud crash.