Chapter 2 The Beginning Part 1

Our Sanctuary

The Valley

Chapter 1: The Beginning Part 1

It all began as I was about to graduate high school, and I was looking to go to some university for the computer programming course that I was interested in doing. At a party at my friend's house, I was playing a game on my phone when an app came up for finding out what your IQ was. I would give it a try, and after finishing it after a couple of minutes, it asked if I wanted to know my IQ. I pushed the yes button, and it asked me for my email, and after putting it in, it asked for my credit card information to pay to see the results. I laughed and switched it off; it looked like another one of those scams. I went back to playing my game and then decided to party some more with my friends.

As I got ready for my final exams, I received an email from this woman named Janet; she said she was recruiting for this University in California, and asked if I was interested in receiving a scholarship. I could email her back with my phone number and state what course I was interested in taking, and they would pay my way there and back home to see the University and talk with them. At first, I thought it was kind of funny that they would contact me. I had not applied to any universities in California; it was on the west coast. If I wanted to get into a university in the States, I would apply closer to my home in Ontario. I thought it didn't cost me anything to see if I could get a scholarship and see part of California. This scholarship might be better than the ones that I was looking at now. I sent Janet my home phone number and that I was interested in taking a computer programming course. It did not take long for me to get a reply, I could get a full scholarship, and they wished to talk with my parents and me on the phone if that was alright and what time could they call. I emailed Janet back and said yes, they could call us on the phone right now, and everyone was at home.

As I went to tell my parents about it, the phone rang. Janet introduced herself to my mother and then asked to speak to me. Janet asked me, "did I want to come out to see the university; they would pay for my round-trip and my accommodations for the week," as she had stated earlier.

I asked Janet, "Please hold on," I told my parents what was going on.

My mom was hesitant, but my dad said, "yes, go and see the university, they are paying for everything, it will give you a nice graduation present for yourself." My mother shook her head in agreement.

I got back on the phone with Janet and told her, "yes, I would like to come and see the university."

Janet asked, "do I had the proper identification. I needed to show it to them when I arrived." Janet then asked me, "what date I would be available to come to California."

I looked at the calendar and said, "I was done my exams on the last Monday in June."

Janet asked if I did not mind if she put me on hold, and when I said yes, she was gone. After a couple of minutes, Janet came back on the line and told me that they had booked me on a flight on a Tuesday, the day after my exams. Janet then said, "she was sending me a copy of my ticket in another email, and if I had any other questions, to email her back."

I said okay, and she said goodbye.

As I got off the phone, I checked my email and saw that she had just sent me my ticket. I had to print them off, and I was ready to go on the flight. I quickly printed them off and showed my parents the tickets, they were first-class tickets, and I could check in ahead of time and have my seat selected for me. I was now excited to see the University and the courses; my mother told me to settle down; I still had my final exams to do first, and I had better keep my grades high, or they may reject me. I handed the tickets to my mom to hold on for me; that way, I would not lose the tickets, and I could concentrate on my school work. I tried my best to study, but my mind was on going to University now. I was lucky my first exam was in mathematics. I did not have to study for it; it was my top class in school, which I excelled in as a student. As I began to settle down after my first exam, I knew I had to put the trip out of my mind; geography and history were my next big tests, and I was only in the high eighties for those classes. I do not know why I worried; my teacher told me that if I missed the exams, I had already passed the courses, the exams made up only ten more percent of my final mark in each class. My last exam was in the computer class, and the teacher loved to throw fake questions in on the tests; he did not like giving out high marks to anyone.

As I finished the computer classes exam, I walked out and felt pretty good about myself. I ran into a couple of my friends at the store outside the school; they were buying a lottery ticket that had a prize that was over fifty million dollars. I would buy one just like them today, and they saw me buying the ticket and asked me if I wanted to come to a party tonight. I said, "I had better check to see what time I was leaving in the morning," and I told them, "I am going on a flight to see a university in California, I could be getting a full scholarship."

They just looked at me and said, "I did not want to party with them."

I told them, "I would call them when I got home, I need to find the time first."

When I got home, my mom was waiting at the door as I came up the driveway. She did not even have to ask how I did on my exam; she could see that I felt good about it. She went and got the tickets out for me and told me she had put a suitcase out in my bedroom, along with some clothes for me to take. I looked at the clothes and brought out some shorts and t-shirts. I was not going to walk around in my suit and dress clothes all week. I came back into the kitchen and asked my mom, "could I go out with the guys for some fun; my plane did not leave until ten in the morning."

My mom said, "We still have to drive to the airport, which is a couple of hours away." Then my mom said, "I could stay out until ten-thirty, and I needed to get my sleep. We needed to be there a couple of hours before the flight to check-in, so we had to leave just after five in the morning." I looked at the ticket and saw how long the flight was; if I was tired, I could sleep on the flight. I called the guys and said I would be at the party with them for a couple of hours.

I handed my mom the lottery ticket, she told me, "I better sign it," and when I handed it back to her, she put it onto the fridge.

My dad drove me in, saying, "I know you might have a couple of drinks with the guys, being the last day of high school." He gave me some money, telling me, "have some fun and don't tell your mother, and you are not to get drunk."

At ten, my mom called me on my cell phone and asked, "where are you; my dad was coming in to pick me up."

I told my mom we were at Billy's house, and I would come out when he got there. I had another beer and sat near the front window. I kept looking out the window for him. I was getting excited about going to University. My dad finally showed up, and I told my friends, "I would see them in a week when I got back." I left the party, and we headed home.