An Ordinary Envelope

Today was a day just like any other. Wake up, go to school, work, then right back home to sleep. But I'm getting really tired of this normalcy. I want some excitement. Yeah yeah, I know everyone says it but I'm being serious, if I have to go through another day of this, I don't know if I'll survive. Whoever even decided that this was the way we should go about our day to day lives anyway? Living in constant stress and anxiety from the what ifs and the almost maybes and the possibility of you not making it anywhere in anything. Anyways, enough of the boring dramatic overthinking portion of this story. This is the story of how my normal day turned upside down. No, sorry, unfortunately there will be no dramatic entrance of any of the following:

A- hot boy who dramatically falls in love with me at first glance and confesses to me about his devotion to "us" by the end of what would be five minutes into a movie version of the story

B- any supernatural beings, be it alien, angel, werewolf, vampire, fangirls being noticed in the middle of a sold out concert at Madison Square Garden (yes, those do count as supernatural beings, as the definition has to do with a being that has powers that changes the course of human events. Which if we're being completely honest is exactly what every single one of those imaginary Wattpad fangirls that Harry Styles so called would die for has. Because if we're all being accepting of the truth to ourselves and others, there is one word that proves that wrong, and go ahead and try to argue me on this but: Larry)

and last but not least

C- the discovery of an ability I was born with or bitten by an insect and developed or drowned to discover my immortality, none of that. I am quite literally the definition of nothing special so yeah, none of those are happening to me.

Instead, it was a quite exciting event that switched my day from boring to the day that changed my life.

When I got home from work at about 8:30 that night, my family was all sitting around the dining room table. Now, this wasn't necessarily an unusual sight, it was just that there was no food on the table, instead there was a singular white envelope sitting in the center of the table.

"Molly, darling, please sit. We have something we need to talk about." Was the first thing that came from anyone's lips. And on top of no hello, how was work, you know, the normal greetings from parents to their children when they get home after over 12 hours of not being home, it was from my father. My father hardly ever had a serious tone, and when he did it was usually with my sister Sarah who wasn't the most well behaved teenager every. But even she was sat at the table, her head down and not looking very into the idea of having to talk as a family. My mother hadn't looked at me since I'd walked in the door, I don't even think she moved in the slightest.

I had never been so terrified to be home in my life. As I made my way from the door to the table and sat down, putting my bags in the floor beside the table as I did, my brain was going so fast that it felt like my body was in slow motion. What had happened? Who did something? Had Sarah finally gone to far in one of her harmless jokes or pranks? Did one of them get fired or let go from work? Were we about to lose everything? And the most terrifying thought of all, did I do anything wrong?

"Is everyone okay?" I asked quietly when I had finally settled into the chair. This finally earned a movement from my mother who finally looked over at me.

She looked tired, like she hadn't slept since I saw her last night. Had she been up all night trying to figure this out? My dad on the other hand, looked pretty much normal for it to be almost 9 at night, other than the fact there was a hidden emotion I could see trying to peek it's way through to the front. Whether that was sadness or anger, I had no idea at the moment.

"We're all about to find out. If this is really what you want to do it's going to take a lot of work, a lot of time, a lot of money. Your father and I have been doing everything we can to prepare ourselves for these moments, but this is a big decision, and this is probably the most expensive option we could've imagined. Why didn't you tell us beforehand sweetheart?" She finally spoke up, picking up the envelope that I hadn't even bothered to pay attention to. I was too worried about all of them to try to snatch it and read it before they could drop devastating news about who knows what and just figure it all out for myself.

But what she had said had completely sent me. What I really want to do? What are they talking about? I haven't done anything that would result in anything getting sent to the house. At least nothing that I know about.

"Mom, I love you. And I trust you with everything. I tell you about everything, I come to you about anything I need help with, especially if you're saying it's that big of a decision to be made. So trust me when I say, I have absolutely no clue what it is that you are talking about." I can even hear my own voice getting a little crackly and shaky, I want to know what the big deal is already.

"Honey, we do trust you. Which is why we're asking you about this before opening it. But we could've talked over a plan before you jumped into it." My father jumps in.

I just shake my head and look between the two of them, completely perplexed. "I would have dad! That's what I'm saying! I don't know what you are talking about at all."

They both just look at each other and share one of their what I would say is almost telepathic marriage senses and my mother turns to me and slides the envelope my way. I take it from her and wait a few seconds, taking in their expressions, before looking down at the envelope in my hands.

What the sender address reads sends me almost straight out of my chair.

Stanford University.

Sanford freaking University.

My dream school. Specifically dream law school. But I never put in an application, I knew we couldn't afford it, and that no matter how much I'd been trying my college experience so far more than likely wouldn't have been enough to win over the admissions anyways. Whatever this is has to be a joke.

Sarah.

Definitely something to just make me feel even worse about myself. Why else would she have sat in on this? Usually she would've been uninterested and left for her bedroom by now.

I am at a complete loss for words and I look up, glancing between my parents and shaking my head. "I didn't do this. I don't know what this is."

"Just open it and find out already." Sarah finally chimes in with a snappy tone. She definitely did this. Probably formatted a fake letter to rub it in my face that I'll never get in somewhere good and I'll be stuck in this small town my whole life with a small town job. As most of our friends call "loser jobs". It's really not all that bad of an idea, it's not that bad of a life, I just don't think it's the life for me. But I don't think I'll ever be able to make it out of it.

My parents nod in agreement to her exclamation and I flip over the envelope, tearing it open at the top. Sarah's really out done herself this time. Who knows how they'll punish her for this absurdity.

I pull the papers out and unfold them, skimming over the words. But there at the top of the paper. In bold black letters.

"Congratulations!"

I quickly read over the first little bit then set the papers down on the table, absolutely baffled at what it says. I can hear my parents asking me what it says but I couldn't tell you what they are actually saying, my head is spinning.

"I'm accepted." Is the only thing that I can form words for as I look back up at my family. At this point, I'm completely speechless. My father reaches across and takes the papers from the table in front of me, reading it over as well.

"Molly. You're not just accepted. You're accepted with almost a full ride. Honey this is fantastic. You didn't have to keep this from us. We knew you were doing good in school already but this, this is something extraordinary darling." He finally has lightened up into a good mood and so has mom.

I finally look over at Sarah, here I was about ready to yell and scream at her for trying to make me look like a loser. And instead she's sitting there with this smug smile on her face. "So it was you." I laugh. "You little jerk!" I yell and just about jump on her, diving into the seat on the other side of me where she is sitting, hugging her tight. "I was about ready to kill you if that was going to be making a fool of me!"

My parents look shocked, just as shocked as I feel about all of this. Sarah just laughs and hugs me back. "Listen, I may be a bully half the time and tease you about school. But I know you're doing fantastic. You're doing better than anyone in our classes. I've seen your grades and projects. You deserve this Molly. And I knew you wouldn't do it for yourself. So someone had to."

After everyone calms down about the exciting news, we sit around and talk about everything and anything that we want to. From what we're going to do about Stanford and why Sarah isn't actually in trouble when she technically should be.

And now, here the four of us are again, sitting at my graduation party, eating a chocolate cake. Nothing out of the ordinary for us at all. Which I've come to love now, the ordinary. Just the four of us, and our slices of chocolate cake, sitting on the back porch, enjoying the solidarity in ourselves, surrounded by the chaos of everyone else at the party.

While that was the story of the day that changed my life forever, is also, more importantly, was the day that proved that I have the best sister there ever is and ever will be.