A Broken Promise

Anna looked up her face as a drop of water ran down her cheek. The sky that was clear just a minutes ago looked gloomy—just like her feeling right now. She raised her hand, sensing the rain that was falling more and more heavily onto her hand. Her face was downcast. The conversation with Ms. Mallard 30 minutes ago was still ringing in her mind abruptly.

"Congratulations, Anna! You managed to get the scholarship you've dreamed of!" Ms. Mallard patted the back of Anna's hand. "I always knew you can do it. You are very talented. You have succeeded in becoming the only student that accepted a full scholarship from this city. The school is very proud of you!"

Anna tugged the corner of her lips trying to smile, but all that came out was a grimace.  Not knowing what to say, she’s lowering her face. Letting her long black mane's covering her uncontrolled expression. Ms. Mallard realized something was wrong.

"You don't seem happy at all. What happened?"

She shook her head. "No," she replied curtly. Still looking down.

Ms. Mallard withdrew her hand. "Fine. I considered you're just tired from preparing so much this far."

That middle-aged woman reached out into the bottom of her drawer and pulled out a piece of paper. She laid it down on top her desk in front of her student. A Scholarship Acceptance Form.

“I'm not asking you to sign it now. But I do hope you save this first thing. The school will announce this next Monday, so you still have two days to think it through."

Her thoughts were shattered when Anna felt someone tapping her shoulder. She turned and saw a blonde girl with blue eyes grinning at her.

"What are you doing in the middle of the rain? Look, your clothes are all wet!" She patted Anna's shoulder.

Anna’s grunting. Look who's talking now!  She was exactly just as wet as her. But Anna herself just realized that she was standing quietly alone in the middle of the schoolyard in the pouring rain.

"Let us go home!" The blonde girl took Anna's arm and wrapped it around hers.  "Let’s take shelter under the bus stop. Monday is a very important day. We can't get sick."

They ran down the grounds to get out of the school gate toward the bus stop. It looked deserted. There was no one else in there besides the two of them.

The blonde girl rubbed her cold arms. She's grumbling, "Do you think the bus will take too long to come?"

Anna shook her head, "...I don't know," she answers slowly. She didn't know either. The air also felt increasingly piercing lately because it has already started to enter the late autumn.

The silence broken out. Nobody spoke after that. Only the sound of the rain that breaking the silence between them.

"Anna," the blonde girl called her name shortly.

Anna turned her head. She found out the girl that calling her name seconds ago silently staring at the rain that fell into the ground.

"I heard the rumors at school," there's a mid-pause, "...that the student which got the top scholarship has already been decided."

Anna's heart sank to the ground, what should she say? That the chosen one is her?

"Who do you think? Could it be one of us?"

You're right, but Anna didn't dare to say it frankly. But she could probably predict what that girl's reaction could be. "Do you think so? If it's really one of us, what would you do, Jane?"

Jane, the girl's name, shook her head slowly. "I don't know. But come to think of it, if it was me, I wouldn't accept it. Since we promised to go to the same university together. I won't break my promise."

Anna seemed to be stabbed with a sharp object directly onto her heart. Yes, they promised. But she couldn't deny that for a seconds it had occurred to her to accept the scholarship. She was sure or at least she thought Jane would understand that. But now, after hearing that girl's answer, was her choice still the same?

The wind blew gently, further increasing the silence between them. The air is getting stabbed. Not only freezing the body, but also increasing the stiffness between the two of them.

 ***

Monday.

The most awaited day for students who applied for scholarships to continue their education to a higher level. Among many scholarships that were offered, there was a major scholarship, full scholarship until graduation, which made all students competed with each other to reach it.

Anna set her foot at school earlier that day. She deliberately left early to meet Ms. Mallard regarding the receiving of scholarship she got.

She took a deep breath as she knocked on the principal's office.

"Come in," a deep-shrill voice came from inside the room. She knows Ms. Mallard had already come because she always came earlier than the other teachers, even though she was a principal.

Anna swung that silver-white doorknob of her principal office.

"Anna," Ms. Mallard greeted her as soon as she realized who had entered. "Please, take a sit."

Anna sat down in a brown chair in front of the desk, across from Ms. Mallard's.

That middle-aged woman smiled, "So?" she said directly, as looked she was waiting for this all this time. "Have you made up your mind?"

Anna nodded confidently. Yes. She has already made her choice.

The girl opened her bag and took out the form that Ms. Mallard had given her the other day.

Ms. Mallard gave no meaningful expression when she found out that the form still empty. She stared at the long black haired girl in front of her for a while. "Are you sure about this?" she asked flatly.

Anna didn't know if Ms. Mallard is either disappointed in her or not. That middle-aged woman's expression was really hard for her to read.

"You know that if you refuse it, then this scholarship will be given to the second candidate selected. And it could be anyone,"

Anna fell through silent. It's not impossible that Ms. Mallard knows the reason she refused that scholarship. But she had already made her choice. She still chose her friendship with Jane because they have promised to always be together.

"Yes, I am very confident." the answer is steady.

Ms. Mallard was silent for a moment, appearing to be considering something. But she smiled after that, "Okay, Anna. As the principal, I'm quite disappointed with the decision you chose. Since I've observed you so far and I see you are really deserve this scholarship. But I still have to respect your decision. So, I hope you won't regret it later."

"I won't."

Ms. Mallard nodded. "You may leave," she said as the final of this conversation.

Anna bowed her head and walked out of the principal's room. She breathed a sigh of relief as she closed the door behind her. Well, the burden she had carried since two days ago was gone now.

 

 ***

 

When the recess bell rang that afternoon, many students jostled to see the announcement of who would get the main scholarship on the school bulletin.

Anna just made her way through the crowd. She wasn't interested. After all, she already knew for sure it's definitely not her name written there. She prefers to go to the canteen to fill her stomach that has been rumbling since earlier that day. This morning she didn't even have time to eat breakfast because she had to meet Ms. Mallard.

But her steps stopped when she heard the whispers of the two students next to her.

"I didn't expect that! All this time I thought Anna would get the scholarship because she is the smartest student and the teachers like her too."

"That's right. I don't think Jane is as smart as Anna, but why did she get it?"

What? What did she just hear? Why is Jane's name mentioned out of nowhere?

"But I saw they've been studying together a lot lately. Jane must have asked Anna to teach her."

"But how can the one who being taught can be smarter than the teacher?"

Anna broke through the crowd and headed to the front of the wall. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. How could it be?

But her heart sank to the ground when she saw whose name was listed on the bulletin board as the student who received the main scholarship. She couldn't believe her own eyes. This is impossible, right? The school is unlikely to make this decision if the student refused. But why?

Anna felt like she was being pushed by something invisible to the bottom of the ocean. She was rambling and could only say it was impossible over and over again.  She blinked several times to hold back the tears that forced to fall, as she wanted to make sure that her eyes were deceiving her. The name was clearly printed on the front.

Janelle Williams.

A Story by Imelda Bajetha