Read Online Canes of Divergence by Breeana Puttroff - Free Book Online Page B

it wasn’t. His heart sank when he unfolded the acceptance letter inside.
    “So?” His father’s voice was gleeful; Zander was surprised he wasn’t jumping up and down.
    “Didn’t you already open it and look? Why wouldn’t you take that upon yourself, too?”
    “Zander, it’s a good school. They have a great business program. Four years from now, you could be ready to become a partner at the office.”
    “And what if that’s not what I want to do?” He’d never outright challenged him on this point before, wanting to avoid the battle. When his father had brought out the application for DU, Zander had filled it out dutifully, essays and all. But he’d never mailed it. One afternoon, when he dropped Quinn off for work at the library, he’d stopped in to use their shredder.
    But Jack Cunningham was meticulous about everything . He’d made copies of every application before they sealed them up. Most likely, he’d realized that Zander never sent the original when the check for the application fee wasn’t cashed.
    “Zander, I remember what it was like to be your age, I do. This wasn’t what I originally wanted to do, either. I had the same argument with my father. But then, I went to college, I met your mother, and I realized this was going to be a good job – that I would be able to provide for her, to raise a family with her.”
    “I don’t plan on getting someone pregnant in college, Dad.”
    “Regardless, ” his father answered, his voice only slightly darker, “you’re going to want to marry someone someday. And you’re going to want to have a career that can provide for you – and them. I have a business ready to hand over to you.”
    Zander stared at him, silently contemplating, not wanting to turn this into a fight. He knew his father loved him and that his intentions were good – but Zander wanted no part of running a real estate office in Bristlecone, Colorado. And he didn’t want to go to the school his father had gone to. Wasn’t he supposed to have some choice in the matter?
    “Look, I know DU doesn’t have a football team…”
    “Is that what you think this is about, Dad? Football ?”
    “Well, I know it’s been important to you.”
    “What else is supposed to be important in Bristlecone ? Seriously, Dad. It was you who made me go out for football in the first place.”
    “Made you? I thought it was important to you. You’re so good at it.”
    He wasn’t going to be able to stay calm a whole lot longer. “Dad. It’s fine. Football was fine for high school. I had fun, and I made some good friends. I might have been okay for Bristlecone High, but I already knew I wasn’t going to be playing football in college. It’s not about football, okay ?”
    “Then I don’t understand. What is it about?”
    “I don’t know, Dad. Maybe it’s about making my own choices, about living the life I want to have, instead of one somebody else picked for me.”
    “The world doesn’t really work that way, Zander. At some point, everyone has to grow up and do the responsible thing. ”
    “Why does it have to be your ‘responsible thing’?”
    “What else are you going to do?”
    “Do I have to decide right this second? I’ve been thinking about computer science … or maybe even pre-med.”
    His father rolled his eyes. “Those are jobs for really smart people.”
    The words stung so badly Zander actually flinched. He took several steps backward.
    “Oh, don’t take it like that, Zander. I just meant the kind of people who go into those are the ones with straight ‘As’ – the ones who study all weekend and don’t have lives. You have a life.”
    He bit his tongue until he tasted blood, willing himself not to do something he’d be embarrassed about later. It was true he didn’t have a straight 4.0, but he’d never made less than a B in anything. And his grades in science and math were perfect. Maybe his father had never even noticed that. Or maybe he just didn’t care,