Aaron's already foul mood plummeted when he saw Keeley walk into class wearing an NYU hoodie over her uniform the following Monday. It was yet another reminder that she was leaving him. He only had a couple months left to forge enough of a relationship that they could stay in contact when he went to Harvard.
He tried talking to his parents about potentially going to Columbia instead—he had gotten into four different Ivy League schools—but that was fruitless.
The rare occasions both of his parents were home to have dinner with him were awkward enough already but the tension became thick enough to cut with a knife when he casually said, "I've been thinking about attending Columbia in the fall."
His mother was so scandalized she nearly dropped her salad fork. "Why on earth would you go to Columbia when you already got accepted into Harvard? That was a backup school!"
