Ylle stared blankly at her partially drunk father. It was her first. Her dad wasn't a good drinker, and if he drank, it was never in the middle of the week. She was currently in the kitchen sorting the dishes and due to discreteness, her father had followed her there. The younger brother, Emmanuel, wasn't supposed to hear any of it.
But what he said was huge. His reason to be drunk and looking like he got caught cheating, it all made sense after he finally opened up to her.
"You're fired?", she asked, whispering, in total disbelief.
"Keep your voice down.", the dad begged, looking both ways just in case Emmanuel was eavesdropping.
"Why did they fire you?",
"All of us who're approaching the retirement age have been let go. They're opening more opportunities for the young ones _",
"It doesn't make sense.", she said as reality slowly kicked in.
Her dad was the breadwinner of the family. Her mother lived abroad where life was harder than titanium. Her younger brother was almost done with middle school. Her dad's dinky salary was calculatively distributed to support all of them.
"How are we going to live?", Ylle questioned. Her head span like a tornado.
"This is where I need you to put the vest down and listen carefully.", her father began, "I still have some adequate amount in my bank account.",
"Okay?",
"But your mom is not settled. She doesn't have a job yet as you know, so I still need to assist her.",
"I know that.",
"And Emmanuel needs to finish high school.",
"Yeah, I know.",
"These household bills, everything, I can handle. But that will only be possible if you agree, just for a few years to postpone going to college _",
"I'm sorry, what?",
"I can't support all three of you.",
Ylle was worked up. Postpone college? Then what? She was an academically smart person which means she'd envisioned her success shoulder to shoulder with school. She was conscious of people who found success after dropping out of college, but that person wasn't her. She needed to go to college, graduate and get her degree. She was finally excited to finally do a literature major, something she loved. But then that was a huge obstacle in her path.
"I can't drop out of college.", she uttered, "I can't.",
Clearly her dad hated the plan, but he'd calculated everything and that's the only strategy that was going to work, favoring everybody, except Ylle of course, "Once your mom gets a well-paying job and settles down, all this will be over. You'll go back to college and get your degree.", he explained.
"Why me? Why not Emmanuel?",
"You have a high school diploma; you can at least get a job. He has none of that. He needs to finish high school. And your mother can't come back now, not after everything we've sacrificed for her to be there. Just a couple of years, Ylle. I promise to work something out.",
"I don't need promises!", she stressed, "College opens in a week, I need to enroll. I can't just … I need to … I can't. I just can't.",
Ylle stormed out of the kitchen, leaving her dad feeling like the biggest failure. She racked her brain.
Ideas. Ideas … just one idea.
Lightbulb!
***