The high school senior got in the car
and asked his father, the driver, if he
had finished the parent’s part of the
scholarship application. The papers
sat on the bench between them. The
high school senior looked at the un-
finished paperwork and then heard
his dad say while choking back tears
that he was sorry, oh, so sorry, but
that he just couldn’t complete the
application. The high school senior,
with fear in his eyes, looked at his
desperate father. They drove home
in silence.