Free Coffeehouse Angel by Suzanne Selfors Page B

committee is looking for." He spun the notebook around. "I have her permission to share this with other students. In fact, I'm going to put it on display in the hallway."
    I expected a spotlight to appear and a choir of angels to descend as Mr. Prince opened the notebook to reveal its glory. Would I be blinded by its brilliance? I should have brought some sunglasses. And so, on that Wednesday morning, when I could have been in World Mythology class asking Vincent about the coffee cup incident, Mr.
    Prince shared the supremeness that was Heidi Darling.
    Mrs. Darling is one of those mothers who loves to submit photos of her kid to the newspaper. Not every now and then. It's more like her second career. Heidi's entire life had been documented in the Nordby News, from her first tooth (Local Baby Bites Grocery Clerk) to her Girl Scouts cookie sales (Local Girl Declares New Peanut Butter Flavor Yummy), to her signature ponytail (Local Middle School Student Cuts Hair for Cancer Patients). You get the point. I'd been in the paper once, when the king and queen of Norway came to Nordby. You can pick me out of the crowd if you look for the tall girl with the neon blond hair standing in the third row near the statue of Leif Erikson.
    Mr. Prince flipped through page after page of personal recommendations. Then through page after page of activities: Pep Club, Yearbook Committee, Dance Committee, French Club, Sophomore Class Treasurer, Future Business Leaders of America, Honor Society, Sons of Norway, Swim Team, Nordby Chamber of Commerce Student of the Month. Dizziness swept over me. The average brain can't handle so much data.
    "Heidi's a sure thing," he said, closing the notebook. "She'll get into her first-choice college, no problem. I want all the students here at Nordby to go to the college of their choice. But you've got to be competitive, Katrina. You've got to step up to the plate.
    Heidi's resume is not all that unusual."
    "It's not?" He had to be joking.
    "Students your age are publishing books, creating Internet businesses, setting world records."
    "They are?" I sat back and took a huge breath, picturing my Closet of Failure.
    "That's why you've got to get involved. Right away." He handed me a slip of paper.
    "This will help you get started. It's a checklist of things that will give you a better chance at getting into college. Internships, apprenticeships, community service, those sorts of things. By the way, do you know what you'll major in?"
    "No. Should I?"
    He grimaced, as if thinking, This one's a total loser, poor thing. "It's never too early to set goals. What are you good at?"
    Pouring coffee. Cleaning tables. Attracting weirdos in skirts.
    "Nothing, really."
    "Everybody is good at something."
    "I'm not so sure that's true."
    "Of course it's true." He pointed to a poster of a bunch of people dressed in various uniforms. Everybody Is Good at Something. "What about your friends. What do they like to do?"
    "Well, Elizabeth takes lots of art classes. And she's won some awards."
    "Excellent. You should take some art classes with her. Who else?"
    "Well, Vincent swims and--"
    "Vincent Hawk? Oh, he's a dream applicant, that's for sure. If he's your friend, then you should definitely get a letter of recommendation from him, before he gets too famous. In the meantime, why don't you take this aptitude test. It will only take about ten minutes. Answer the questions honestly or it won't do you any good. The answers are analyzed by a company in Seattle. We should get the results on Monday or Tuesday."
    "Do I have to? I'd like to get to class."
    "I really think you should take it. Only ten minutes."
    So I took the test. It was a bunch of personality questions about what I'd do in different situations. Would I fold under peer pressure or would I stand my ground?
    Did I prefer large groups or being alone? If I answered all the questions honestly the results would be, Aptitude: Zero. Dominant Characteristics: Boring. Top Career Choice: