Mit Reads Novels & Stories

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No kiss, no hug, just an awkward shuffle towards the chair. "Hey," I said, my voice tight. "Sorry I'm late," he mumbled, avoiding my eyes as he scanned the menu. His next words hit me like a physical blow. "Ally, we need to talk. I got accepted into the MIT program, and I'm leaving for Boston at the end of January." My breath hitched, the world around me dissolving into a blur. A forced smile stretched across my face, mimicking the joy I desperately wanted to feel.

“It’s a mess.” “I leave you for a bit and you get into this mess.” He said in a light tone, but the worry in his eyes was clear. “Welcome to Midwick, Tom.” Morgana said with a smile, and they hugged lightly. “It’s always a pleasure, love.” “The coven is about to get here.” I told them after the peasantries. “Well, then you ought to know that I found Fiona.” Tom dropped the bomb on us, and I instantly stiffened. “Someone will bring her along in a matter of days.”

Two weeks back in Boston, and everything feels different. Not worse. Not better. Just—shifted. The mentorship program is thriving. We've matched all twenty-four students with mentors, developed a curriculum that's getting attention from other districts, and three of the girls have already been contacted by college recruiters. Maria stops by my office one afternoon with news. "MIT offered me a full scholarship," she says, tears streaming down her face. "Full ride. Housing, books, everything."

More than I could earn in months of working at the café. To Bianca, it was a hair accessory she wasn’t sure she should keep. To me, a single paycheck had been turned into a lesson about obedience. I stepped behind one of the marble columns before they noticed me, then slipped out through the service entrance. This time, I didn’t cry until I reached the road. After that day, none of them contacted me. They were waiting for my apology. I used the silence to leave. MIT had offered me a place in an early summer research program, allowing me to arrive before the rest of the freshman class.

The first was Stanford, which arrived on a Wednesday afternoon and which Lily acknowledged with a brief text to both parents and a return to the homework she had been doing before the email arrived. Three more came the following week, smaller programs that were strong in specific areas she had identified. Princeton arrived on a Thursday. MIT arrived on a Monday morning. Elena was in a client meeting when the text came through. She saw it on her phone screen, Lily's name and a single word: MIT. She looked at it for a moment, then turned her phone face down and finished the meeting, which took another twenty-five minutes. When she came out she called Lily immediately. Lily answered on the seco

I open my laptop. Pull up the MIT acceptance form. Cursor hovering over submit. Sofia appears with food. “Eat first. Then decide.” “I’ve already decided.” “Then eat to celebrate. Or eat to grieve. But eat.” I eat mechanically while Sofia packs my books. My research. My life into boxes. At 11:30 PM, I hit submit on the MIT form. Confirmation email arrives instantly. *Welcome to MIT. We look forward to your arrival Monday, January 6th.*

In early December, Mitchell had received an invitation to a high school football combine of sorts being conducted at Maddie's college in the state capital. Colleges contracted with a company to measure the skills of possible scholarship candidates. Several teammates of Mitchell's had been invited. Liam Marsh, Jared White, and Tyler Smith were excited about the opportunity to display their talents and possibly secure a scholarship.

A letter from MIT. I froze, the letters blurring before my eyes. Naina noticed my questioning gaze instantly. “That’s actually nothing…” she hesitated, her voice faltering. I raised an eyebrow, waiting. She sighed, defeated. “Okay, fine. It’s a big thing. Remember that day you mentioned the exchange program? I got curious and applied. And guess what — I got selected. MIT. It’s a two-year program designed to push me into advanced skill development. I’ll be working hands-on with artificial intelligence systems, building and optimizing machine learning models, experimenting with neural networks, and exploring how AI can be deployed across multiple domains.