"I'm sorry Miss Veates. There is nothing we can do for you."

"There has to be something," Faith protested falling back into the small black office chair. She eyed the woman across the desk from her. The woman's name was Wendy, she was a fifty-something, dark haired woman who wore way too much make-up and held Faith's future in her hands. She was the admissions clerk at the local college.

"Your grades are excellent Miss Veates. Perhaps you should try the university?" The woman suggested.

Wendy was trying her best to be helpful, but what she was offering made Faith a little uneasy - no, a lot uneasy. Faith had decided that morning that she wanted to go to college. It was a very last minute decision; classes began the following week. Virtually every seat in every program was taken. All they had left was one seat on the machining program and one seat on the welding program. Faith had no clue what either of them involved and wasn't entirely sure she wanted to find out.

She considered her current job for a moment. As soon as she had graduated high school she had taken a waitressing job at one of the steakhouses in the city. 'Down Home Eating', it was called. For the past three years she had worked as a waitress, but she wanted something more than minimum wage at a dead end job.

She wanted an actual career, not just a job.

"I'm really sorry, dear." The woman looked at her sympathetically.

Well maybe I'm here for a reason. These are my choices for a reason. Relying on divine intervention was a long shot, but... the alternative was another year as a waitress.

Faith sighed, as she looked down at the two brochures in front of her. One was marked welder, the other machinist. She had no knowledge of either field and didn't even know a soul in either area to ask. She looked at the bottom of each brochure. The occupation of welder had a higher projected employment rate and higher starting salary.

To hell with it, Faith thought, frustrated.

"This one," Faith reached over the counter and passed the brochure to the woman.

Wendy looked down at the brochure. "Are you sure? Women don't usually take this course. It's extremely dirty. We do get some female machinists from time to time." She reached over and tapped her finger on the machinist brochure, which Faith was still clutching.

Faith shook her head, "No, welding." Her mind was made up. She was smart, and she was determined. Faith was confident she could do virtually anything she put her mind to.

How hard could it be, right? She thought to herself as the admissions clerk passed over the appropriate forms for her to fill out.