I lay on my bed, legs leaning against the wall, desperately wishing my mother would call. But I remembered the last time I'd seen her, right before the train for Providence pulled out of the station, "You know how expensive it is to call," she said, then hugged me tight and said good- bye.
This was my first birthday away from home. I missed my mom, missed my sister, and most certainly missed the special pound cake my mother always made for my birthday. Since getting to college that year, I would watch jealously as the other freshmen received care packages from their parents on their birthdays——and even on ordinary days. Big boxes containing summer slacks and blouses, packages of M&M's and Snickers, things they needed and things they didn't. Instead of feeling thrilled about my upcoming eighteenth birthday, I felt empty. I wished my mom would send me something, too, but I knew that she couldn't afford presents or the postage. She had done her best with my sister and me——raising us by herself. The simple truth was there just was never enough money.
But that didn't stop her from filling us with dreams. "You can be anything you want to be," she would tell us. "Politicians, dancers, writers —— you just have to work for it; you have to get an education."
Thanks to my mom's sacrifices and big dreams, I'd made it to the Ivy League: Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
As I was recalling these things, my roommate joined me on the bed. "Hey. After we study, let's buy ice cream and cake." I nodded, closed my eyes, and imagined the cake Mom would have made. Mmm. I could see the golden yellow of each of the twelve eggs, and I could almost smell the vanilla(香草) filling the house while the cake baked.
注意：
1）所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2）续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。
Paragraph 1
As I daydreamed, there was a knock on the door.
Paragraph 2
How had she managed to afford it?
