Thanks for replying back to me. Thinking more about the game, I realized there were other issues in the story's writing. One, the protagonist smokes weed a lot, but nobody seems to smell that scent on him, nor does he seem to have the side effects of smoking that particular drug. It's also interesting how he's able to get the weed, but with what money if he doesn't have a job, unless he gets an allowance?
Secondly, while I never applied to college, I doubt it's that short of a process. There are also finances associated with college too, even community college, which can also cause strife between the mother and her son, or it just puts him further in debt and causes him more stress. So, those are other factors to consider when making the story more believable and also organically weaving in other minor conflict in the game that could potentially result in greater consequences.
Writing a story is a beast of its own. Finding a plot outline that fits the flow of your story, figuring out key story beats, having an idea for the beginning, middle, and end, and understanding how the characters change over time can help give you structure, flow, progression, and a plan for the main aspects of your story, making it less nerve-wracking to write and finish. You definitely can make this into a contained short story. So, starting small instead of going big is the way to go.
If you know your story, you can then identify and understand how and where the story branches off into different paths and different dialogue scenes, making moments where choices come up feel more natural, logical, and impactful.
If you don't have a firm grasp of what you're trying to convey through your story, then knowing what choices the protagonist makes in the game and when can become a more difficult task.
If you understand the basis of what kind of journey he's going on, then you can better envision the different routes he would naturally take, given his personality and circumstances. Ultimately, all stories follow a protagonist on some sort of journey at the end of the day.
I wish you the best of luck on your journey!