Jake: I’ve just been busy with some family shit. I’ll catch you guys up soon enough. Happy New Year, Ems.
Letting out a loud sigh, I lock my phone and choose to ignore Jake’s vague answer about who he’s hanging out with and why. I do a one-eighty and see everyone coupled up, snuggling in each other’s arms.NowI feel like the seventh wheel. I rub my bare arms, which are exposed by the revealing gold satin minidress I decided to wear tonight.
New York City is filled with millions of people; it’s the city that never sleeps. There are museums, countless bookstores, and sightseeing galore. When you turn a corner, you’re guaranteed to see someone on the same block every time, along with cars roaming at three a.m. Yet somehow, amid the millions of people surrounding my home city and the six others sitting in my own living room, I feel lonelier than ever. I feel lost. And yes, I’m slightly jealous of my friends having it easy, but that’s not fair to them or me.
And on that highly depressing note, it is time for me to go.
“I’m going to head to bed, you guys.” Some eyes turn to me. Kami’s already half asleep and only mumbles somethingincoherent. Cam gives me a knowing look, and mouths,Are you okay?
Stevie and Luna see the exchange, and I whisper, “I’m a big girl. I can handle myself.” They all smile and say good night. I start to walk up the stairs and remember a key piece of advice. “That rug cost three thousand dollars, so I’d rush to the bathroom if one of you needs to throw up.”
As I continue my trek up the stairs, I hear Cam shout, “Fuck! I do not have three thousand dollars, Kamila.” He pushes her past the bottom of the stairs into what I assume is the bathroom near the parlor.
Chuckling to myself, I enter my room, shut the door, and lean against it.
“I can only wait so much longer, Grayson,” I whisper to no one in particular.
Closing my eyes, I talk to the one person I know is listening. “I need your help, Charlotte. You’ve seen everything, I know you have. I’m sure you’ve even pushed me in some ways, but I need a sign. Anything at this point.” I open my eyes again, change, and bring my laptop to bed. Opening a folder I only click on when I really miss Charlotte, I watch my cousin and I running around the room, putting on some sort of dance show for the last New Year’s Eve we spent together. “I miss you, Char. I wish you could’ve experienced life with me. You probably would’ve done it better.” I grab a tissue to blow my nose with the river of tears streaming down my face. “You left me too soon. You left everyone too soon.” Charlotte’s parents left the country after what happened and never looked back, not that we ever blamed them. I laugh and cry at all the videos that play, falling asleep to the voice of my first best friend.
It’sJanuary third when I get the call.
The call that determines my fate for my last semester at Driscoll University.
My parents and I are at our favorite French restaurant for a late lunch, which is jam-packed with tourists, when my phone vibrates on the table, displaying Amelia’s name. I’m surprised she would call me so soon after New Year’s, and I’m not sure if that’s a great or terrible thing.
The music in the restaurant isn’t loud, but the patrons act as if it were a club.
New York City is wild this time of year, and it’s the only downside of living in Manhattan and having one of our favorite restaurants in the West Village.
“It’s Amelia. I’ll be right back.” I check the entrance where people are waiting for a table and decide to run toward the bathroom, answering the call as soon as I reach a quieter area.
“Amelia?”
“Hi, Emma. How are you?” she says more warmly than usual.
I raise an eyebrow at her kinder demeanor. Amelia’s never been angry or a bad boss, only always with a strict tone, a certain edge, and constantly on alert.
“I’m good, thanks. And you?”
“Good. I hope you had a great Christmas and New Year’s.”
“You too?—”
“Now that we’re done with the formalities, I’m calling to let you know that Oliver and I spoke as soon as I got back from vacation and after hearing back from the university, as long as you use Brighton as your last name for your articles, you are all set to continue writing and be the features editor of theDriscoll Wolf Weekly.”
Letting out the deepest breath of relief I have ever had in my entire life, I answer, “Thank God and thank you and thank Oliver.”
Amelia makes the closest sound to a laugh she can muster. “I may not be your editor in chief anymore or part of the paper atall, but I’ll be keeping my eye on you, Emma. Don’t let me, Oliver, or yourself down.”
Biting my lip to stop the happy tears from falling, I lay a hand on the wall to steady myself. “I promise I won’t.”
“Rest up because starting in a couple of weeks, you’ll be the busiest you ever have been.”
I almost hop in place, ecstatic that my work did indeed pay off. If I hadn’t pulled all-nighters or searched for the pieces I wrote over the past few months, I know they wouldn’t have given me the chance to be part of the paper anymore. It’s not because of my dad’s last name, but because of my hard work that I’ll be an editor.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“Good. Now I’m going to return to relaxing. Good luck, Emma.”