Tʀᴜʟʏ? - ᴀ ᴛɪᴍᴏᴛʜᴇ̀ᴇ ᴄʜᴀʟᴀᴍᴇᴛ ғᴀɴғɪᴄᴛᴏɴ

1

I squeezed my eyes shut, biting down harshly on my lip as I hovered my finger over the achingly green submit button. I drew in a shaky breath as I clicked, my breath catching in my throat. Confetti appeared on the screen. I felt relief swarming my stomach.

Congrats! You've applied to NYU! 

I re-read the corny line repeatedly, relishing the words. I tried to push away the idea of rejection. I knew that it wasn't Harvard, but my father had gone there. It was my dream to attend like he once did. He had passed when I was younger, so attending seemed like a connection, as trivial as it may sound. I could soon roam the halls that he did.

 I snapped myself back into reality by shaking my head, pulling it out of the gutter. When the rejection hit me I couldn't be too heartbroken. I sighed as the computer hummed on my lap, sitting alone in the gloomy living room. My mother wasn't around much, but it wasn't like I was complaining. She wasn't fun to be with. I anxiously drummed my fingers against the keyboard as I scrolled down and read the school's website, as I had been for the last few years. After a few minutes my eyelids began to feel heavy. I decided to get ready for bed.

I changed into pajamas and brushed my teeth, bopping to the large headphones I had around my messy brown hair. My arms shivered in the cold, tiled bathroom as tapped my feet on the linoleum. We lived in Connecticut, and because it was December, it was freezing. I finished getting ready and hopped into my bed, switching through some channels until I found Cake Boss, a relatively easy show to fall asleep to. I felt my eyelids drooping downwards and soon fell into a deep abyss.

1 YEAR LATER

I woke up groggily, my hair sprawled around me like spiraling brown waves. I yawned and stretched my arm out to find the alarm clock, hoping to get the atrocious noise to stop. Once successful, I let out a deep sigh. It was finally winter break, and at last, I got a break from my classes.

 I had been accepted into NYU. It might sound theatrical to say it but my dreams did come true, in a way. I guessed the naïve high schooler version of myself didn't realize how much schoolwork accompanied.

 I was majoring in film. I wanted to be a producer someday, working with the big shots. It was my dream to make something of myself. To rise out of the ordinary like a redwood in a forest of evergreens. My roommate had gone home for the break, so it was just me, alone in the small dorm room. My mom had made it clear once I left that she wasn't intending on keeping consistent contact. The next time I'd probably see her would be face-up in her casket. I pursed my lips and stood, floating over to the bathroom. I grabbed my phone off the charging port and found my toothbrush, sticking it in my mouth and unlocking my phone. My eyes widened at the first notification. An email from my professor. I tapped on it and waited impatiently for it to load. 

Dear Cleo,

As you may know, I have talked about selecting a small number of my students for an internship on the set of an upcoming movie. I have been very impressed with your approaches this semester and was hoping you would be available this week to work on this with around two other students. I understand if you are busy this holiday season, but it would be a great experience to work on the set of a professional movie and get comfortable with the environment if you would like to continue with producing. Thank you.