Wattys 2022 Bootcamp

The Bright Side of Darkness - @KeiraKnox1

Logline

Worlds collide when a formerly overweight teen befriends a blinded football player and is forced to confront her growing feelings for the boy who lost it all.

Blurb

Tay Statin had always thought a perfect high school career was his God-given right. He had it all; perfect grades, scholarships to big-name schools, and football skills. Everything someone like him needs in Tennessee.

But all that is stripped away when a car accident takes away his brother and his chances at a Division I scholarship. Although his body healed, his vision hasn't. He might never play football again, and the prospect has left him bitter and unhappy.

Emori Hagen was "the fat girl" all her life. She grew accustomed to people laughing at her. But, with the help of her determination, she lost all of the weight and finally achieved the body of her dreams. The only thing left to remind her of her past is the aching feeling every time she eats an apple instead of a cookie.

What Emori isn't expecting on her return to school is to find a broken Tay Statin who no longer smiles, rarely speaks, and doesn't care about anything or anyone around him. He's just existing. But the pain in his eyes is something she understands all too well. Can she help him find the hope he has lost?

First 1,000 Words

It's only the first day of school and I can already tell Travis Blake hasn't changed.

I, on the other hand, have, and I'm in no mood to deal with him. For example, I'm not the same girl who let people walk all over her. And if Travis still thinks that, he's in for a rude awakening.

I try to get out of my car before Travis parks and has the chance to approach me. But instead of parking in his normal spot, he parks his black truck beside me and gets out. He slams his door shut and stomps towards me, his anger radiating in the air around us.

"Excuse me, but you know the speed limit was thirty-five before the school zone, right? Not twenty." Then he pauses and I can practically hear the gears turning in his head. I turn and meet his gaze full-on, anticipating an angry outburst. Maybe a few curses, a red face, or at least yelling. But instead, I'm met with, "Well, hello, there." Then, as he gets closer, his perfect, confident smile turns into a confused frown. Soon, something seems to click in his mind and that confusion turns to realization. "Holy fucking shit."

For a moment, I stand still, deciding against walking away from him. His eyes trace over me. The action of slow appreciation makes my nose curl up in disgust. It's already so humid outside I can feel a light sheen of sweat forming on my arms, making me more uncomfortable than I already am. Hopefully, this will be over soon so I can get inside and enjoy the air conditioning.

He lets out a low whistle that makes me clench my fists behind me. "Emori?" His gorgeous face melts into a grin, and his expression morphs into something more relaxed. He looks down at me through long, dark lashes, and shakes his head as he lets out a breath. A trail of broken hearts always follows that look. I'm not falling for it.

"Hey, Travis. How's it going?" I force a withering smile as I shut my car door. Travis never noticed me unless it was to make a joke at my expense, but now that my appearance has changed, he doesn't seem to know where to look.

"Summer does wonders, huh? But, uh, how'd you lose all the weight you had before?" Because three months isn't enough time to lose a hundred and fifty pounds. He seems to leave that part out as he leans against my car.

I've actually been losing weight for a year and a half. But without the skin removal surgeries, no one had noticed. The image of the fat girl had still been there, but in reality, it was stretched skin. Not the excess fat I'd had at the start of my weight loss.

I look him up and down, no perfect retort in mind as I blurt the first thing that comes to me. "Wouldn't you like to know? Personal reasons, maybe?"

Travis is in no need of such information. You can tell by the tight navy-blue shirt he's wearing. It outlines just enough chiseled chest and abs and is enough to make any girl faint, but I hope what I said lands all the same. The memory of his jokes and insults makes me want to slap the confidence right off his face. One snarky comeback is only the start.

As he runs his hand through his dark hair, the way he chuckles seems almost mocking. He looks away for a second then returns his gaze to me. "You sure you know how to flatter a guy, don't you?" Sarcasm is evident in his drawl as he stares down at me, newfound appreciation sparkling in his ebony eyes.

His lips part to say more when someone calls out for him. When his gaze shifts to the direction of the speaker, I duck under his arm, grabbing my bag as I go. I can't afford to stay and chat, especially since I have yet to pick up my class schedule.

"Emori, wait!" Travis calls as I begin to cross the parking lot.

I turn around, shooting him a smile. "Sorry, Travis, but I've got to go get my schedule. You look like you're busy, anyway." His protests get drowned out by raucous guffawing as one of his friends catches up to him and I don't stop as I make my way toward the school.

Norton Valley High is enormous, though one can't say the same for our class sizes. The senior class has a hundred and thirty students and that's considered a large class. Despite that, our school has remained huge since it was established in the late-1800s.

Everything has upgraded since then, from the brick exterior to the waxed marble floors. It seems so over the top, but with our academic standing - not to mention our top-ranking sports teams - it makes sense.

When I enter the office, Miss May is sitting in her usual spot at her desk, dressed in a pink cardigan and black skirt, with her salt and pepper hair pinned into a bun on top of her head. The copper bangles on her wrists jingle as she types on her computer, the sound almost melodic. When she notices me, she looks up from her computer, smiles, and pushes her chair back a bit.

"Well, I'll be." She smiles as she drops her glasses to the tip of her nose. "Look at you! You look so happy, you're glowing!" She points a peach-colored nail at me. "Not that you didn't look good before, mind you."

I laugh, approaching her desk. Miss May is one of the few staff members at this school who know me outside of class hours. She's always so kind and considerate when talking to me. She's like a grandmother to everyone, and it's almost impossible to get on her nerves.

"Thanks, Miss May. I'm here to collect my schedule. I didn't have time to print it off this morning." I woke up late, got distracted trying to read my murder mystery, and left the house ten minutes late. I could use my phone to keep track of it all day, but that would get annoying. With a printed copy, I can stick it in the front of my binder and glance down at it between classes.

"I figured you were." She begins to root around in the filing cabinet next to her desk. "It should be here... Oh! Here it is."

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