XPLR | Colby Brock

~81~

November 17, 2018.

Rose Romano,

Gerald Brown and associates are ecstatic to inform you that we would like to offer you a position in the student body of Juilliard School in New York City, New York.

A new body paragraph, written by scout Gerald Brown.

I was blown away by your performance of the Rachmaninov Etude "Little Red Riding Hood". I worked hard to make it so that you may be contacted again. The weight of your performance has hung in my heart for weeks since your performance. I brought it up to our corporate and they agreed with me on the rarity of a pianist like you. We would like to offer you a full-ride scholarship for the next two years when you reach graduation.

I apologize for the informality of this letter, but I felt in doing so that it would feel more personal. And I didn't think anyone else could capture how much I want you to study in New York City with us.

Please respond within three weeks of this letter's delivery, approximately on November 17, 2018. Please respond by December 8, 2018 on whether or not you will be accepting our scholarship, that way you may join our ranks as a musician as soon as possible.

Thank you,
Gerald Brown

Colby had stayed down stairs to keep the car warm, and Elena must not be home because she didn't call out or come to see what the commotion of my screaming was for.

Juilliard wants me to study at their school! The best music school in the nation, one of the most expensive as well, wants to give me full ride to their school.

God has truly blessed me this time.

With my letter in hand, I ran down the hallways to the elevator and jammed the button until the door opened and I stepped in. I pressed the lobby floor button and it started to bring me down stairs.

My chest felt light, and it kind of hurt a little. Like a pressure on my chest, but I liked the way it felt. I'm happy. I'm excited, grateful, ecstatic, scared, then the voice came through.

Don't tell Colby you have an offer from Juilliard.

There was no explanation, but that realization felt reasonable, rational. So I just put the letter in my back pocket and went out to the car.

As I got in he gave me a weird look. I unzipped his windbreaker hoodie he gave me and started to take it off. "Did you get what you needed?" He asked. I shook my head and slipped my letter from my back pocket and hid it in his door compartment. I could get it later and hide it somewhere until I figure out how to tell him I got the offer, or more so that I want to take it.

Juilliard, full ride at Juilliard, is rare. I might be the first. The first in a very long time, at least.

I live in California, Juilliard is in New York City...

"Why do you want to move?" He asked as he turned to me. I shrug. Bad memories.

"I don't know. I'm just tired of California, I guess."

He scoffed. "Tired of California? Am I hearing you right?" he said as he laughed, but I didn't. There was a beat of silence between us. "Well... where to?"

I knew exactly where I want to end up.

"New York City."

He looked at me, stopping. "New York City? But that's so far away..."

I shrug. "Yeah? But I have a lot of time until I even have the chance..."

He breathed a sigh of relief as I said that. I laughed. "What? Think you're going to miss me?" I teased. He looked at me with hard eyes. "Yeah, I would miss you," he said then started to walk again, looking at the stars.

"Unless...," he paused. "I moved with you." (Chapter 21, XPLR)

That memory had faded from my mind. I was always charmed by the magic of New York City, I went there once. My mother had used our savings over years in order to take me there. I was playing in the finals of a competition, I was twelve.

I had won.

That was my ambition when I was little, I had always wanted to move there. Join the ranks of all great pianists, the ones who played in Carnegie Hall and inspired so many others. Inspire other twelve-year-old girls like me, just like they had.

After my mother died, I forgot about that dream. Until Colby had asked me where I wanted to move all that time ago. Up until fifteen minutes ago, California was my only resort. The only scholarship offer I had gotten. If I wanted to go to college, especially for piano, then California was my only choice. And it was just far enough so my father wouldn't bother me.

Dad could be dead and I wouldn't even know.

No, surely I'd get a call.

Would Colby love me enough to consider moving all the way across the country with me...?

This is a big question. A question like that could change my life and Colby's life. This wasn't some stupid question, like when I was afraid on whether or not I should go out with Colby. But there was another question branching off of that one.

If he says no, do I go or do I stay?

We'd drove down this beach so many times I knew exactly where we were going and he didn't have to tell me. Cavenaugh. I smiled at him when he realized it, he took my hand up to his lips and kissed it.

Damn, I love him. I love him so much.

I pressed my lips into a line and glanced down at the letter in the door. I have until December 8th to make a decision.

Part of me hopes that decision will be made for me.