Ravenwolf's Rose

All Nighter

Nathan brought me a large whiteboard to stick up my drawings in a logical sequence. 

He warned me not to stay at the office too late and I told him I wouldn't. That was a lie. I planned to stay as long as I could. I even told the overnight security officers I intended on staying into the late night.

When everyone had left I decided to get into a more comfortable artistic mode by blasting my music in the room. Now was the time to let my creative juices to flow. I couldn't let there be a stuck. So I moved around the room a lot. 

Moving my body around while holding the pencil up and looking at the blank canvas. I wanted to draw at least '30' frames tonight. From start to finish.

I moved to the right and sat on a desk looking at the whiteboard.

"You won't defeat me..." I could taste the finish line. 

However, even with my determination, I imagined Kai laughing evilly in my face. Throwing all my hard work in my face with his devil horns on and pushing me to the floor dramatically. His laugh turned demonic in my mind. I shook my head. I was now reaching a breaking point. I reached over to sip my coffee and suddenly felt motivated. I went over to the canvas and began...

I must have finished 5 cups of coffee before sitting down for a mini break. 11pm quickly turned into midnight. Midnight turned into 1am. 

When my nose started bleeding I plugged it up with a few tissues and continued for a bit. Eventually, after putting my hair in a bun, I decided to rest my head on the table. While sitting down, the music continued playing in the background, but I was too tired to care. 

I decided to close my eyes for 30 minutes. I already created 17 frames. I told myself I needed to re-charge for the remaining frames.

I dozed off and then woke up to my phone's alarm blaring. I yawned. I could definitely sleep for a week after this is finished.

I was about to stand up to get some more coffee, and as I did, I realized there was a blanket draped around my shoulders. I stood up, puzzled, holding onto it. I may be sleep deprived, but I distinctly recall just falling asleep, without... I thought about the most logical thing... it was probably Nathan who dropped by late. Wondering where I was because I hadn't come back to the mansion. 

I smiled and then held onto the blanket lightly. I put it down, turned down the music, and went to go make some more coffee. I sat down again, sharpened my pencil, and began drawing again.

I finished around 4am. I had an ambivalent feeling... wanting to go home to sleep in a bed, but I thought about the fact I had to get up at 7am anyway. It would be pretty shameless to sleep in an office, but at this point... I had zero cares to give.

I gathered my drawings together proudly and put them in my portfolio. I went over to the couch in the office, clutching onto the portfolio as though it was my baby, and set my alarm again. The only thing I had to do tomorrow was present my ideas. Then I would go home and sleep.

*

I had grown a little agitated by my alarm. When I shut it off for seemingly the hundredth time, I turned around, still holding my portfolio for dear life. When I turned, I saw two sets of eyes staring at me. Startled, I screamed, falling off of the couch.

"Are you alright?! Did you stay here all night?"

I looked up confused, my hair possibly in a wreck.

I could imagine what I looked like. A mess, most likely. I bit my lower lip, and turned my head around, looking at my phone. I hit the snooze button right until 9am... I cursed to myself. The team had already started arriving. I exhaled, letting out all my embarrassment by sighing. I sat up properly and then stood up. I faced the person in front of me.

"If you'll excuse me for just a moment, I want to refresh a little..." I cleared my throat and they moved aside. The rest of the team looked at me. I rushed over to the bathroom, still clutching onto my portfolio. I looked at myself in the mirror and cringed, slowly falling to the ground. 

How humiliating... I even still had one of the tissues stuck up my nose.

I brushed it off and fixed my hair. I splashed my face with water and buttoned up my shirt. I walked out looking a little less disheveled. The main secretary stared at me incredulously as I passed by. When I headed back to the room the elevator door dung and when it opened Nathan and Kai were there. They both stood there, looking at me. Same clothes from yesterday. I moved my body quickly, thinking that if this was the third time I'd be visually judged I couldn't take it. I could sense they were both staring at me when I raced forward.

When I arrived the team was getting set up for the meeting. The other 'competitor' for the concept was already set up. When I sat down the woman next to me took out a stray piece of lint from the top of my shirt. My eyes looked at her gratefully and she nodded.

After the first person presented, I was next. I apologized for my appearance and for this morning. They brushed it off. One of them remarked it reminded them of their college days. It was new for me and they appreciated my dedication. The ice between us all broke down a little and I was ready to show them what I created, as they all knew, in this room until late last night...

After we presented there was another vote. Surprisingly, unanimously, after seeing what I had illustrated before, they were all convinced this would be a great idea moving forward to share with the president. 

The fact that they weren't biased towards me like some particular people gave me a little hope. I feel a little emotionally lighter. For the next 2 days they would transform my storyboards into a functioning presentation. They were already delegating who would prepare the slide shows, videos, and interactive elements. I couldn't believe this was all happening. When they suggested I take over a majority of the speaking parts for the theme and design itself I agreed.

After another hour I excused myself. When I walked over to the elevator, Nathan, who was rushing to meet with me before I left, passed me a bottle of water.

"Good work I just heard the news!" I smiled and he patted my shoulder. 

"I knew you could do it... but... did you end up going home last night?" I nervously laughed.

"Well, you know," I held the back of my head, avoiding his eyes.

"Hazel, did you... this morning when I saw you I thought those clothes looked familiar..." he crossed his arms, looking at me disappointed.

"I just fell asleep here, that's all... I mean, didn't you know last night you were here?"

"No, I wasn't. I would have sent you home if that was the case," I stared up at him curiously.

"If you weren't then who..." I wondered who put the blanket over my arms... I decided to let it go. It wasn't important.

"It will never happen again. You can trust in that," Nathan sighed and nodded.

"Alright but go home and get some sleep... you don't have classes today, right?"

"Nope!" I applauded and stretched a little. 

"I may become sleeping beauty in the next hour..." I laughed and he smiled. I must have looked relieved. But everything had just begun. The next 2 days the team would be working on a presentation to amaze our incredible president... the thought of it made me feel like I still had a war to win...

When the elevator arrived I stepped in waving goodbye to him.

I would give myself the time to truly re-charge because for the next few days I would dedicate more time and energy to developing this commercial....