ғʀᴏᴍ ᴘᴏʀᴛʟᴀɴᴅ ᴛᴏ ʟ.ᴀ. » ᴅᴀɴɪᴇʟ sᴇᴀᴠᴇʏ

Chapter Twelve

The boy sticks his head- topped with mussed curly hair- into the frame and breaks out in a wide grin when he sees me.

"Hey, is this Kai?" he says, jabbing Daniel in the upper arm with his elbow.

Daniel sends me another wide-eyed look before telling the boy beside him that he's right.

"Kai, this is my roommate, Jack Avery."

Jack grins at me again and waves. I wave back in a slightly smaller manner and return the smile.

"Hey, Jack. I'm guessing Daniel told you how we know each other, so I just wanted to say that while he was here in Portland, I heard a lot about you."

Jack shoots a look that I can't decipher at his friend.

"Oh," he says, "don't feel left out. Daniel's been back for one day and I've already heard a lot about you, too."

Daniel rolls his eyes and pushes Jack off the bed. I hope laughing distracts from the red tint of my cheeks.

What is he saying about me? First to his family at home, and now to his best friend in L.A.?

"Guys!" he shouts, directed towards what I'm guessing is the hallway, "Come in here and meet Kai!"

Soon enough, Jack has risen up off the floor and three other boys enter the room.

I watch as they squish onto Daniel's bed- which doesn't look very large- shoving each other around and chuckling. They form a strange group, but I can already tell that they have a strong bond with one another.

The boys introduce themselves. I quickly realize that Corbyn, Jonah, Zach, and Jack are just as kind and easy-going as Daniel is.

After several minutes of goofing around, Daniel shoos them out of the room, telling them that I was in the middle of speaking when I was "so rudely interrupted."

"Alright, what was it that you were saying?" he says when his side of the camera is quiet and still once again.

"You did something right while you were here, Seavey."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"You made me believe in myself."

He sends me gentle, yet elated, smile, but doesn't speak, knowing I'm going to continue.

"I wanted you to know that this morning, I applied for two different colleges that will take me through editing classes and eventually publish my book... making me an author."

Daniel's mouth drop open.

"What?! Kai!" he exclaims. I laugh at his beyond-excited reaction.

"That's great! That's so beyond amazing; I knew you could do it!"

He looks at me, eyes dancing and mouth pulled into a huge smile.

"Well, tell me about them! What do they offer? Where are they?" he says eagerly.

"The first campus, Kither Univeristy, is in New York. The writing program they offer is absolutely spectacular, one of the best. The classes an aspiring author would take there would guide them through the kind of editing skills that every writer desires to learn, and at the end of the two year course, the graduate would chose which company they wish to have their book published through."

"That's amazing," Daniel says, looking overwhelmed. I nod.

"It's extremely difficult to be accepted, so I'm, uh, not counting on it. Only the best of the best get in."

I continue before he can say anything.

"The next is a drastic difference compared to Kither. It's called Just the Beginning Editing and Publishing Company, JTB for short. And, guess where it is?"

Daniel raises a curious eyebrow and shrugs, smiling a little.

"Los Angeles," I say. I bite back a smile as he flips out.

"L.A.? Kai, we could see each other, like, every day!"

I laugh, nodding.

"I know. JTB's program is so much different from Kither's, it's almost hilarious."

"Well, how are they different?"

"Well, for one, JTB is more laid back. The entire atmosphere is less preppy than Kither's. Two, JTB is not a college, it's solely a place for writers and authors-to-be. The end result at JTB would be having your book published, but to get there, you have to take the mandatory editing classes provided. Some of them you must attend in person on campus, and others are online. Either way, I'd have to live in L.A. until I finish the course and send my book through the last processes to be published."

I don't tell Daniel that I've been idolizing the idea of attending Kither since I was fifteen. It's reputation is larger and more appealing than JTB's will ever be. I will be extremely happy, honored, and content to attend JTB if I'm accepted, but Kither is simply just a better school.

I meet Daniel's eyes to see him already staring at me. I feel self conscious, not aware of how long I was zoned out.

"What?" I ask quietly.

The world falls away as I stare into his eyes. We're one thousand miles apart, yet I feel like we're right next to each other.

It takes him a very long time to whisper his one word response.

"Nothing."