in between ; noah flynn [completed]

twenty five

Noah pointed up at the balcony over his head. Lee and Elle popped up and emptied the contents of two huge trash bags, raining down red and black latex balloons. Noah's parents ran out from the crowd holding confetti cannons. With a loud pop, Noah was now clouded by a screen of silver, his arms raised in the air like a rockstar on stage.

"Harvard!"

The guests erupted in cheers, hollering and clapping for the boy's excellent choice in a college. He was going to an Ivy League school, and if that wasn't an accomplishment enough, he was playing football for them. 

Some of Noah's teammates crowded the boy to say congratulations but Noah was looking for only one person. In the space between two of his teammates' heads, he finally spotted Talia standing between her parents, her eyes crinkling because of how wide she was smiling, bouncing up and down because she was so proud of him. 

"Oh, that's so great!" Talia's mom gasped. "Harvard!"

"Yeah, that boy sure is going places," her dad nodded approvingly. 

"Honey, you're next!"

Lee and Elle were motioning for Talia to come forward and take Noah's place on their makeshift stage in front of the backyard doors. Noah and his parents were hurriedly sweeping up the confetti so that Talia's reveal would not be tainted by his. 

"I'm so happy for you," Talia said to Noah as she passed him. 

"I'm so excited to see where you'll go."

For Talia's reveal, she and Elle set up a projector on a table while Lee hung a white sheet from the balcony to act as the screen. Talia had been working on a video reveal for about two weeks now and she spent all night last night putting the finishing touches. 

The video started off with a four year-old Talia in a cap and gown. Her preschool had a tradition of having a graduation ceremony, which Talia absolutely loved. It made her feel so grown-up though she didn't realize how much growing up she had left. 

"What do you want to be when you're older, Talia?" her mom asked from behind the camera. 

"I want to be a princess!" the small girl cheered, taking the sides of the graduation gown and twirling around like she was at a ball. 

"Okay, honey, you definitely will be a princess!"

Pictures of Talia flashed across the screen, one after the other, illustrating her development from toddler to preteen to teenager. The crowd cooed at every one, slightly laughing at her awkward middle school years where she wore nothing but skinny jeans and t-shirts of her favorite pop punk bands. Talia made sure to keep that section short because it was painful to relive it. 

When the pictures were over, another video of Talia began. It was taken just before she finished editing the video together last night. 

"Hi everyone. I asked some of you on camera to guess what college I committed to, so here are your answers!"

The scenery switched to her parents sitting at the dining table. She had the grand idea to create a video in the middle of dinner so their plates still had food on them. They were laughing because she had pulled out the camera so suddenly. 

"Where do you think I'm going to college?"

Her dad shrugged. "One that we can afford, I hope."

"Yeah, shouldn't you tell us where you're going if we're going to pay for it?" her mom questioned with a raised eyebrow. 

"I made sure that we can afford it. You gave me a budget, remember?" Talia answered impatiently. "Now answer!"

"Fine." Her dad rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "I'm going to guess Princeton. You always wanted to go there."