My hands twisted around my phone as I listened to Bea make the first of many phone calls. After we left Dr. Davis's office yesterday, I drove to the closest supercenter and bought the nicest, cheapest go-phone they had in stock. Which it was surprisingly a touch screen that was somehow nicer and cheaper than my old one. Like the internet, touch screens no longer seemed to be optional.
The phone was blank slate. Void of any phone numbers, aside from Bea's, and anything to make it personal. It was exactly what I needed. I wished I had my old phone; it had all of my pictures and other little things that mattered to me. Instead it was probably sitting in a corner of that long hallway in France, gathering dust and slowly dying.
Bea looked over at me and gave me a thumbs up. Our first call was to get materials for our mangeant and other events. Putting together the events was proving to be the most difficult so far. Dr. Davis had faith we could pull this off in time, but I was starting to have doubts.
"Okay we have stage materials and lights," Bea said as she hung up her phone. "That lady was a real piece of work."
I let out a half-hearted laugh. "At least we have the things we need. Did you tell her the dates we need them on?"
"Yep." Bea tossed a lock of hair over her shoulder and bent her head to look at the papers strewn across our coffee table. "Have you started the posters?"
"You know I'm not the best at putting things together, right? You're the artistic one out of the two of us. But yes, I did." I twisted my laptop around to show her what I had created.
"You might not be the artistic one, but these look great, Em. Seriously. I love them. Send them to the copiers and print out fifty of each. Do you think that will be enough or do we need more?"
"What's our budget for printing?"
"Two hundred."
"We'll start with fifty then if we need any more we can get more. It's better than wasting our money and paper." I pulled up the university's print shop website. They had a neat option where you could upload what you wanted to be printed online and pick it up the next day. Hopefully they would be ready by then, we had a huge project.
"Always the environmentalist, Em."
I gave her a playful nudge. "Shut up."
"I hope you're ready for a late night because we have a lot of planning." Bea turned on her speaker and played a pop station softly in the background.
We immersed ourselves in the planning. I threw myself into calling stores, arranging for decorations, securing the ballroom in the University's Union, and anything else that could be done I was doing.
I was able to put behind us the France trip and all of the pain that I felt from thinking about Will. His lies, his truths, his ability to sweep me off my feet in the blink of an eye. All of that started to recede into the back of my mind as the last month of senior year started to fly by.
The semester gained speed and we were nearing not only our dance, but graduation. We had picked up our caps and gowns and any other cowls or ropes we needed and they hung neatly in our closets. Somehow in the midst of all the chaos, something changed in Bea and I caught her looking at fashion house openings in their marketing department. Or at least that's what I hoped she was looking at. All I saw was a brand on their site and careers below it.
I never let up in encouraging her to pursue fashion. She would be great at it, and even though her major was not in design, she could make it to the top someday. I had more than faith in her.
We even started to look at apartment in the city. We looked at the financial district and closer to Central Park. Bea's father even offered to get us a place in the Upper West Side, but I declined. He hadn't let up and Bea tried convincing me one night.
"Please, Emma. It's not like we'll be living there for free." She was begging me. Bea hardly begged, but I wanted to stay firm on my decision. "We can pay for some of it per month. This is a great opportunity and you know how my dad loves real estate."
This was true. He invested in many apartments across islands, houses in the country, and vacation homes in different locations throughout the world. He rented out most, if not all, of these when they didn't need to use them. For him this was another investment until we could get our feet and move into another neighborhood.
"I don't know, Bea. The Upper West Side?" I could only imagine how out of place I would feel living there.
"We'll fit right in. Please, Emma. For me. Don't be crazy to turn this down."
I shrugged. "I'll think about it."
She squealed. "That's all I needed to hear."
And think about it I did. That was all I did was think about it. Sometimes it kept me up at night. I was torn between the parts of me that wanted to live there and the part that didn't want to owe her dad money. The major perk was that if I was short on money one month, he wouldn't kick me out. For all he knew, he was paying for this so we could live there, but I would never live somewhere for free. My parents raised me to pay for my own things and never take anything for granted.
And that sentence right there made my decision.
The next day, I reluctantly told Bea that we would move in. She jumped up and down and immediately called her dad. I took the phone from her and told him I would pay what I could, but he told me not to worry. It wouldn't stop me from sending money, though.
Once our living situation was in place, I started looking for jobs, too. Real life was just around the corner and I wasn't completely ready to do it. But at the same time, all I had been my whole life is ready. Ready to live on my own and have fun with my life without school weighing me down. I still had my master's to worry about, but I decided to wait just a little bit before I started.
Bea encouraged me to apply to NYU, just in case they accepted me by some wild chance of luck. I wasn't the perfect student but I had never been a slacker in my life. Compared to most of my graduating class, I was doing really well and Bea believed that I could make it in. My only worry was the financial aspect. This was the main reason I needed a job before I started my masters. I already had enough debt without adding more. Fortunately, I had plenty of financial aid and scholarships to cover more than half of my tuition and fees, but the debt was still hefty.
April was nearing the end and our dance date was coming closer and closer. There was buzz around campus and we knew that at least fifty people were coming. That fifty happened to be our class, but it was a start. If they all brought dates and told friends, that put our numbers into triple digits.
Bea handled the snack food arrangements, which happened to be mostly cookies and punch. Cheap, delicious, and easy. Dr. Davis was always encouraging and a great help when we needed him. Many of the stores we called were more than happy to agree to their terms. We talked to one of the owners of the store and she talked about how good this project was for her store. Everything that we were so nervous for ended up going more than smoothly. I was able to breathe easier and my shoulders felt lighter. Especially when I noticed we had three days until the dance.
Everything was in place, and we had heard that people bought dresses at the stores offering discounts exclusively for this function. All of our events went off without a hitch. The mangeant ended up being a huge hit. Most of the contestants were frat boys and they ended up making the show a comedy. Some lip sang to songs, others danced, and some just tried to win off of their looks. When it all was said and done, I couldn't have been more proud of our work.
There were many all nighters in the last month, but they were all worth it. We brought in revenue for a better DJ at the dance. Something we hadn't planned on doing but splurged at the last second.
I woke up early Saturday morning, ready to start prepping for the dance. We were supposed to be at the Union at eight to start decorations. Most of the stuff was set up or ready to be set up, but we had last minute plans.
I walked into the living room and found Bea sitting on the couch with her legs crossed and a letter in her lap. She had a smile on her face that could actually split her face in half it was so large.
"What's up with you this morning?" I asked, walking over to the kitchen.
"A letter came for you in the mail today," she squealed. "From NYU!"
I turned around. "Really? Good or bad?"
She handed me the letter and I opened it. I scanned the pages and I had to read it twice to fully comprehend what was on the pages.
I was accepted. They accepted me.
"Congratulations!" She screamed at me.
I couldn't believe it. I was going to NYU next year. I shakily let Bea hug me. I was still in shock, but suddenly looking forward to continuing school. I mean how could I give up this opportunity? It wasn't every day that a university like NYU accepted you, and if I knew anything it was to not take anything for granted.
Who knew that I'd really be attending school in Manhattan.