Sam opened the car door for me and I grabbed my camera bag before getting out of the car. We walked along the sidewalk to find the office we were looking for.
I was nervous to say the least. I started to play with the ring on my finger that I wore every day. I was spinning it around my finger and I bit my lower lip. This was a nervous tick of mine.
"You're doing it again," Sam said from next to me as he pointed to my hands, "you were doing that before we left Utah the other day. Are you nervous?"
I looked at Sam surprised. He remembered that?
"Yeah, I'm a little nervous," I admitted.
"Why?" He asked as we walked, "you're incredibly talented, and the school will be lucky to have you. Just like anyone would be."
"Like anyone would be?" I asked.
"Well yeah, you're more than something special Vee." Sam said as he walked up to the admissions building.
I stopped, not approaching the building like Sam had. Sam looked back at me. I took a few quick steps so I was right in front of Sam, leaned up on my toes, and put my lips on his. As the kiss continued, sparks rang through my nerves. After a few more seconds I pulled away and blushed a deep shade of pink.
Sam didn't say anything. He just stood there in a slight state of shock for a moment, then he placed his hands on my cheeks and kissed me. After he pulled away slightly, Sam rested his forehead against mine and just smiled. His thumb rubbing against my cheek affectionately.
I blushed even deeper than I already was as my heart began to race. We broke apart and Sam grabbed my hand in his. He opened the door to the admissions building, letting me walk in before him. We found the office of the woman Sam had talked to this morning and knocked on the door.
"Come in," we heard from the other side of the door.
Sam walked in first and went to shake her hand.
"Hello Mrs. Williams, I'm Sam," he said as I walked in after him.
"Nice to meet you Sam," she answered.
"Hello," I said as I reached my hand out to shake hers, "I'm Venus."
"It's nice to meet you Venus, I'm glad you decided to visit the campus today. I'm Mrs. Williams, the head of admissions," she said me as she shook my hand, "please, take a seat."
Sam and I both sat down in a chair in front of her desk. I was twisting my ring around my finger again as I sat down.
"Venus, why don't you tell me a little bit about you and your art," Mrs. Williams said as she folded her hands together and placed them on the desk.
"For as long as I can remember, I have been a big lover of the arts. Music, photography, dance. It has always played a big role in my life, just in a different way it does now," I started to explain, "but I see my world through a predictive lens. I love photography because it says more than words ever could. There's that expression that a picture is worth 1,000 words. A photograph captures the emotion and the power behind the scenario with a single frame in a way that I don't think a novel could. I believe that a photo can convey more than anything else. I am not the best with words, but I find a way to show what I want to say with my camera."
Mrs. Williams just smiled at me. She didn't say anything for what seemed like an hour, but was maybe only about two minutes.
"You don't need to convince me that you have the heart and the talent to be one of the greatest photographers of the decade. I have here the portfolio you sent in with your application, and it is a beautiful collection, but there aren't any photographs of people in it," Mrs. Williams told me as she put my portfolio on the desk, "do you have any photos with you that are profiles or face forward shots?"
I grabbed my camera out of my bag and turned it on.
"I have a lot of pictures of Sam from today," I admitted, "but I also have a lot of photos of moments frozen in time that I have taken stealthily on my phone and also on this memory card."
I handed over my camera and she began clicking through the different pictures.
"I love the latest ones on here, and also the ones in front of the street art," she said as she continued looking through the photos.
I smiled glancing over at Sam who was just grinning widely at me.
"This picture," Mrs. Williams said as she turned my camera to show me which one she referring to, "is absolutely spectacular. I would put this in a frame and hang it on my wall. You would get accepted into this school with this picture alone."
She was talking about one of the pictures of Sam in his room from this morning. My jaw dropped. Just a simple picture of Sam in front of the window in his bedroom was good enough to hang on someone's wall?
"Venus, you are a wonderful photographer, and I think you could do amazing things at this school," Mrs. Williams said as she put my camera down on the desk, "would you be able to attend this institution? I know you live in Utah."
"I would love nothing more than to be able to attend this school," I answered honestly.
"I'm pleased to hear that, so let's talk classes, shall we?" Mrs. Williams suggested.
About fifteen minutes later, I was placed in six classes and was looking through the paperwork for housing.
"This will be your tuition for the semester," Mrs. Williams informed me as she circled the balance on the piece of paper.
"Okay, can I write a check to pay it?" I asked grabbing my wallet.
"Yes, would you pay it in full?"
I nodded. The one thing I did get from my parents before they passed was a college fund. My brother and I both have one, and since my brother has passed as well, everything in his college fund has transferred into mine. I am so grateful for not having to worry about student loans, but I wish I had something of theirs. Like a nice family photo, or my brother's varsity jacket, or just something that was their possession. I would rather be in debt for the rest of my life if it meant that I could have something of theirs.
I wrote out the check, leaving the amount blank for now.
"How much adds onto this balance for housing and everything else?" I asked.
Mrs. Williams took out a calculator and plugged some numbers.
"To add on housing cost, a meal plan, and the deposit for housing, that makes the overall total for the semester $10,786.45," she answered.
"Can I pay for all of it together?" I asked.
She said yes, so I wrote out the check for $10,786.45. I ripped it out of my checkbook and handed it to her.
"Okay, now all I need from you is to fill out the housing form and then you are set for the semester. The move in date is January eighth. Classes start on Wednesday the tenth. You fill out that form, and I'll be right back." Mrs. Williams said before she left the office.
I nodded and started filling out the housing form. Name, birthday, any medical conditions, blah blah blah. I got to one of the last questions and froze slightly, not sure of what to put. Emergency contact. Who the heck am I supposed to put for that?!
"What's the problem?" Sam asked, noticing my sudden freeze.
"Emergency contact," I answered, "I don't know who I'm supposed to put. In Utah, I put down my boss because I spent more time at work than I ever did with my aunt, but I don't know who to put down out here."
"Put me down as your emergency contact. Any of the guys would be more than willing to do anything for you if you needed it, but I want to be the one you call first," Sam said as he pushed some of my hair behind my ear.
I smiled before putting Sam down as my emergency contact. I finished filling out the form and set it on the desk. I unlocked my phone and put the move in date in my calendar.
"Are you happy?" I asked Sam as I relocked my phone.
"What?"
"Are you happy?" I asked again.
"Well, I'm happy living with the guys. I'm happy with the progress Colby and I have made in the last six months. I'm happy to be more comfortable with who I am than I used to be. But are there things I'm not happy with? Of course there is," Sam answered as he looked at me trying to figure out what I was thinking.
"But as a big picture, looking at your life right now, are you happy?"
"I am very happy sitting here with you," Sam said with a sweet smile on his face, "but overall, yes I think I'm happy. But I know that I could be happier."
I nodded and looked down at my fingers. I looked at the ring on my finger, at the ring I have worn every single day for last nine years.
"That ring is beautiful, and I'm guessing there's a story behind it," Sam said quietly as he grabbed my hand in his.
"I got this ring from my brother for my eleventh birthday. My mom used to wear a Claddagh ring that she was given by her mother, and I always used to say how pretty it was and how I couldn't wait to have a really pretty ring like my mom. My brother decided he wanted give a ring to wear like my mom did, so he bought this one for my birthday. Since it has finally fit on my finger, I never take it off."
"That's cute," Sam smiled.
I admired the ring on my finger before smiling up at Sam. After a few seconds, Mrs. Williams walked back into the office.
"Okay Venus, this is your welcome packet. It has the numbers and email addresses of anyone you'd need to reach, a map of the campus, a list of the thing you're not allowed to have in the dorms, a list of clubs and on campus activities, among some other things. Thank you so much to the both of you for coming out today and I look forward to seeing you this semester," Mrs. Williams said as she handed me a folder and shook my hand.
"Thank you for taking the time for meeting with us and it was a pleasure to meet you," I said before we left.
Sam and I began walking back out to his car. I'mhappy, but I don't think it's because I just enrolled in my dream school. Wegot back to Sam's car and he opened the door for me before I could open it myself.