17

8K 233 133
                                    

I fled the scene before anything could happen

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

I fled the scene before anything could happen. I know that makes me a coward but I'm used to being just that. The girl who never stood up for herself. The girl who's scared...scared of everything.

By the time I got home with a drunk Elle who I practically had to force into an Uber there was a throbbing in my head that wouldn't go away. The events of the day took an emotional toll on me that even after using Ambien to fall asleep, I tossed and turned all night. It's hard to sleep when all I can think about is my article being published first thing in the morning. Most especially, about how Charlie would react when he reads it.

The thought alone makes me feel nauseous.

One would think sleeping late would mean waking up late but I'm up at the crack of dawn, the first thing I reach for being my phone. It is much easier to get the online version of the paper on the school's website than sit around and wait for the mailman to drop the paperback.

I ignore the steady racing of my heart as I copy and paste the link to the website and look for the article on the search engine.

It's on there.

My eyes fly to the time on top of my screen which pops up with a notification almost immediately. It's a confetti email from The Daily Bruins congratulating me on my first article from Angie-the only woman at that place I can genuinely say gives a toss about me. The kind gesture gives me a small boost in confidence, forcing me to tap on the scree. The paper opens up immediately like it's been waiting for me. I scroll past news on the other sports until I get to the page on midnight madness highlight.

I'm engulfed by guilt for leaving Isaac to do all the work whilst I hide away like a little loser who can't face her problems head on like a grown up she claims she is. Melissa asked for us to work together but I acted like a total sly and left him all alone because of my own personal problems. I owe him the biggest apology-and thank you. He did help me twice in a heartbeat.

To while away time and heave off some of the guilt I'm feeling, I scroll through the pictures which look like they were taken by a professional photographer instead of a junior journalism student. My guess is that he has completed the compulsory photojournalism class in his sophomore year. Something I would be doing right now if I didn't repeat stats class. That's why I'm so clueless when it comes to magazine design and photography techniques. God. I feel like such a failure compared to him.

As I read through the article, I realise not only do the pictures look fantastic, his narrative writing is also brilliant to the point that I'm finding it interesting as I read through it, the pictures supporting his story. The highlight of the night was indeed the return of Charlie Murtaugh to the team. An announcement that blew the crowd away. Out of all the photos, one of them intrigue me the most. It's Charlie's. He's standing in the middle of the court with his arms wide apart. His eyes are staring into the camera and there's a mammoth smile on his face.

matters of the heartWhere stories live. Discover now