_Oh my gosh._

Andrew’s here.

Right before my speech.

_Oh my gosh._

My fingers dance along the hem of my cardigan as I try to distract my poor thoughts.

I catch Andrew’s mischievous brown eyes, scowling as he grins and strides over to the stairs of the stage._ Right next to me._

“Nice to see you here, Skye,” he deadpans, his grin growing wider as I look away.

“What are you doing here?”

I ...

“Alright then,” I say after the audience stops applauding. Someone clears their throat and my eyes draw to them. Oh. It’s Serafina. Of course. What better place to find you judgmental but also very nerdy ex, than at a seminar about the scientific method. I want to be clear right now, that I didn’t ask to speak, but then some smart dude with connections to the even smarter scientific community saw ...

BOY ONE:

Name: Justin

Physical Description: red-head with grey eyes. Has a robot arm and always wears a belt with a dagger.

Home: Stormshell

Past: He was born to a single father in the town of Stormshell. His father was never around much to take care of him, so he had to do everything for himself: cook, clean, and read his own bedtime stories. As he grew older, his father stopped showing up at all...

“Lily, would you like some water or maybe a Coke,” Detective Chris Lee said. “We just want to ask a few more questions about the break in at your folks’ house. No worries.”

With tear streaked cheeks, Lily sniffled. She’d scrubbed off her makeup, put on a frumpy sweatshirt, and did her hair in two messy ponytails. Lily sat timidly in the ratty conference room chair. Looking with big sad eyes betwe...

Aaron often spoke about challenges for the less fortunate, inflation, and diseases. Today would be his biggest speech yet.

”Are you ready Mr. Coleman?”

“Yes Sir,” Aaron says.

Thousands of people applauded as Aaron walked on stage.

”Thank you all for coming! I really am grateful for your support,” Aaron announces, as he scans the crowd.

— Out of the corner of his eye he spots Clarice, his to...

Four years ago, Aiden wouldn’t have believed he could be on this stage, with a crowd of thousands of people waiting to hear from him. He was the keynote speaker for the conference, and the rumor was that this was the highest attendance the conference had ever achieved - due to his name, and his name alone. He had spent time carving a following with his expert knowledge on new educational technique...

1. Int Gainbridge Fieldhouse press conference room Day

I’m now seated in chair and about ready to answer some questions. There shouldn’t be too many people watching. Shouldn’t be too bad. This will be the hardest thing I have to do. And there’s not too many people here anyways.

Shawn

(V.O.)

Nows the time. From watching the pacers when I was still learning to dribble a basketball to now being...

“And our next speaker is Coral Mullen.”

I take a deep breath and step on stage. My eyes unconsciously scan the crowd, looking for my mom who said she would be here.

She is frantically waving in the front row, and I feel a smile stretch on my face.

In the row behind her, I see someone. My heart sinks into my stomach and my smile drops.

I almost stumble, but I manage to keep my pace. My ex. Wit...

There was once a time I loved to see your face I loved the way your smile made your eyes crinkle I loved your husky laugh as you listened to my jokes.

There was once a time I loved to see your face until the magic wore off, and you were no longer my knight in shining armor no longer one of my sources of comfort.

I used to love the way your smile made your eyes crinkle, I used to love your husky ...

I put my hand on my wrist, feeling for my pulse. It reminded me of a hummingbird’s, almost beating faster than I could count. Ok, breathing exercises. I breathed in a count of 4, held a count of 4, released my breath with a count of 4. Wow, was this deep breathing drying out my throat? I made a move to my water bottle, then hesitated. I had already had a few bottles of water, and I didn’t want to ...