Maybe Happily Ever After✔️

23. Confetti Falling

Friday, December 4th

9:09 am

I bit the inside of my lip and tapped my foot nervously.

I was in the back of the lecture hall and I could feel my heart beating in my ears. I definitely was going to throw or something.

Everyone was talking loudly and waited in anticipation for Professor Fitz to start class.

A member of the HarperCollins publishing company was here to announce the winner and the award plaque sat on the podium staring back at me.

HarperCollins publishing company was one of the largest publishing companies in the world located in New York City. Almost all of the books I've read were published by them.

I was still deciding between being a published author or trying to get a job as a publisher in their company.

"You're gonna be okay," Casey whispered in my ear. She skipped her first class and snuck into my class to sit with me for moral support.

I looked over my shoulder and saw that all of the other English professors were here to find out the results of the competition.

Normally I would tell her to go before she got in trouble but I was actually glad that she was here with me.

"I feel like I'm gonna throw up again."

She rubbed my back and fans my face. "Breathe."

I inhaled and exhaled trying to calm myself.

"The problem isn't that I'm not breathing. I think I'm actually breathing too much." I whispered.

She laughed and rubbed my back again.

"Okay, class!" Professor Fitz said gaining the attention of everyone. "I know you're all buzzing with excitement and I just wanted you guys to know how proud I am of each and every one of you."

"You've worked very hard this semester and each of you wrote from your heart in this competition."

Everyone clapped and hollered in excitement.

"I've read all of your stories and if I could I would call you all winners, I would. The way you were able to express what real love is through your words and depictions was remarkable and I hope you all understand that what you did took guts. You were able to be vulnerable and real."

I swallowed hard and place my hand on my chest.

My mom always said that the best stories teach you something you didn't know about yourself and made you look at the world differently.

I didn't know it when I wrote it, but the story I wrote about Darcy made me different. We're just two people trying to heal from our pasts and along the way we created healing.

And if it was Will I didn't know what that meant for us and our friendship.

The publisher introduced herself and everyone cheered.

"I spent the last month with my fellow colleagues reading your stories and falling in love with the ways in which you all depicted love differently. I was impressed by your ability to be real and plain about the good and bad that comes with love. So thank you all for participating in this."

She held a small golden envelope in her hand and raised it up in the air.

"This story was chosen because it opened up the wounds and trauma of its characters." She lowered the envelope and looked at it. "I'd be lying if I said it didn't make me cry. Reading about the pain that the characters experienced and the way they were able to still have hope for love in the future was amazing."