Something in the Wind
1793 Words
When meeting everyone, I expected to see the normal crew plus one or two people. Having watched enough videos from Antony’s channel, I knew they liked to make the most of the trip when they gathered people.
I did not expect to see so many people.
Feeling overwhelmed, I stayed glued to Antony’s side as everyone greeted one another. As I was introduced to each person, I felt a little better knowing the names that went with the voices I had seen in videos. Seeing them start to discuss what they were doing, I slowly moved toward a corner of the room to let them have their space.
Hearing snippets of different conversations going on as I watched them interact with one another, it made it feel like I was watching back home on the TV. This wasn’t a new feeling, though, feeling like an outsider looking in. My own family did this a lot to me. Thoughts were getting jumbled in my head again, mostly wondering if this was a good idea.
A touch on the shoulder brought me out of my thoughts. Looking over, I saw a woman, Kristin, standing there with a frown on her face. “Why are you in the corner?”
“I just wanted to stay out of the way,” I replied.
“Feeling a little out of place?”
“Yes. I haven’t interacted with many people lately.”
“Makes sense.”
I looked at her funny, “Makes sense?” I asked slowly.
“Well, yeah,” Kristin replied. “You don’t belong here.”
I felt the nervousness leave my body quickly, replaced by anger. “ At least you are honest.” I stated with a strained smile.
“I wouldn’t want you to get hurt when he forgets all about you. Better for you to know up front where you stand.” Kristin smiled back, it was like she couldn’t see how angry I was.
I was trying to keep calm as Kristin continued to berate me. “Maybe he just needed some relief. It has been a while since he’s had a girlfriend. He could have just asked one of us if that’s all he needed. We could have helped him somehow.”
‘This woman isn’t going to shut up!’ I thought to myself. Knowing I was going to punch her, I quickly went to the door to get away from her. Outside was bright and warm, helping me focus on something else. Leaning against a wall, I focused on breathing. ‘What am I doing here? Is what she said true?’
Lost in thought, I didn’t notice someone had followed me outside. The sudden voice jumped me at first but I calmed down when I saw Damion. “Are you ok?” He asked in a quiet voice.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just had to get some air.”
“So, it had nothing to do with what she said.”
A little stunned by his bluntness, I stayed quiet for a moment. “I was going to punch her if I stayed.”
“Understandable.”
“You heard the whole conversation?”
“Yes. No one else noticed though.”
I nodded. “I figured everyone was too busy to hear it. I was just going to try to calm down before making a decision.”
“A decision? About what?”
“Whether I should stay or leave.”
“Don’t leave without telling Antony, that’s all I ask,”
“No matter what, he gets hurt. Either I leave and he is upset, or she gets dropped and he gets even more upset. It’s a lose-lose situation. It’s better if I leave.”
“I don’t think you're right. You’re all he has talked about since he read your stories.”
“Stories? You mean he has read every story I have ever written?” Damion nodded his head yes. “Why?”
“He enjoyed the one you wrote about him. It made him want to see what else you wrote. It took him a week or two to get through them all. After he finished, he couldn’t stop talking about them. We finally couldn’t take it anymore and told him to contact you.”
After mulling over the information Damion gave me, I replied, “OK, I’ll talk to Antony. Not right now, after this is over I will.”
“Fair enough.” Was all Damion said as he turned and opened the door. He held it open, motioning for me to go back inside. When in the room, I saw they were moving on from planning. Realizing this would take a while, I pulled out a notebook and pencil to start writing the first draft of the latest commission. ‘I might as well get work done while they do.’ I thought to myself.
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I noticed that V had fallen asleep, so I took that moment to talk to Damion. “Is she ok?”
“Not really. I convinced her to talk to you before making a decision.”
“I wish I knew what happened. Did someone say something to her?”
“Kristin, trying to run V off I think. I know that V wanted to fight her but walked off.”
“Figures. I don’t think we need to work with her anymore.”
“Is it smart to make her an enemy?”
“We can’t have toxic people around us. The others would agree.”
Damion shrugged his shoulders. “You're right. I just want to know one thing. Why V? What has made you choose her?”
I thought for a moment. “I’m not sure how to explain it. From the moment I heard her voice, I just knew. Her shattered soul called to me, begging me to heal it. Begging me to notice how broken and unloved it felt. I have never felt anything like it in my life.”
Damion smirked. “That explains a lot. I’ll tell the others Kristin is done recording with us. What reason should I tell them?”
“Real-life bullying of our audience isn’t tolerated. It’s one thing for us to say things to each other screwing around, but it’s another to be hateful.”
V suddenly shifted in her sleep, making us both look over. Something fell on the floor with a quiet clunk. Damion bent down, picking up the objects. He turned towards me, holding up the items. “She still uses pencil and paper. Isn’t that old even for her?”
“She’s the same age as me. We were the transition from paper to computer. Must have never left her, or she is a purist. Some people don’t like to type until they have to. They enjoy the smell and/or sound of pencil and paper.”
“That’s weird.”
“To some, it is, but she has reasons for wanting this style.”
“I’m gonna go find Nash, let him know what happened.”
I nodded, looking down at the notebook Damion handed me. I scanned it over but didn’t know the characters' names.
“It’s Supernatural.” A voice stated.
I whirled around quickly to see V had woken up. “What?” I asked, confused,
“The story is about the TV show Supernatural.”
The confusion cleared as I smiled at her. “I was wondering if everything you write about is a fandom you are a part of.”
“Of course. Can’t write about something you don’t know.” She was smiling back at me.
“True, but that means you have a lot of fandoms you are a part of. More than you write about if your favorites are anything to go by.”
“Yes, I have a lot that I don’t write about, but I still enjoy it. Some are just hard to write for, so I refuse them. Others, I just don’t know well enough. I may have read them or watched the movies once or twice, but nothing beyond that.” I nodded in reply.
The silence that settled between us was deafening. V looked uncomfortable as she began to fidget with the hem of her shirt.
I noticed and sat down next to her on the couch. “Are you still upset?”
Turning her head towards me, she asked softly, “You knew?”
“Not at first. When you walked back in and went to your writing, I realized something was wrong. I didn’t want to bring it up with everyone in the room. You were asleep by the time we were done working, so Damion explained as best he could.”
“I don’t want to come between you and your friend. I was going to leave, but Damion didn’t want me to leave without talking to you first. I figured it was a fair plea, so I stayed.”
“Why would you leave?”
“So you wouldn’t have to tell one of us to.”
“I chose you. Damion is telling the others that we are no longer working with her. No matter how long I have known Kristin, there was no need to say hateful things to you.”
“Technically, they were not hateful words.”
I narrowed my eyes at her in disbelief. “What would you call them then?”
V started wringing her hands in her lap. “If I had to put a label on it, I would say stupid jealousy. It sounded like she felt threatened by me. Like me staying with you has screwed up some plan she had to be with you.” The subject was slowly making her angry. “Said that I was a bad weekend fling that you would forget about.”
Closing her eyes, I could see she was trying to calm down, failing miserably. I caught on that she was losing her temper and put a hand over hers. The touch jumped her but was successful in changing her state of mind. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me,” V whispered, looking into my eyes. “I don’t usually get angry. I’m not sure why what she said is upsetting me so much.”
“I think I know why.” I stared back into her eyes.
Confusion clouded her face, but she seemed to let it go. “Are you done for now?”
Still holding her hand, I stood up, pulling her up with me, “Break time, want to go for a walk around the block?”
V smiled slightly, “Yeah, sounds like fun.”
- Writer
