The football player and his teacher

Chapter twenty-nine - An interview and a surprise

Ashley's POV:

For the past week, I have been practicing what I will say in my interview. I have no idea what the questions will be. I picked what I wanted to say about myself and why I chose this career. Honestly, I still don't know if this is the right choice. Well, I don't have much time to change it. The problem is that I don't know what I want to do with my life. I wanted to go to New York so much that I didn't think about what to do when I went there. At least the town is full of career opportunities. There will be something for me. First, I need to do the interview. Then I have to graduate. In the end, I will think about my career. Many people study something but later find their passion in something else. Let's hope that I am not one of them. I want to find a good and well-paid job. I have the feeling that Avery will have more success than me. At least he knows what he wants to do. Choosing a career looks so easy for him. I wish I could say the same. That's why last week I tried to talk with him about this. It's not like he helped me. Since then, I haven't seen him. Well, he went to chase his dreams. Honestly, I am happy for him. I don't know who his new team is. Well, I'm sure they can play well. I wish I could go back to high school. Not many things happened, but everything looked so easy. I didn't have to care about anything. Now I have so many things in my head. When people go to university, they start thinking about their life. I have to do it as well. At least my parents are on my side. If I have a problem, I know they will help me. That's why I wonder if I should come home when I graduate. I want to stay in town, but I don't know if I can do it. I hope when the time comes, I will make the right decision.

Today I will travel to New York for my interview. I was so nervous that I couldn't sleep the whole night. I want them to like me. Usually, you give your diploma and sign in to the university. I don't know why they want an interview with me. Let's hope that it will go well. I don't want to go to another place. Maybe I am worrying too much, but what can I say? I have always been like that. Most of the time, I worried about nothing. This time, it's something important, and I want to do it right.

I landed in New York half an hour ago. Now I am in a taxi. Everything here looks so different. Soon, we arrived in front of the university. The building is so big. I paid the driver and told him to keep the change. He was nice to me the whole ride. A couple of dollars can make his day better. I walked in and saw a woman at the reception. I took my backpack and walked up to her. I don't have many things because I don't know how this will go.

- Hello.

- Hi. How can I help you?

- I have an interview. My name is Ashley Moore.

- Let me check. Ashley Moore. Yes, you are on the list. You have already talked with someone.

- Yes, I did.

- Ok, sit there and wait. I will call miss Mayers.

- Thank you.

I sat on a small couch. I have to say that the building is pretty. If I have the chance to study here, that would be amazing. Well, it depends on me. I have to play my cards well. The woman told me that miss Mayers would come in ten minutes. I am starting to get nervous again. I better calm down. Otherwise, I might ruin everything. Maybe I can distract myself with something. It's not like this will help, but at least I can waste some time. I was about to pull out my phone when a woman appeared in front of me.

- Hello, Ashley. I'm glad to see that you are here.

- Thanks.

- Let's go now. We'll talk in my office.

- Ok, no problem.

Both of us went to a big room. I don't know what miss Mayers's job is. The thing is that I have never seen such a big room. She told me to sit in a chair, and like a puppy, I did it.

- Ok, Ashley. Tell me why you chose this university.

- Honestly, the only thing that I wanted was to come to New York. I was searching for universities when I saw that you accept students early. That's why I decided to try and see what would happen.

- You made a good choice. Our university accepts more than ten thousand students every year.

- That is amazing.

- I am here only for the introduction. I invited two teachers to talk with you.

- Thank you.

- Here they are. That is miss Wilson and miss Adams.

- Hi, Ashley. How are you today? - miss Wilson asked

- Nervous.

- It's ok. That is not a test. We only want to help you.

- I will leave you to talk. Call me if you need anything. - miss Mayers said

- Thanks. - I said, and miss Mayers left

- Miss Mayers told me that you couldn't decide what to study. One of the options was literature and creative writing. Am I right? - miss Wilson asked

- Yes, it is. The other one was psychology.

- I think both choices are good.

- Can I start? - miss Adams asked

- Yes, sure.

- Ok, if you study psychology, you will understand people's problems. That way, you will be able to help them. That is a popular career. The only problem is that not many people get brave enough to visit a therapist. I teach students from every course. With the first graders, I teach two subjects. Some of them will help you to understand people's actions and behavior. When someone has personal problems, they might get angry at innocent people. I mean, people who have nothing to do with their problems.

- I had something like this. I had a classmate with who we didn't understand each other well. Later, we sorted things out.

- So, you have an example of what psychology will teach you.

- Yes, I do.

- Ok, that is from me.

- Literature and creative writing is also popular career. Let's say that you can't tell someone how you feel. You can write this person a poem or something similar to express your feelings. Writing different types of text helps with your knowledge and language. There are terms that you can use. For example, if you have a science text, you will use specific words. The literature will help you get more ideas for your text. If you write a story, you can use some ideas from other books. I guess you like reading books.

- Yes, I love reading.

- Writing your books can help people as well. Many of them found comfort in the pages of a book.

- If you want, you can study literature and creative writing. When you graduate, you can try psychology. - miss Adams said

- I think I might try psychology. I hope you don't mind, miss Wilson.

- Not at all. I am not here to convince you to choose a career. I only want to help you.

- Thanks.

- Do you have any questions?

- For now, no.

- Ok, then. That is from us. We hope to see you soon.

- Me too.

Finally, the interview finished. Miss Mayers came to tell me that I can study here this year. At least I got some good news. Maybe I was nervous for nothing.

- Ok, here are the keys to your room. Next to yours, there is a boy. If he is loud or makes much noise, you can complain.

- Thanks. I don't have many things now.

- It's ok. You can bring everything you need here whenever you want. Your parents can come too.

- I will tell them.

I went to see my room, and it was big. These people don't waste space. My roommate and I can live here comfortably. I left my backpack on the bed and went for a shower. Later, I called my parents. They were happy to hear that I got accepted. Mom said that she and dad would come to bring everything that I needed. Honestly, I prefer to do it. That way, I can go home for a while.

After an hour, I walked out. I wanted to look around the university. The back of the building looks like a park. It will take me time to get used to this. I walked by a field. Avery would have liked this. It's so big that my house can fit here. I was walking around when I bumped into someone. I carefully looked up and froze at my place. That can't be happening. No, I can't believe it.

- Avery?

- Ashley? What the heck are you doing here?

- I-I had my interview.

- Here? In this university?

- Y-yes.

- You have to be kidding me. Go away. I don't want you here.

- Why? I want to be here.

- I had to deal with you in high school. I won't do it here, as well.

- You don't have to do it.

- Go away! Find somewhere else to study.

- No! What is going on with you? You have never been so mad.

- Leave me alone! - Avery said and left

That wasn't what I expected. I walked for a while and later went back to my room. Maybe I can take a nap. I was walking to my room when I saw Avery coming. That better be a joke. The boy in the room next to mine is Avery. This day can't get worse. I pulled out my keys when I felt eyes on me.

- What are you doing here? I told you to go away.

- This is my room.

- They should've put us in one room. - he said, sarcastically

- Look, I'm sorry. What do you want me to do?

- Go away! I already told you.

- I can't. - I said and walked into my room

I took a two hours nap. It was more than I needed, but it felt good. Later, I went out. I walked by the field again. Avery was there with some boys. Maybe that is his new team. Honestly, he doesn't look happy. I carefully got close without them seeing me. I don't know who the boy is, but you can see the tension between him and Avery. It looks like they might kill each other soon.

- I told you something. The star of the team is me.

- This is a practice. Calm down.

- Ok, then. I know how to deal with you.

- Do whatever you want. I don't care. - Avery said and left

I know I shouldn't go after Avery, but I will do it. That boy is a fast walker. Finally, I managed to reach him. I grabbed his hand and made him face me. Now I know why he got so mad. It wasn't because of me.

- What do you want from me?

- To calm down and tell me what happened.

- Why do I have to tell you?

- Because talking about the problem is the first step to solving it.

- I'm sorry, but I don't need a therapist.

- Yes, but you need a friend. The boys are not here, so you can tell me. I won't tell anyone, I promise.

- I don't want to talk about this. - Avery said and left

Of course, I had to follow him. Avery went to his room and shut the door right in my face. Luckily, my nose is ok. He didn't hit me. I knocked on the door, but there was no answer. I tried again and got the same result. After five minutes, he opened the door. Avery was about to close it, but I put my foot in the corner.

- Leave!

I didn't say anything and walked in. I guess all the rooms are big. Avery looked at me madly, but I only smiled. I sat on his bed and tapped the place next to me. Surprisingly, he sat down.

- Will you tell me what the problem is? Even when we argued, you weren't so mad.

- I regret coming here.

- Why? Don't you like the place?

- The place is good. I have problems with my new team.

- Are they that bad?

- The captain is terrible. He is the only one who takes control of the home team. The other boys don't have opinions. Maybe they have, but no one will say it out loud.

- Why? Don't tell me they are scared of the captain.

- I don't know. I tried to talk with the boys but without a result.

- I'm sorry. I know this is not what you expected. Try to look at it from the positive side. You are here to play, not be friends with these people.

- I have no idea what to do. I can't do this for long.

- What year is the captain?

- He will graduate this year.

- Then you have to deal with him for a year. I'm sure that the coach will make you a captain after he leaves.

- I don't know. All I want is to get out of here.

- If you want, we can go out. I haven't been here before. We can be tourists. - I said, smiling

- I'm not in the mood for that.

- Please. You know that I can make you.

- I hate you.

- I know. Thanks for the reminder. Now get ready, and let's go.

- Fine. Give me five minutes to change. You can wait outside.

- So you can lock the door and never go out. I won't fall for that.

- What? I only want to change my clothes.

- Then, go into the bathroom.

- Crazy girl.

- I heard that.

- That was the idea.

Avery and I walked out. I have no idea where we are going. All I wanted was to make him feel better. Later we went for dinner at one restaurant close to the university. Somehow, we didn't get lost. Well, nowadays, it's easy to go back. We have maps on our phones. The rest of the night we spent in my dorm. We watched a movie and talked. Maybe I can't replace Avery's friends, but I can make him feel better. I don't want us to argue anymore. I believe there is a way we can sort things out. At the end of the movie, he falls asleep. I left him on my bed. I wrote a note and took his keys. No offense, but I don't want to sleep in the same room with him. I don't think he will mind the switch of rooms. I hope Avery will find a way to deal with his new team.