Waiting For You

Chapter 1: How to Start a New Adventure

Rapid clicking of a keyboard echoed through the lonely home office as Fallon finished writing the last sentences of her conclusion paragraph. She was racing against the clock to complete her English Literature essay before the exam's end.

English has never been Fallon's best subject, but she was determined to have a perfect report card that semester.

With one last click, she submitted the document. She was rewarded by confetti exploding across her laptop screen, congratulating her on submitting her last assignment for the semester. She prayed silently, hoping she had done well enough to gain the final few points to give her the A she needed.

As Fallon closed her browser and began the shutdown sequence, she yelled, "I'm done, Momma!" to her mother in the other room.

"Congrats, kiddo. Are you feeling better about your grades this semester?" Her mother replied.

"I think I finally did it. I worked extra hard this semester. Going to math tutoring was very helpful," Fallon said while crossing her fingers. "This semester kicked my butt with all the reading for my two ethnic studies classes."

Being the third child of four had its perks at times. Still, when coupled with the fact that her older sister was also a mechanical engineering student, Fallon felt she had a lot to live up to. Fallon was never the top of the class but always put in the effort needed to learn the material well and succeed as best she could. Getting a straight A report card was just the thing she needed to feel equal with her brainiac siblings.

If she was being honest with herself, this was likely her last chance to get the convicted straight A's. Her classes would not get any easier, and she was already starting to feel burnt out.

Her mom walked to the office and leaned on the door frame, "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it's not going to get any easier. And you haven't even started your major-specific classes yet."

"I know, I know," Fallon replied, sounding dejected.

Being burnout at the end of her freshman year was far from what Fallon was hoping for coming out of her first year at Coastal Community College. Her classes were forced to be held online for the year due to health concerns and the global covid-19 pandemic, which made the transition to college courses even more difficult.

Fallon lost the second half of her senior year of high school to the pandemic, and now she was losing her college experience. The glamorous Hollywood college experience she had dreamt of for years was far from the reality she was facing. She was living at home with her parents and taking a full load of courses of 18 credits to prepare for when she transferred to University.

Her mother watched as Fallon began packing her backpack, moving her laptop and books off her desk. She was relieved that she got to have a two-week break before starting summer classes. "Have you thought any more about what I said earlier about church?"

Fallon sighed and turned to face her mother, "I haven't had the time yet. You know, with school and all that."

Her mother referenced an earlier conversation about connecting Fallon to a college or young adult group at one of the local churches. Since the pandemic started, Fallon lost contact with most of her friends and was beginning to struggle with her mental health because of it.

"Please, just think about it. I think it would be good for you." With that final statement, her mother turned and left the room, leaving Fallon to finish cleaning her desk.

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Once her desktop was organized and the textbooks were put away, Fallon pulled out her phone and began scrolling through her Instagram. Her feed was almost entirely made up of photos of former high school friends with their new friends with cliche captions about the semester coming to an end.