Lights, Camera, Action [N.H]

02

I'm gonna be uploading a bunch of chapters back to back to give some more content for the beginning to get invested, then as we get further in the chapters will get further apart as I haven't actually written them yet! 

After speaking with Madeline, and finalising many details, she left my office. I on the other hand, left our last-minute meeting with my body almost tingling with both excitement and fear. I nearly couldn't believe what I had done, and I wasn't sure if panic was going to set in, or if I was going to jump out of my seat with joy. It was really anyone's guess at this stage, the unknown eating me up a little if I thought too hard. Madeline walked back to her office and returned right back to her laptop as if she'd never left. It was like that was the most casual conversation ever for her, like asking how my day was going, or talking about how nice the weather was. For me, I was shitting my pants over the fact that every aspect of my life was about to become drastically different. Ashlee was lurking around still, eventually peeking her head from the kitchen and common space to see Madeline had left our mutual office, and gave me a look to ask me if the cost was clear. All I could do was just nod my head at her in shock, to signify that not only was he welcome back into our office after the heavy conversation, but I'd said yes. She made a screaming-excited face in silence and strutted her way back into our office after giving her the all-clear. 

I started to pack my things into my bag, getting ready to return home. She opened the door, barely being able to stay silent for more than a second before exploding with excitement and questions. I didn't know if it was even the right decision yet, but I thanked her anyway for pushing me. If I later regretted it, I'd take my thanks back from her. Ashlee was so over the moon that I was beginning to wonder if I was even the one leaving, and it was in fact her that I'd just negotiated for. As we left the office together, Ashlee still exploding with questions that I didn't even have the answers to, I started to wrap my head around it all. Getting into my car and driving myself back home, I sighed one of the biggest sighs, unsure of whether it was relief or nervousness. Thus began the shortest, most hectic, exciting, and conflicting week of my life.

I had one whole week to gather everything I needed to live away from home for a month. I had never traveled out of the country before, and the amount of times I'd traveled was less than the five fingers I had on my hand. All of them were accompanied by my parents, who did the majority of the packing of suitcases for me. I had a large black suitcase I had been gifted on my 21st birthday, obviously with the intent that I would travel more and go out to see the world. I, however, was so incredibly comfortable in my minuscule comfort zone the size of a hamster ball, meaning I hadn't even had the chance to use it. I'd been away for weekend getaways, but nothing that required a passport and certainly nothing that required a large suitcase.

Now, because I had been working for the company for so long, Madeline decided she wasn't going to give this opportunity to me unless it was the full package. I expressed worries to her about rent, traveling costs, and everything in between as I was mentioning to her my hesitancy. She ensured they would cover everything for me, free of cost, including travel and all considering it was such a fast-paced job, apparently Niall and his team paid for everyone to travel and be accommodated, anything above and beyond was often not covered, though. I was still expected to pay for my apartment and whatnot, but considering I had an exceptional friend, I didn't need to pay for a house-sitter. I would use the money I was being paid for my one-month trial period to pay for the apartment and rent I was leaving behind, it's more than enough considering artists apparently like to throw away money for people they've never met, paying the most generous rate I'd ever seen. I was set to be on a trial period for 1 month, both to see if I liked it and if they liked me. Or more specifically my work. I wasn't sure what outcome I wanted. The singular month alone would give me enough to write about for the articles Madeline would usually have me write, considering I was expected to travel to god knows how many places within the next 30-day period. But it also provided an exceptional opportunity I'd barely had the chance to explore, which was photography. I'd done an excessive amount of photography to get my qualifications, but during an interning period with the company, they decided to keep me on and employ me. Unfortunately for me, they hired way too many photographers, and I was forced into becoming a writer and editor. It wasn't the worst job, and frankly, I was happy to have any job considering how hard it was for any of my friends and peers, it seemed. But it was never really what I wanted. I had been working up the courage to resign or tell Madeline it wasn't what I wanted anymore. And with my courage, I too worked on a portfolio to show her it would be worth her while to make me her photographer and get me out of the cage that being an editor seemed to feel like. While I never even got to show her the portfolio, it seemed like fate had its way, pushing me down the path of resistance when I could only see one way through.