Secrets

Chapter Eight

The early afternoon sun was shining bright and hot onto the city, the sky a deep blue. Karlie was lying on her blanket under a tree at one of her favorite spots in Central Park. Inside the city the heat was unbearable, it was accumulated between the high building and the innumerable cars, not to mention all the people. The tall girl was happy to have this park, the city's green lung, as a refuge on a hot day like this. As much as she loved the city life, sometimes she wanted her peace and quiet. Sipping on her bottle of ice tea, she could see New York's buildings surrounding the big park from her spot.

Up until earlier she and Jourdan had been studying here together, but the other girl had left for work a while ago. Karlie did not envy her. She was glad that her summer classes and tutoring classes were over for today and she could enjoy the weather. It was the second week of summer sessions, and Karlie had gotten over her initial anxiety towards teaching the group of high-school students - they were all friendly and the classes went well. The group consisted mostly of girls, and she hoped to spark their interest in computer programming enough that they would consider studying it at college after they'd graduate. There were not many other girls in her college classes on the subject, and she hated that she stood out.

Karlie put her headphones in and put her music on shuffle. She was lying on her back with her hands crossed behind her head, looking up at the treetop and watching the birds. 

Her thoughts drifted to the events from the weekend before last. It all seemed so far away now. She still couldn't believe that she had met Taylor in person, and how nice the singer had been. And how she had wished that the blonde wasn't a famous pop-star when she herself was a random college kid, so that maybe they'd have a chance to become friends. She didn't know what it was, but she had felt drawn towards the singer beyond the obvious star-struckness that came from Taylor being her favorite musician. She had felt like they would get along well if they got to know each other.

She sighed. She didn't dare tell anyone about this for fear of being laughed at. Not her friends, not even her sisters. Even though the concert and the following meeting was all the sisters texted about in their group chat, much to their older sister Kristine's annoyance, who had already threatened to leave the chat numerous times and had probably turned the notifications off because she didn't want to read about her younger sisters' fangirling 24/7.

"If this was a movie" came on shuffle and Karlie giggled to herself, finding it fitting in the moment. She closed her eyes and listened to the song carefully, imagining what it would be like to meet Taylor again. It reminded her of all the times she had been lying on her bed in her childhood bedroom, listening to Taylor's songs and imagining her future life in New York. Someday I'll be living in a big old city ... she would always tell herself. And now she had been living her dream-life for two years already. Sure, it was not always easy, and she had gotten her heart broken, but she nevertheless loved her college, her job, the city and her friends.

And about that crazy little thing called love - well, she would figure it out someday.

She realized she must've fallen asleep, because she woke up from her phone buzzing in her hand that was still loosely holding the device on the blanket. She noticed how hungry she was and decided to pack up her stuff and grab something to eat on the way home. It was only a short subway ride to the student apartment complex where she lived near the campus. Karlie turned around on the blanket to read the text message she had just gotten. She almost screamed when she saw who it was from.

Taylor

Hey Karlie, this is Taylor. How are you doing? I'm in NYC until next week. Would you like to grab a coffee sometime? This has nothing to do with you-know-what, I just want to hang out. I hope this is ok to ask you. I would like to see you again!