Sway

Fourth Year

Boom boom.

Boom boom.

Boom boom.

My heartbeat? No.

A gunshot? In Indiana? Probably not.

Cling Cling Clack.

Cling cling clack.

Wind chimes? On campus? Nah.

Food cart? Maybe!

Whatever it was, it was distracting me from passing this Government test.

My thumb tapped along to the beat that was forming in my head,

Boom cling cling

Clack

Boom cling cling

Clack

There it is... yeah that's smooth. If only I could tap my foot without getting a glare from the guy across from me.

Fourth year law undergraduate, you'd think I'd know how to take a damn test without getting distracted. 28 questions left, 15 minutes before the bell. 15 minutes before I can get the hell off of this campus.

As much as I wanted to daydream about what the next two months had in store, I knew if I didn't pass this test there'd be no more New York trips. There was no way my parents would continue to pay all expenses for a two month vacation if I flunked out of law school. We had an agreement that was made right before I accepted my full ride academics scholarship to the university of Purdue. My parents knew that studying law wasn't what I wanted to do, but how could they look their wealthy friends in the face and tell them that their valedictorian daughter turned down several full ride scholarships to study music?

I remember that week like it was just yesterday — I was fresh out of high school and miserable. Torn between my own happiness and my parents' unrealistic image of who I should be. I wanted so badly to be that perfect daughter that they could show off to the world and place on a pedestal. However, my dream included absolutely no images of myself as a lawyer. I didn't want to stand in front of a judge or, recite amendments every single day of my life. Instead, I wanted to produce, to study, and to discover music. That week went by dauntingly slow and I remember being afraid of the future. I knew deep down that I'd have to make a decision no matter what. Even if my parents didn't cave on their strict opinions, I would ultimately be the one to decide what I wanted to do.

Thankfully they did cave, well, sort of. They pitched the idea of me going to college to study law and, during the summers they'd pay all expenses for me to travel wherever I wanted. It seemed like a win win to me. Not only would I get to keep my parents happy, but I'd also get to travel anywhere during summer breaks. Obviously, I accepted the deal and now here I am, four years later about to finish up my undergrad law program.

I didn't realize I had zoned out until everyone around me started packing up their bags and turning in their tests. Panic arose inside my chest when I looked down at my test to find the same 28 questions unanswered.

"Talia? Is everything alright?" Mr. Beck stood from behind the large desk with a curious expression on his face.

I swallowed and glanced down at the half finished test once more, "I - Didn't finish the test in time, I'm sorry."

He looked shocked, "Well, thankfully you have a high A in my class, as long as you get majority of the questions correct, your grade should balance out fine."

Relief washed over me as I started packing my books and stood from the chair. I brought the test to his desk and apologized again before heading out of the classroom and into the hallway. Students were rushing in every direction, overly excited for vacation. I couldn't blame them though, it had been exceptionally difficult to make it through all of my classes without thinking about New York. I had so much to do before my flight later on tonight, I hadn't even packed a single thing yet. The last couple of weeks before summer break were always rough, lots of papers to write and quizzes to study for. All of that left very little time for packing or catching up with friends in New York to tell them I'll be in town Tomorrow!

The books from Government pressed against my chest as I left the building and joined the other students outside. I was walking across the garden towards the dorms when I heard my friends yell after me. They knew I was heading off to New York tonight, I had been doing the same thing for the past three years now.

Brianna and Thatcher jogged up beside me and we all slowed down towards the dorms. "Sooo, are you excited for New York? I know your sexy hot babe is gonna be super excited to see you!" Thatcher laughed at Bri's sultry sounding words, I just rolled my eyes. For some reason, my friends were convinced that I was dating someone who lived in New York. This ingenious thought came to them after my first year visiting New York, once school started back up they insisted that I was a changed person. They said I came back with a new aura that screamed 'love & lust'. Now it was just a running theory that the two will never let die.

"I'm not sure how many times I can tell you guys that I'm not dating anyone. At all." We finally left the semi-warm Indiana air as we pushed through the dorm building.

Thatcher wiggled his thick black eyebrows, "Then why do you insist on going to New York, every single summer? Tal, this will legit be the fourth year in the same place!"

The halls were long and all three of our dorms were towards the end, "He's not lying about that... I mean, you could decide to come with us to Florida this summer instead!" Bri nudged my shoulder in a tempting manner causing me to laugh.

"I love you guys," I said while finally reaching my dorm, "but, New York is special to me and I only get two months every year to visit. I have to go."

They were quiet for a moment, standing with me at my door. It sucked turning them down yet again, but I knew my heart would never let me give up a flight to my favorite place in the world. Plus, we see each other every day, an occasional summer break away isn't the end of the world.

"Fine, but you could at least cave and tell us about your rich New York City lover!" I pushed Thatcher hard and Bri erupted in laughter, I'd miss them both. My arms pulled both of them closer as we hugged for a moment and Thatcher pretended to cry.

"I'm gonna miss you guys, FaceTime me from Florida so I can get a taste of the beach bitches." I let them go and waited as they traveled towards their own dorms before finally entering mine.

As soon as I stepped in, I turned on the record player and dropped in my Abbey Road vinyl. The familiar lyrics of Come Together sounded from the speakers as I hummed along and changed into some more comfortable clothes. An empty suitcase rested open on top of my mattress, waiting for me to throw in a bunch of shit that I was probably not even going to wear.

The clock on the nightstand let me know that I had just over three hours to be at the airport. So I cracked open a cold Pepsi and turned up the music.