A Risk I'm Willing to Take

Four

"Hi Gemma. I like the new color."

I held up a lock of my hair to examine the ends. I dyed them lime green in celebration of landing the story.

"Thanks." I smiled.

"So are you gonna tell me what exactly you are doing in Nevada and how you managed to get a week off of school so you could visit us in LA?"

I rolled my eyes.

"No you're not going to say it's a secret. You're not going to the raid thing at Area 51 are you?" Luke laughed a little at the end to try and play it off as a joke.

"Are you alone?"

"I mean Gavin's in the room working on a bit of guitar stuff but what's the big deal? I feel like you've joined the Mafia. Everything's classified information nowadays."

I can hear a guitar being played faintly in the background.

"Luke that's an acoustic guitar. Are y'all working on an acoustic cover of one of your new songs?" I smile widely, hoping my deflection will work.

"No, you are not deflecting. Answer my question." Luke said, sternly.

I sighed. "Fine, yes."

Luke glared at me, clearly annoyed. "Yes, what?"

"I'm going to Nevada to the Storm Area 51 event... as a journalist. I'm going to be writing an article about the people who attend."

"Wait like a real article? You've got an official journalist gig?" Luke beamed. "Gavin, Gemma's got her first journalist gig!"

"Hold on, I don't even know fully yet where my article is being published. I have to bring it back to the Dean to prove it was worth sending me out to cover a story everyone else thinks is a joke."

Gavin stepped into the frame. His shaggy hair was sticking up a bit in the back like he had been wearing a hat and had just taken it off.

"I'm so excited I'm finally going to meet a girl who's not only a singer/songwriter and influencer, but now a journalist too."

"I'm glad y'all are so excited for me." I look down at my feet.

"You're literally so cute when you blush." Luke chuckled.

"What? I am not blushing!" I looked at myself on the screen. Sure enough my cheeks were rosy and flushed.

Suddenly the door knob started to wiggle. My heart started to race. Any second Lauren could walk in.

"Guys I gotta go. Bye!" I ended the call and quickly stashed the rhinestone phone in my backpack.

A few seconds later Lauren walked in with one of her soccer friends.

"Hey I heard you got into it with Thing One and Thing Two again today."

If there was anyone who disliked Madison and Olivia as much as I did it was the soccer team. The soccer team, minus their freshmen, all lived on one floor of the same dorm and the sorority that Madison and Olivia belonged to have a history of hazing them.

"They just wanted to start drama, as usual." I rolled my eyes and flopped onto my bed. I opened Instagram on my personal phone and began scrolling through my notifications.

"You know I still will never understand some of the things they do for the sake of being mean." Lauren's teammate kicked her shoes of and laid on her stomach on Lauren's bed.

"You mean like slide folders under all the team's doors with profiles of how inadequate every girl on the team is because they're not pretty or they don't have a bunch of followers on Instagram?"

I looked at Lauren. "Why do they do this stuff to y'all?"

Lauren's teammate twirled a strand of her ponytail. "Legend has it that when Madison was a freshman her boyfriend dumped her and the very next day posted of picture of himself with one of the players."

"But it was just a post, Callie."

"Exactly and even though he did go onto to date the girl during the summer, it shouldn't matter."

Lauren held up a blue top. "Does this look good for a party?"

I looked at it for a minute. "Is it a frat party?"

We all burst out laughing.

"No!" Lauren tried to contain he laughs. "Be serious."

"I think it's a nice top. It's just it's a little serious for a party." I got up to walk to her closet.

I pulled out a loose soft cotton shirt. "Try this."

"This is so simple." Lauren turned the shirt in her hands.

"Let them be impressed by you and not what you're wearing." I smiled and hugged her.

"Why are you always so sappy!?" Lauren moaned.

I let go and we all laughed. I was so glad to have Lauren as a roommate. I'd only been here for a month but it had become more of a home than anything else I had ever known.

I didn't know what to expect out in the desert. I didn't even know what to expect in meeting Luke but I hoped that it wouldn't change this. I wanted to come back to this after a week and continue this life.

This life of girl advice and football games, parties and late night snack runs. I was so happy. I hoped that what was coming next wouldn't change that.

---------------------------------------------------

I laid on my bed in the dark. Lauren had just gotten back from the house party and was trying desperately to not appear drunk. I heard a thud as she hit her knee on her bed.

"Are you alright, Lauren?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah...I'm alright." She laughed drunkenly.

I listened as she settled into her bed.

"Lauren, there's something I need to tell you." I said tentatively.

"Yeah, wassup?"

"I'm going to Nevada tomorrow, for a story." I winced hoping for a good response.

"Whatttttt!" She shrieked. "That's so amazing, girl."

I smiled. At least that had gone over well.

"And, Lauren, there's a friend of mine that I haven't told you about."

"Oh shit, do you have a boyfriend?" She said in a panic.

"No, he's just a friend. His name is Luke and I met him through music stuff."

"You have a famous boyfriend, I like it."

"Lauren, go to sleep. I'll show you him in the morning when you're not drunk." I rolled over to face the wall.

"I'm... not drunk." Lauren slurred.

"Ok, if you say so."

We both laughed as we settled to go to sleep.