A Dagger to the Heart

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

        Ellen gave us a tour of her studio. It was a lot bigger then I thought it would be. It was also the most physical activity I have had after my surgeries so I was getting tired really quickly. Ellen herself  was very nice. She introduced us to just about everyone that works in the building. She had short blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She smiled at just about everything which helped take away my nerves. I have been a huge fan of hers for a long time, so it was an honor to just breath the same air. 

        She brought us to our dressing rooms so we could get ready for the show. I got my own room and my parents were just down the hall. The door to my room had my name on it which was probably one of the coolest things I have ever seen. I walked into the room and there was a bouquet of flowers sitting on the coffee table in front of the light green couch. On the opposite side of the room there was a giant mirror that had a makeup station in front of it. I placed my bags on the couch and took out my hair straightener. I plugged it into the wall right next to the makeup table and set it on the table top. As it warmed up, I put my contacts in and grabbed my makeup bag. I decided to go for the smokey eye. My eyes are blue so I decided to use a shiny gold color that makes them pop. Just before I was finished, my straightener beeped and I took my brush in one hand, and the burning iron in the other. Doing my hair only takes about ten minutes if it is done right. I just never want to take ten minutes in the morning before school. 

        After my hair and makeup is done, I put on the black and pink dress I packed to wear on stage. I put on my back boots, necklace and earrings as a lady knocked on my door.

"Ten Minutes Haley" She said through the door.

"Sounds good" I responded as I saw her shadow move away from under the door.

        She made perfect timing. My head was racing, but not in a bad way. I wasn't nervous, which is odd because I am about to go on live TV for the first time. My head was fuzzy because I was more nervous about the questions she was going to ask, more then the amount of people that are going to be looking at me. 

        I opened the door and stepped out. The door to my parents dressing room was open, so I walked down the hall until I found them standing in their room.

"Honey, you look stunning!" My Mom said as she saw me peeking around the door. 

"Thank you" I said in response.

"Are you excited?" My Dad asked me.

"Of course, are you crazy?" I said as another worker stopped by the room.

"It's time" She said.        

        I followed her down the hall and my parents walked the other way. They get two seats in the audience, so they will see the show. The lady was explaining what the plan was. I was supposed to hangout in the back and watch the screen until Ellen introduces me with a short video. Then I would make my way down the stage and to the chairs that were right in the middle. The directions were pretty easy to understand so I just nodded my head up and down.

"Okay, just wait here and watch this screen, when she introduces you, walk to those stairs. Someone will be here to help you if you forget." She said with a smile on her face.

        I nodded and she walked away. I did as instructed and watched the screen. The show was starting and I could hear the crowd clapping a cheering. Ellen started off cracking jokes and dancing. Then she made her way to the chairs and started my intro. 

"Our next guest is very special, take a look" She said as the video started playing. 

        I made my way over to the stairs and was ready to walk out. Just like the lady said, someone came over to help me and told me when I could start walking down the stage.

"Now" 

        I took a deep breath and made my way around the corner to the stage. I looked up and everyone was standing up and clapping for me. I looked around and some people were even crying. Must have been the video. 

        I smiled as I made my way closer to Ellen who was waiting for me by the chairs. Once I made my way to her she reached over and gave me a hug. The crowd was still clapping and cheering for me which was an amazing feeling. I took a seat and everyone started to clam down. 

"Thank you for having me!" I said to Ellen.

"It is wonderful to have you here!" She said back to me "We all know what you have been through the past few days, you must be feeling a lot of emotion" 

"Not really, I mean kind of. I don't really remember what happened. One second I was on my way to school, and the next I was waking up in the hospital in a lot of pain" I said.

"I couldn't imagine. You have some battle wounds" Ellen said and I brought my hand up to the mark on my neck.

"Yeah, a constant reminder isn't something I really wanted" I said being honest. 

"But what you did is something that you will always remember. You saved everyone in your school if you know it or not" She said, the crowd started clapping.

"I guess, it's hard to see it that way from my perspective" 

"So what made you decide that you were going to take down the men with deadly weapons?" She asked me.

"To be completely honest, I have no freaking idea" some people from the crowd gave out a small laugh "I just started running towards the first man without even thinking. Before I knew it, two more guys showed up and I couldn't turn around and run. It's not something I am proud of, it isn't something that I want to remember, it was stupid and I was lucky I wasn't killed" 

"It isn't something you should regret, it shows your bravery. Most people would not have done what you did. Instead of thinking about how bad it could have been, think about how many lives you saved" The crowd started clapping again.

        I just smiled and looked out at the crowd. I wanted to find my parents, but the lights were so bright that I couldn't make out the first row. 

"We are going to take a short break and when we come back I have a surprise for Haley!" Ellen said to the camera. The guy behind it lifted up his hand signaling that the camera was no longer on.

"We have about two minutes until we go back on! Can I get you anything to drink?" Ellen said to me.

"No thank you" I said in response. 

        The two minutes went by faster then I expected. The guy behind the camera yelled something I didn't catch. He lifted up his hand again and Ellen started talking to the camera.

"We are back with Haley! Before our break I said I had a little surprise for you..."

        Before she could finish her sentence, the crowd went wild. Everyone was screaming and jumping up and down. The noise was ringing my ears and my head started hurting. I had no idea what was going on and the excitement coming from the crowd was overwhelming. I looked over my shoulder and turned my body only to see Harry Styles walking towards me.