Narrative #2: Harrison

My face was still on fire as I marched down the hallway, Emerald in tow. Of all of the stupid things she could possibly do, how was it that embarrassing me in front of the very people who could kickstart my very future would be the very thing she would do?

I should have known that telling her that she could come along to the meet-and-greet would be a mistake. I had desperately wanted to get into this summer internship ever since I figured out what I wanted in life. If I got it, it would be the first step in creating a promising career. Charming the program's ambassadors could have helped me get accepted, and I would have thought that Emerald would be the perfect person to assist me in that.

When I thought we were far away enough from the rest of the world, I came to a stop, letting go of Emerald's arm.

I turned to face her, my cheeks still burning hot. "What were you thinking, Emerald?" I demanded.

Emerald's face hardened, and she crossed her arms. "Harrison, I was only trying to help you," she insisted.

"I didn't need your help," I shot back.

Emerald scoffed, a strange sound coming from her. "Could've fooled me," she retorted. Then she paused, searching my eyes for a moment before taking a deep breath and pressing on. "Look, they were trying to embarrass you-"

"No, you embarrassed me," I said, and I'm surprised by the cold malice in my tone. Judging by Emerald's face, she was too. "You're the embarrassment."

Emerald's hand shot to her heart. "Are you kidding me?"

I laughed. "I wish I was!" I cried. "Do you have any idea how much I wanted to impress those judges? How much I needed to impress them? There was so much riding on tonight for me, and you might have just screwed it up!"

I ranted on, and in that moment, I unleashed all of my frustrations and anger, not just my irritation at Emerald, and man did it feel good. It was as if a weight I had been carrying for months had been lifted off my shoulders. So I let it all out of my system, finally feeling the heat on my face and in my veins cool down before I was finished.

I closed my eyes took a deep breath, feeling relieved and oddly renewed. But when I opened my eyes, my heart faltered.

Emerald had shrunk down into herself, all of the fight gone from her body. I had never seen her like this, so low and defeated. Because of me. It was a jarring sight to behold.

"I'm sorry," Emerald's voice cracked when she finally spoke. "I'm so so sorry."

Oh no. I blinked. "Emerald..." I breathed, reaching out to touch her shoulder.

But then she flinched away, and I froze for a moment before my hand dropped back down to my side, now that it wasn't sure what to do if it couldn't reassure Emerald.

Her eyes gleamed under the dim hall lights with unshed tears. Because of me. Oh no. "I'm so sorry," was all she said before she took a single step back. And then she ran.

My feet didn't wait for my brain to register what had just happened. I started to take off after Emerald, calling her name, but I nearly tripped and fell. By the time I caught myself, she was gone.

Because of me.

Oh no.