The Call

The anticipation was killing him. Each minute felt like an hour had passed. He was ready to close his eyes when suddenly, the bell woke Anthony from his trance. He grabbed his belongings and ran out of class like a hurricane wiping out a small city. The cold wind of the outside tugged on his face as if it were a peelable sticker. The fall leaves were a diverse species of all shapes and sizes. The grass still smelled like the misty dew that replenished them during sunrise. Anthony swiftly glanced at his watch, knowing he needed to make it home in the next minute. He ran even faster knowing he could not miss this opportunity of a lifetime. As Anthony was reaching his home, he pulled a crumpled, stained flashcard from deep in his pocket. He read and rehearsed through the lines just to make sure he was ready. “THUD,” the door exclaimed as Anthony ran right into it. Even though his Anthony was experiencing throbbing pain in his head, he still stumbled right into his home. The scent of lavender flowers and cinnamon danced through Anthony’s nose as he walked into home. The house consisted of bright, sky blue walls along with two minty green couches. An antique piano, gifted to Anthony by his grandma, highlighted the display of the living room. The dark brown hardwood steps of the staircase creaked as Anthony stumbled up them. He hurriedly rushed to his room in attempt to grab his brand new laptop. Anthony was just in time as he opened the glossy silver laptop. Receiving a call, Anthony was glancing at his crumpled flashcard for the final time. He took a deep breath, and clicked the green button illuminating his screen. A middle-aged man looking appeased sat right in the center of the screen. He had luxurious black hair and a designer watch resting on his right wrist. What stood out the most was the man’s outfit. The gentleman was wearing a sober navy-blue suit and a pink, striped silk tie. The material of the suit made it seem that it had been dry cleaned five times that week. He was definitely qualified for the job. Anthony rehearsed his flashcard in his brain and started to speak. He was sweating buckets and as anxious as a young child opening their presents. But finally, he started to speak and composed himself as he did it. “Good Afternoon. I have long awaited this moment and I am so grateful that you have taken the time of to accommodate me. I hope we are able to have a positive outcome to this meeting. ” Anthony instantly knew that his last line sounded much better in his head.”I hope so, too,” the man said, ” Sorry, actually, I know so. The company and I are quite impressed with your business idea and decided that it could be a great asset to the company.” At that moment, Anthony wanted to jump out of his seat and yell as loud as he could, but he knew he couldn’t because it would not look professional and after all, Anthony was a businessman. In less than a day’s change Anthony went from a regular, boring high school student questioning what education really meant to a successful businessman earning what may have taken him decades to earn.”I understand that you are in the midst of completing high school, but we have reached out to New York’s Dean of Education who agreed to your early completion of high school. This means you will be able to receive your diploma by the end of this semester. We will cover the specific details in a week, or your first day on the job.” Anthony was in total shock. He had no idea what to say. Instead, he sat there with his mouth wide open. ” I know this will take some time to process and celebrate,” the man mumbled,” So we will talk next week. See you then.” Anthony closed his computer, aghast by what he had just felt. He sat there, feet on top of his shaved wooden desk, anticipating what would happen next.