She finished her routine and struck the final pose and the entire auditorium roared with applause. I was clapping hella hard. She panted as she took a bow and got off the stage. The audience then got out of their seats and left for the lobby. I ran out there and looked frantically around amongst the crowd of people. Finally, I saw her make her way out.

"Kellie!" I yelled out.

She turned her head and her face lit up when she found me. She fought through the crowd to make her way towards me. I laughed at her tiny figure trying to get to me but she did and she looked up at me all sweaty and her smile beaming from ear to ear.

"Kellie...that was amazing, girl."

"Thanks Riley," she gasped out, "I'm really glad you came."

She hugged me tight and I hugged her back. I watched the crowd of people reunite with the other dancers and couldn't help but think: Ya know what? Juilliard people ain't that bad after all.

*[freeze frame, record scratch]*

Yep. You read that right. I, Riley Freeman, was associated with Juilliard people. Now, ya probably wondering to yaself, "But Reezy, how in God's name did you of all people become associated with the talented and probably stuck up bitches of Juilliard?" Well guys, buckle your seat belts because to get the gist of this story, we have to go back to the beginning. Let's rewind it back to the first semester of my Senior year of high school.

*A year and a half ago*

The leaves fell rapidly as the crisp November breeze took over the air. Cindy and I was walking home from school and I watched her catch some of the falling leaves. She always did love the fall weather, her and my bitch ass brother Huey. They loved the weather and scenery and all the leaves changing colors and dying off the trees. I mean it's alright or whatever but I'm more of a summer nigga myself; I love the heat, swimming, pickup games at the park, bitches barely wearing any clothes, and best of all: no school. We walked by the park and looked over at the basketball courts to see middle schoolers playing each other, and it got me all nostalgic. The basketball courts was where I first met Cindy; we were rivals as kids but now she was one of my best and closest friends. Ain't nobody can cross C-Murph and Young Reezy, ya feel?

But I didn't just think about that. I also thought about how the school basketball season that just started a few weeks ago was mine and Cindy's final high school season. Scouts was flanking left and right to see Cindy play, practically begging her to sign with them to play college ball. She really wants to play for Stanford all the way in Cali but she ain't get a scout from them yet. As for me, yeah scouts have come and request that I sign with them but haha MAJOR plot twist of all time: I decided not to continue with basketball in college. This season will be the last time I dribble a ball in a professional setting. A lot of people asked me why I wasn't playing anymore; it came as a shock to everyone. But to be completely honest, the last two years or so I really started getting back into art and drawing, and doing graffiti, and also getting paid to do commissions for people. There was something about art that soothed me and made me focus. I wanted to be an artist.

Speaking of which, I've also been asked by Mayor Ed Wuncler himself to tag certain areas of town, and I got paid pretty nicely for some of the stuff I've done for him so far let me tell ya. Even now, after I've walked Cindy home, I'm going to go finish a tag for Mayor Wuncler. I've been working on it since mid-October, but with the basketball season in full swing I hadn't gotten any chance to work on it, so when I do get to I do huge chunks and get a lot of progress done. After about 15 more minutes of walking, we had reached Cindy's house, the elegant McPhearson estate. I've only been inside a few times ever in the timespan that I've known Cindy; her parents don't like me very much (and have gone out of their way to express their bitch ass opinions about me in the past) and so I don't bother to go over.

"Ah shit, dad's back from his stupid business trip," Cindy groaned as we spotted her dad's expensive ass Benz in the driveway, "Now I gotta hear about some boring irrelevant story about things and people I could really care less about, and about stock market values and blah blah blah."

She stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry and I bust out laughing.

"I mean I would come inside to bear it with you, but we both know that your folks hate my ass. Plus, I really need to go finish up this mural tag so that it can be viewed in time for Thanksgiving."

"Yeeeaaahhh you do. You have fun with that mess."

"Mmmm I'll try."

We hugged each other tightly, dapped fists, and she kissed my cheek.

"I'll text you later about how dinner goes," she said as she walked up the driveway.

"Yeeeeaaahhh have fun with that mess."

She scoffed and stuck her tongue out at me while throwing up a middle finger before unlocking the door to her house and disappearing inside. I laughed at her and then turned around to go my way.

Little fun fact about me and Cindy: I used to have this massive crush on her. Shiiiiii not even just that. I was legit in love her. She had a nigga sprung and shit. Like Cindy was always cute, even back when I first met her, but when she was going through puberty man she went from cute to fiiiiinnneeee. Anyways, she had liked me back as well, and that should be the gateway to a happy ending right? Wrong. Alas, although we both was crushing on one another, it was at two completely different time periods; I had liked her all throughout middle school, but she wasn't giving a nigga the time of day in that way. Then, she ended up liking me during our Sophomore year but I was fucking with one of the cheerleaders at the time. Then last year we just said fuck it and tried to date each other, but things got super awkward and we decided to be better off as friends, the dynamic chocolate/vanilla swirl, and I wouldn't trade her for anyone else.

I continued my walk towards the part of town where my mural was located at, and when I got there I just stared at it in awe; I was always proud of my work, especially since I'm always getting better. The mural was my take on a turkey, just the perfect theme for Thanksgiving. I set down my paint bag, took out my spray paints and brushes and got to work; there was only two weeks left until Thanksgiving so I needed to work efficiently and fast. I was almost done anyways but still. I had my music playing and errthang, ya boy was in tha zone, but then suddenly my Bluetooth speaker stopped working and before I even got a chance to look over at it, I heard a female voice speak out.

"Wow...that's a sick ass turkey."

I whipped around to see who it was. There was two people standing next to my stuff; a girl whose voice spoke out, mixed girl with a caramel complexion, bushy curly dark brown hair, freckles going across her nose, and big greenish-brownish eyes. Standing behind her was a tall and lanky dark skinned guy with dreads and a beanie on.

"Aye! Who told y'all it was okay to just come up in here and take off my music and touch my shit? Better question, who the fuck is you niggas?!"

"Calm down dude," the guy said, "We really ain't mean no trouble."

I take note of his accent; I can definitely tell he wasn't from around these parts, maybe he was from further up north?"

"It was actually my fault," the girl spoke up, "We've been actually watching you go at it for the past thirty minutes and just had to check you out."

She had the same accent as the guy but slightly thicker. I still couldn't figure out where they could possibly be from.

"Sorry for barging in on you like this. Let's start off with names. This is my cousin Lonny, and I'm Swirl."

"Swirl? On the account that ya mixed I guess?" I finished with a slight snicker.

"Yeah, what of it?" she said a little heated. "That's my name so leave me alone."

"Hey, y'all the ones bothering me. Swirl gotta be a nickname tho so what's ya real name?"

"None of ya business on the account that I don't know you like that. But anyways, we was walking around town and saw other murals and I'm gonna go on a limb and say that you did them as well?"

My chest swelled up and I let the biggest of smirks take over my face. "I just might be the artist in question. Riley Freeman at ya service."

Lonny and Swirl looked at each other and smiled then Swirl reached into her jacket pocket and took something out.

"Well in that case, since I've seen your work, I know I'm not wrong to give you this."

She handed me a brochure and my mouth slightly dropped in awe; it was for New York University and their Art Major program, which I've heard was crazy good. On another note, my brain clicked as to Lonny and Swirl's accent; they were both from New York.

"Y-You guys think I'm good enough for the Art program a

t NYU? Better yet, y'all think I'm good enough for NYU alone?"

"We think you really are," Lonny shrugged, "To me personally, you're one of the best artists I've seen in a while."

"If being an artist is something you truly want to be, we feel that NYU is the place for you to flourish," Swirl piped in, "You look like you're a real natural."

I scrunched up my face in thought. NYU? Am I even good enough to think about it? "See...I don't know guys..."

"We know it's a lot coming from two people you ain't never met before, but hey it's gotta mean something if two people from the NYU Art Studio is telling you that your work is good, right?" Just...think about it."

I looked at the two of them and then down at the brochure in my hand. After a bit, I closed my eyes and nodded my head.

"Alright alright, I'll think about it."

The two of them grinned at me and then Swirl reached into her jacket pocket again and pulled out what looked like a business card and handed it to me.

"That's the official card of our Director of Arts professor. If you decide to apply to the school and get accepted, contact him to set up an in-person interview, and when you're done with the interview ask him for a girl named Raven Johansson to show you around. I wrote her name on the back."

I took the card and studied it; a possible school choice was sitting there chillin in my hands, I couldn't even believe it. All because two people who just happened to be in Woodcrest took notice in my work. Shit was crazy.

"Well we'll be on our way and leaving you to it then," Swirl said as she started to walk off, "C'mon Lonny, let's go."

"Hope I see you again, Riley," Lonny said as he waved goodbye to me. They walked off down the street and was just chstting to each other back and forth.

As for me, I turned around and looked at my mural with a newfound heart and extra energy. My work good enough for NYU? You best believe that I managed to finish up the mural that night.