Epilogue
One Month Later
The spotlights blinded her eyes. She stumbled on some of her words. Her heart pounded so hard her voice shook. Her knees were jelly. She forgot her words and had to look at her notes. Her face was hotter than it had ever been before.
But as she felt – and she really did feel it – the applause around her, none of it mattered.
She did it.
She did it.
When Kayla made it off the open mic stage, she was surprised her legs carried her back to the table where Lily, Albus, Rose and Scorpius were sitting in the coffee shop. She sat down as the applause died down and the emcee was announcing the next poet.
Al was beaming at her. Rose and Scorpius looked impressed, or at least Kayla hoped that was the expression on their faces. As they congratulated her, she noticed that Lily was uncharacteristically quiet, and even though she knew her better than practically anyone else in the world, she couldn't read her expression.
"What?" Kayla whispered after everyone's attention was on the next poet.
Lily bit her lip. "I never knew you felt that way."
"About what?"
"What you talked about in your poem," she continued, fiddling with the handle of her coffee mug. "All the anxiety. I didn't know that's what it felt like."
"Oh." Kayla's face felt hot all over again. "I guess I don't really like to talk about it."
"I'm going to try to be more understanding," Lily told her, still frowning to herself.
"You're always helping me," she said, shrugging. Kayla wasn't lying; she and Lily had been going flying every weekend, and Kayla was starting to not feel so nauseous. They'd gone through a few applications for internships, and even though she hadn't heard from any of them yet, she was feeling hopeful. Lily was very encouraging.
"I wish Hugo was here," Lily added. "I know he wouldn't have wanted to miss this."
"Me too," Kayla agreed. Hugo was doing a lot better after speaking with Gemma at the wedding. He decided to keep his flat in Diagon Alley and come back home in four months and be with Gemma whenever he could. Though he wasn't thrilled about long distance, he was certainly thrilled about his upcoming shows.
Hugo had written to Kayla just the day before, wishing her luck at the poetry slam. He'd also scolded her for not quitting her job, but she'd written back, assuring she would, as soon as she found something else. And when she and Lily had took their trip to Paris, of course.
She would quit her job… but it was one step at a time, right?
And as she listened to the next poets, she realized a lot of things were changing. Her life felt practically unrecognizable, as though she could see herself clearer in a previously hazy mirror, and she liked what she saw. At least a little bit more. All the leaps she'd taken in the last couple of months amazed her.
And she was confident she could keep going.
A/N: Thank you all for reading :)
These were the songs I was listening to while writing this story, if anyone is interested:
1. My Friends - Oh Wonder
2. Snakes - Bastille
3. All The World (I Tell Myself) - Correatown
4. A Little Too Much - Shawn Mendes
5. Four Walls - Bastille
6. Rivers and Roads - The Head and the Heart