“They’re up in their room getting ready,” my mom says.
I nod and turn to leave the kitchen, taking the stairs two at a time until I’m standing outside of Devin’s room. The door is slightly ajar, but I knock anyway. There’s no answer, so I peek my head in and see them with their headphones on, eyes closed, and dancing to whatever song they were listening to. So, I pushed the door open wider and leaned against it, crossing my arms over my chest. It took them a good five minutes to notice me, but when they did, they jumped back, startled.
“Oh my god, you scared me, Dawn!” they exclaimed, and I couldn’t help but laugh. They frowned. “That’s not funny.”
“It kind of was,” I replied, walking deeper into their room. I held my arms open and welcomed them for a hug, which they gave me. Once we broke apart, I sat on the edge of their bed. “So, you ready to go dorm room shopping?”
“Uh…n-not really?” they admitted as they began to play with one of the bracelets on their wrist. This was something they always did when they were trying to calm their anxiety. I motioned for them to sit beside me, and they did.
“Want to talk about it?”
“I’m just…scared?” they replied, glancing at me. “I know I’ve been excited these last few weeks, but now that it’s about to happen and I’m seeing how much stuff I will need and how much I have to get done in the next few weeks, I am very overwhelmed. It’s a lot.”
“Yeah, it is, but guess what? You have me. You have Dom. You have mama and daddy, Auntie Jewels, your friends, and even Jennie,” I point out. “We’re here for you whenever and however you need us. We can take it as slow as you want, and if you aren’t up for shopping in stores, we can do it online too. You know it’s nothing.”
“So, you don’t mind if we skip the mall altogether?”
“Not at all,” I assure them. “And, I apologize for assuming that you would be up for that instead of asking you first. That’s my bad.” They tell me that it’s okay. “Although you did promise that you’d try to get out of the house more, so, since you’re already dressed, how about we go spend the day together instead? We don’t have to talk about anything school-related if you don’t want to.”
“Can I spend the night at your place?” they ask enthusiastically.
“You know it,” I nod, softly bumping my shoulders against theirs. I stand, and they follow suit. “Pack a bag for the whole weekend and meet me downstairs when you’re done. Sound good?”
“Sounds perfect.”
I hug them once more before leaving them to pack what they needed. About twenty minutes later, we were saying bye to the rest of our family and heading back to New South. I’d never get tired of spending quality time with them, and I hoped that we’d always get to spend time together like this even after they’d finally moved into college.
CHAPTER 3
A Whirlwind of Unexpected Attention.
Raine Williams - August 12th, 2025
These last few days have been like a whirlwind, and it all started after my encounter with the masked woman with the gorgeous eyes on Saturday. It’s like that one semi-interaction unknowingly catapulted me down a path that I was so underprepared for.
Not long after I wrapped up the dance class I had been teaching, my phone started blowing up with notifications from my IG account that I had posted dance videos on. My jaw literally hit the floor when I finally opened the app and found that my account had grown by thousands in such a short amount of time.
I was being flooded with comments on different posts, and people were adding my videos to their stories and reposting them left and right. It didn’t make any sense until I noticed that one of the new followers was none other than the woman whose song I’d been dancing to in that viral video.
Dawn Anderson.
I couldn’t believe she’d not only followed me, but had also shared the video on her story as well. Then, to make things even more unbelievable, she’d followed me on my personal accountas well. I felt like I was living in some alternate reality, so I quickly called Ginger to see if she could help me make sense of everything.
“Ginger, please tell me that this isn’t some kind of sick joke?” I exclaimed as soon as her face appeared on my screen. She was all giddy, no doubt awaiting my call so she could talk about it. “How in the world did Dawn find my video?”
“What do you mean how?” She replied, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Your video was going viral to her song, so of course she would’ve seen it sooner or later. This is so cool! I can’t believe that my best friend got a stamp of approval from my favorite artist. When you become famous, please don’t forget me.”
“You’re such a trip,” I managed a laugh as I tried to calm my nerves. “I don’t think that-”
“Aht! Aht!” She cut me off with a scowl. “Don’t even start that doubting shit. Your sister does enough of that for you.” I sigh, nodding in agreement. “You are talented as hell, Rainey. You have every right to be excited about this because who knows? Maybe this will eventually open up more doors for you to finally live out your dream. You’re time is coming, and I’m so excited to see how bright you shine, baby girl.”
I smiled to myself as I thought back on how she’d always been one of the most supportive people in my life. For every time that Myra tried to tear me down and shit on my dreams, she was there to remind me that I was good enough and more. She kept me grounded and stopped me from spiraling on several occasions. She was the best friend I could ever ask for.
I sigh as I glance at the clock on my computer -3:55 pm.I smiled to myself as I began to shut everything down. Many people in this office didn’t mind staying after their work hours were done, but I’d never been one of them. I wasn’t trying to be an essential employee or someone who sucked up to the bossesfor bonuses or to get in their good graces. I came in, did what I got paid to do, and then went home. I wasn’t here to do any more than what my job description stated, and when that clock struck four, I was outta there.
Besides, even if I wanted to, I knew it’d be another struggle for me, seeing as I was barely making it through the eight hours I had to be here. Ever since I was younger, I’ve always been hyperactive. Me and being still did not mix, and after officially being diagnosed with combined-type ADHD at six, my mom finally put me in dance classes to help channel my energy and strengthen my focus.
Even as an adult in my late 20s, if I was stationary for too long, I’d start to feel trapped, so I made sure to take every break I was allotted. And when I didn’t have any assignments, I was walking around the building. I was only at this job because I needed it, but I damn sure didn’t like it.
