By the time Tae’s red-eyed manager walked through the yurt’s entrance to announce it was time to go, I still hadn’t figured it out.
Chapter 33
September
Our glasses clinked, barely audible over the din of the busy wine bar.
June, Hari, Moni, and I were sat around a table, having a few drinks at the end of a long day.
“Our newest graduate!” Hari crowed loudly. “Congratulations, Kaiya!”
I smiled graciously, a blush creeping up my neck as I muttered an unheard thanks.
Two years.
The bridge that spanned the past two years of my life and my move from Cumbria to London; fromThe LooptoFrequency.
I had finally completed my journalism course with the London College of Arts. I had a real diploma in a career I was actually doing.
It felt surreal. For so long, I’d wryly acknowledged my degree in music production, laughing it off as three years of student life, but the truth was simpler, and sadder. It had been a dream that was never really mine. I’d just never known how to give it up, because how do you admit that the thing you’ve spent years pursuing was the wrong path? At the time, it felt easier to just go along with it.
But now… now I had a real life degree for something that felt real to me. It didn’t matter that it had ‘only’ been an online course. It was a real diploma, with real qualifications, and I’d earned it.
For the first time in so long, it felt like I was taking control of my history. I wasn’t erasing the years I’d spent pursuing production. It felt like I had given myself permission to chalk it up to experience, because now I was on a career path that was bolstered by an academic degree and a couple of years of practical experience.
I was doing it. I was really doing it. It was… purpose.
“How does it feel to finally be done with school?” Hari asked, leaning across the table to talk to me, as June and Moni put their heads together over Moni’s phone, giggling over a dating app.
I laughed quietly.
“It’s funny you mention that, actually,” I said, running my finger around the rim of my glass. “Because I applied to do a Masters with the Holloway School of Journalism.”
Hari’s eyes widened, and her mouth popped open. In the next moment, she was patting her friend’s shoulders, drawing their attention away from the phone. They looked up, eyes darting between me and Hari, expectantly.
“Kaiya is doing her Masters!”
“Oh,” said June without much inflection. “Cool. Good for you, darls.”
“Tell us!” Hari prompted enthusiastically, even as I saw Moni covertly sliding her phone under the table, where she continued to swipe her finger across the screen.
“Well,” I began, “It’s HSJ, so it’s a proper, sit down course-”
“Not online?” June interrupted. She’d never really tried to conceal her thoughts about my degree being an online one.
I sighed internally, but chose peace.
“Nope. I’ll have to attend lectures and everything.”
“How’s that going to work with your mag?” Hari asked.
“They’re fine with it,” I shrugged. “I’m salaried, so they don’t care what hours I physically work, so long as it gets done.”
In truth, I was a little anxious about balancing my work load. An MA was significantly more work than a BA.
June looked up from her phone to say, “Isn’t that campus all the way across the city?”
I nodded, and she whistled.
