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Which meant, starting next Wednesday, she was officially going to be in way over her head.
Chapter Seven
The next day after school, Rory got a call from a number she didn’t recognize.
She flung her backpack onto the kitchen counter and answered. “Um, hello?”
“Rory, hi! It’s Vanessa.”
“Oh, hi! How did you get my number?”
“You filled out a form yesterday, remember?”
“Right,” she said, her chest feeling tight. “Listen, Vanessa…I’m not sure—”
“Don’t back out on me,” Vanessa interrupted her. “You’re about to say you’re not qualified for the position, but it’s not true. You’re exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Rory’s face flushed, thankful this conversation wasn’t in person. No one had ever said something like that to her before. You’re exactly what I’ve been looking for. “R-really?”
“Oh, totally,” Vanessa said. “You have raw talent, and we’re about to have the best-looking yearbook in decades.”
“I think you’re putting a little too much confidence in me,” she mumbled.
“After what I saw yesterday, I don’t think so.”
“But I have no idea how to use any of those design programs,” she said, feeling panicked, her chest tightening even more. “How am I supposed to do this?”
“Okay, first, breathe.”
Rory was silent. What?
“Take a big breath in—”
She wasn’t sure why, but she obeyed.
“—and now out.”
She exhaled, and shockingly enough, felt noticeably lighter.
“This is actually why I’m calling you,” she explained calmly. Her voice was like something out of a Zen meditation recording. Rory listened, finding that despite her lacking certain skills, she trusted Vanessa and her calming presence. “Have you signed up for next semester’s classes?”
“Uh, no,” Rory said.
“Okay, cool, so I think you should sign up for Graphic Design I,” Vanessa answered. “They’ll teach you the basics there.”
“But that’s next semester.” That panicky feeling was back. “What am I going to do until then? Sit around and let everyone glare at me because I’m their lead designer who doesn’t even know how to make a graphic?”
“Rory.” Vanessa snapped her out of her spiral with just one word, and she took another deep breath unprompted.
“Good,” Vanessa continued. She was the Jedi Master, and Rory was her Padawan. “Thinking through the designs and the art does not require computers. Not yet, at least. These next few months, I want you to design everything on paper. We’ll work through the spreads, and then our team can start executing. That’s why we have them.”
She exhaled, feeling a bit more at ease.
“Bring a blank sketchbook if you have one, and maybe invest in your own set of colored pencils,” Vanessa continued “I’m…protective.”
Rory chuckled. “Yeah, I kind of picked up on that. Thanks for trusting me with them.”
“I could see the inspiration sparkling in your eyes, and I just had to see what you were up to. And prove Penelope wrong.”
