Page 33 (1/2)

The sae, on his dryer, in the booth in the back of the rooain I want to run I need air I need to feel the Michigan air against my face

I throw open the door and take a step outside when a voice, ah the speakers, stops ood idea," he says into the nize his voice, and that repetitive phrase

I slowly turn around and face the stage Will is standing there, holding thedirectly at et your scores," he says as he es who are all turned around in their seats All four of theasp as I realize Will was the fifth judge

So he saw me He watched ain as I make my way to the center of the room Everyone is quiet I look around and all eyes are onI'

Will looks at the e next to hiency," he says

The eo ahead Will turns back to face me

"Three dollars," someone yells from the crowd

Will darts a look at the emcee "I don't have any cash," he says

I ie out ofit down in front of the emcees feet He inspects the money I laid before him

"Still a dollar short," the emcee says

The silence in the room is interrupted as several chairs slide from under their tables There is a faint ru pushed and shoved in different directions as the crowd grows thicker It begins to disperse just as fast and the silence slowly returns as everyone aze to the stage, where dozens of dollar bills are haphazardly thrown at the e as a quarter rolls off the edge of the stage and falls onto the floor It wiggles and spins as it comes to rest at my foot

The emcee is focused on the pile of uess that covers it What's the nas the microphone to his mouth and finds me in the crowd "Better than third," he says

I irl

And I fell for her

I fell hard

Unfortunately, soot in ot all up in my damn way,

Life blocked the door with a stack of wooden 2x4's nailed together and attached to a fifteen inch concrete wall behind a row of solid steel bars, bolted to a titaniuainst it-

It

wouldn't

budge

Soets all up in your damn way

It blocked my plans, my dreams, my desires, my wishes, my wants, irl

That I fell so hard for

Life tries to tell you what's best for you

What should be most important to you

What should come in first

Or second

Or third

I tried so hard to keep it all organized, alphabetized, stacked in chronological order, everything in its perfect space, its perfect place

I thought that's what life wanted me to do

This is what life needed for ht?

Keep it all in sequence?

Soets all up in your daet all up in your daive up and let it take control Life doesn't get all up in your damn way because it just wants you to hand it all over and be carried along

Life wants you to fight it

Learn how to rab an axe and hack through the wood

It wants you to get a sledgehah the concrete

It wants you to grab a torch and burn through the rab it

Life wants you to grab all the organized, the alphabetized, the chronological, the sequenced It wants you to ether,

stir it up,

blend it

Life doesn't want you to let it tell you that your little brother should be the only thing that comes first

Life doesn't want you to let it tell you that your career and your education should be the only thing that comes in second

And life definitely doesn't want irl I irl

That I fell so hard for

Should only come in third

Life knows

Life is trying to tell irl I fell

So hard for?