Shooting Star: Chapter 1

The spotlights in the basketball stadium shine brightly down upon the vast rows of chairs, occupied by hundreds of college graduates. An electrical problem has occurred, and the only lights that the staff could get to work were the bright spotlights. The resulting effect is a dimly lit room and a harshly lit stage. The pastel green curtain reflects a blinding glare onto the crowd.

Most of the eyes in the audience are only partially opened because of this. Some try to divert their eyes; their shrunken pupils watch the happenings on stage using on peripheral vision, their hands acting as makeshift visors. A few resourceful people wear their sunglasses. nd in vast room of squinters, one noticeable female within the graduating crowd appears much less fazed. The five-foot-three, brown-haired drama major sits comfortably on the fifth row, a dozen chairs in on the left side. Her legs are casually crossed; a satisfied smile sits on her face. She hardly squints, well-accustomed to harsh stage lights. During the announcements, she drums her hands on her thighs with an impatient tempo and give an occasionally sigh.

“Halley Electra DeMallora, Bachelor of Arts in Drama, with Honors,” the emcee announces, pronouncing her name with ease. As one of Halley’s professors and director of the majority of the plays she has performed in, he flawlessly pronounces her first name with the short ‘a.’ He doesn’t pause before saying the almost exotic middle name, as if it might be a SpellCheck-corrected typo. Finally, he places the stress on the ‘Mal’ of the hybrid French-Welch surname of ‘DeMallora.’

Halley rises fluidly, walking with intentional grace down the center aisle. With the phrase “with Honors” still fresh in her ears, her lips curl just a little bit more. It was worth that painful Advanced Geometry class she took to get the honors. Granted, she did have to give a lot of credit to her geometry tutor; especially for their five-hour study session that Halley endured, netting her a dainty 72% on the final, effectively passing her overall, though by less than a percent. Her tutor did receive a 98%, but she definitely got the better half of the deal; she was not the one who wrecked the grade curve and was not the victim of ruthless football players that had just lost their starting positions.

For a moment, she almost gives the impression of a bride walking down the aisle as she ascends the stairs and reverently accepts her diploma with a thankful bow of the head to the familiar presenter and a picture perfect smile to the audience. Yes, she seems to think, I think things are going to be splendid.

Chapter 2