After she leaves, I lie in bed, flipping through my photos. There are so many videos, too many to count, and in so many of them I see Emmitt.

His sharp eyes, his world-famous smirk, his sweet dimple, his bright laugh. Whether he’s flirting with me or acting like an absolute clown, all of it puts a smile on my face.

And suddenly, the last piece in the puzzle clicks. Films don’t hide the truth—they reveal it. They open our eyes, allowing us to see that something we thought was ordinary has always been phenomenal.

Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.

The world doesn’t look better when it’s caught on film. It looks best when we experience it ourselves, and film gives us the chance to share that phenomenon with others.

I laugh in disbelief, shaking my head. Emmitt said it so many times, in so many ways, and it still didn’t make sense to me until now.

But I finally understand.

I move to text him my newfound discovery, before I remember I can’t. I falter, staring at the still image of him on my phone.

I miss him more than I care to admit. And the longer I go without hearing from him, the more I feel a deep sense of regret at my last words to him.

I still don’t want to apologize over text—it feels flimsy—but as I flip through the videos on my phone, an idea spurs to life in my head. A film. A compilation of all our memories together.

A show for two.

I’m sorting through songs on Spotify, trying to find the perfect song to overlay on the short film for Emmitt, when my phone buzzes with an email notification.

Your NYU Admissions Decision

I stare at it, almost too terrified to click on it. Suddenly this all feels too real. College has always been too far away, but now it’s too close. I’m not ready. I don’t know if I’ll ever be.

It turns out I don’t have to be right away at least, because my phone buzzes again, this time with an incoming FaceTime call from Rosie.

I slide my thumb across the screen and am immediately greeted with a piercing shriek.

“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! Mina! Mina, I got in! Oh my God, oh my God, Mina, I got in! I got accepted into NYU! Holy fuck, oh my God,” Rosie screeches, her phone shaking as she jumps up and down. “I got in!”

My heart soars in excitement and I immediately launch off my bed, jumping with her. “Oh my God, Rosie, that’s amazing! Your dream school, holy shit!” Rosie lets out another high-pitched scream, and I burst into laughter. “I’m so happy for you! This is fucking incredible!”

“I can’t believe this!” Rosie giggles hysterically. “I got accepted! To New York University!”