I snort, looking back at the screen as they give an award for best costume design. I’m slightly offended we aren’t the winners for that category, since Noojman and his team did an amazing job.

Linli pats Noojman’s thigh across the room, a sad smile on her face. He rolls his eyes in response, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “At least my rap career is still an option.” He presses a kiss to her cheek. “And there will be other awards.”

I wish the rest of us could have the same energy for the short-film award, but I doubt that’ll happen. Even now, when my future doesn’t hinge on it, I still want to win. It’s our senior year, we gave this film our all, and we deserve it.

My determination drowns out even the small voice in the back of my head. It’s probably never going to go away, but I’m learning to handle it—and my mental health—better. I’m going to keep moving forward, step by step by step.

“Here we go! It’s starting!” Rosie says, drawing my attention back to the screen. She’s squeezing my hand so hard I’m sure I’ll hear the bones crack any second now. At this point, I don’t even think I’d care.

The announcer starts droning on and on, dragging out the livestream for no reason, until he finally says, “In third place, we have Griffiths High School with Stay Gold.”

A collective sigh releases across the room. Okay. Not third. That could be good or bad.

Hopefully good. Inshallah.

Again, the announcer rambles on and on. Rosie physically throws a crumpled paper ball at the screen, as if it’ll do anything. “Come on, dude! Just say it!”

“In second place, we have Alamo Preparatory School with We Could Be Enough.”

Now there’s an unspoken tension in the room. Last year we were second place, and this year... I don’t have the answer.

Emmitt leans forward, his hands on my shoulders, squeezing in comfort. He doesn’t say anything, but his touch is more than enough.

I take a deep breath, clutch Rosie’s hand, and pray.

“And in first place...”

...

...

...

“... We have Astoria Academy of the Arts and Sciences with What If.”

Silence.

And then pandemonium.

“Oh my God!” I shout, jumping to my feet. “That’s us! That’s us!”

Rosie is screeching incoherently in my ear, slapping my arm. “We won! We won!”

I don’t even know what to focus on, what to look at. Bodies pile on top of Rosie and me, wrapping us in the world’s biggest group hug.

“We did it!”

“We won!”

“Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit.”

“We fucking did it!”

“Is this real? Are we all dreaming?”

“Oh my God!”