Simon went to the offices of the Weekly after his exam. He wanted to see Ian. He wanted to make sure that Ian knew how much it meant to him that Ian had put the Weekly’s reputation on the line to make things right with Simon, risking one of the most important stories they had written in years. When he arrived, the office was empty. He looked around the room and realized how much he missed being there. He knew then that he was meant to be a writer, and meant to tell the stories that needed to be told.
But he thought of something that Ian had said to him after Simon was too afraid to do the interview with Harry Baleka. Ian had told him that he needed to let down his guard when he wrote, and that he needed to inject more of himself into his articles. Simon looked across the room at his computer on his desk, and something compelled him to sit down and write. He opened a new document on his word processor and Ian’s words echoed in his mind:
Do something spontaneous... find your own voice... write something that shows me who Simon Northbrook really is…
Simon began typing, and immediately felt a sense of release as the words flowed out of him. He allowed the article to write itself, not overthinking every word as he normally did. He started: My name is Simon Northbrook, and I am a gay student at Ridgemont University.
He wrote about how he had been hiding who he was because he was afraid that he would not be accepted. He wrote about how he was afraid to go after the person he really cared for because he feared rejection, and he thought that being gay meant that they would both be seen differently. He wrote about how he tried so hard to control situations, always being an outsider, merely reporting on the things he saw around him instead of having his own experiences.
Then he wrote about how he had lost so much because of his fear, and writing the article about abuse in Ridgemont residences gave him a newfound confidence. He could only begin to change by being honest and unafraid. And he was ready to do that.
The piece felt authentic, like Simon had put himself on the page for the first time in his writing career. He went to the online portal of the Weekly without thinking, and uploaded the article under the opinion section.
Simon expected to be terrified when he pressed the upload button, but the only feeling he felt was pride that he could do something that he would have once been so frightened of.
Simon texted Ian as he walked to the exit: Are you free? I’m coming over to your place if you are. I hope we can finally have that talk.
He looked back at the quiet office one more time, and exhaled.
Hot Off the Press (Ridgemont University Book 1) Page 31