When flames blossom from embers

Sunday came and even though she had made plans with a stick and ten seconds of panic, she went out with her two best friends in the world. They never let her down when it came to laughing and living. four hours of shopping , where in the store they went to a bridal shop. Laughing and planning weddings, brides maid gowns ( please don’t let it be burnt orange), tightening the bonds of friends. After they came out they realized they had a flat tire and here came the part where they proved to the world that they could in fact be macho ( or would that be macha) women.

Her friend Shana, in her pink glory, no underwear, no bra, French tipped nails took the tire off and jacked the car up. The brown eyed girl grabbed the tire laughing in the hot texas heat, getting tire dirt all over her own pink shirt. As ashely used her body weight to tighten the bolts on the spare. With a group effort the spare was placed on securely and three young women showed their dirty hands to each other and laughed.
They had learned a valuable lesson, not all screws are good.

They drove home to their men. Parted ways and promised to meet up again soon. Three women, three best friends, three different paths that would forever be intertwined by love and friendship.

Monday came too fast, the weekend had flown by. She got up an hour early to get dressed. Today was the big event, today she was going with Chad to a Designer lunch event. All of the top names would be there, and if you got lucky one would take an interest in you and offer you an internship which would lead to more exposure and that would lead to a career!
Not that she was changing her major she thought, this was something she just happened to have an eye for. She was creative, everyone knew that. She couldn’t draw for crap, but she was a fast learner, this summer had proved that. This summer had given her the drive and determination to prove, to herself and everyone else, that she could do anything she wanted.
She arrived to work in her pin stripped outfit, a ruffled pin stripped business skirt with a matching business jacket, a white ribbion holding her curls back, tights on along with comfortable heels. She walked over to Chad’s office, he was going to coming too. Since they were both the Communication Designers for the company they would both be going to the event.
She found him pouring over his portfolio, hers right next to his ( considerably smaller seeing she didn’t major in it). She put a hand on his shoulder and kissed him on the cheek softly, “ It’ll be okay, don’t worry.” She tried to reassure him.
“ Have you ever done this before?” he asked her.

She shook her head,” No I helped Skyler last semester prepare for his exit review showcase but that was it. I have never had to present my own work.” She gulped, with each word she had said she realized now why Sky was so nervous last time. What if they don’t like my work? What if they think it’s mediocre? What it they laugh? What….oh crap I’m going to be sick she thought.

Chad put his hands around her waist, “ It’s okay remember?” he laughed.
She shook her head, “ No you don’t get it! I just started doing this. Everyone there has majored in it, I just.. stumbled onto this. I only know what I know because of you and Sky. What if it’s not enough?” she stammered and choked out.
He put a thump under her chin, “ Do you care what these people think about you?”he asked. She shook her head. “ Good, then don’t start caring now. Let’s go or we are going to hit traffic.”
They drove all the way to San Antonio, found the convention center and put their name tags on and carried their portfolios in. They set up their material on their table, their cards on the edge, along with CD’s of their portfolio. Chad set up his laptop, showing the websites he had designed, his (huge!) pictures he had taken and mastered.

They sat down at their assigned table, with their fellow Communications Designers and had lunch. She felt lost when they started talking about MAC’s, designer programming, graduate programs in Georgia, the “ will you look! It’s Mark Davis! He’s the leader of the firm in Austin!”. She had no clue who anyone was, let alone what schools were where. She watched Chad flow into the conversation easily, adding valid points, seeming excited. She shrugged. This wasn’t her lifestyle, this was just something she wanted to say she did and add it to her life list.
Lunch ended and they went to their tables, standing there shaking hands as the represnatives walked around looking at their work. A man with peppered hair and a black suit picked up her card, “ Hmm.. I like the ripples. Camrie?”
She cleared her throat, “ yes sir” she offered her hand, they shook hands. Then he flipped through her book, paying close attention to her market advertisements. He chuckled. “ Sir?”
He looked up at her, “ I like your slogans, most Communications Designers don’t get that catchy slogan sells. And you’re name, very uncommon? You’re given name? Or your designer name?” he questioned lightly.
“ Oh no sir, my given name. It’s from a Robert Jordan book and I am a English Major. To be honest I haven’t been doing this long. “ she blurted out. She wondered if she should have said that.
He gave her a look, “ How long have you been doing this?” he turned the page to see her sketches, they weren’t perfect but he could see a natural talent. “ You have some real potential.”
“ I have been the Communications Director for my company for the past two and a half months, but my good friend is a Comm Des major so I was exposed to it’s … creative world.” She smiled weakly.
“ Two and half months huh?” he questioned. He flipped the card over. “ and the idea for the ripples on the card with your name in the middle and your info on the ripples?”

She smiled, “ Mine, I like to think of myself as diving headfirst into new things and making ripples on the world around me.”
He smiled back, “ Now that’s creativity!” he took a card out of his pocket and placed on of hers in his other pocket. “ Here is my card, call tomorrow evening. Set up an interview with Janice, if I’m right we could use a fresh mind that hasn’t been molded and sculpted to the rules to work for us this fall. “ he wrote a number on the back, “ My name is Sean here is my direct line. If she gives you any trouble at all be sure to call me.” He left the card with the young lady and walked off.
She stood there breathless. Had she really just been given a card for an interview? She turned the card over and felt the grooves in it, nice she thought. The word “zocalo” was on it. She shrugged and tucked it in her pocket.
They drove home at the end of the event. Chad had been given three business cards while she had been given two. All of them were located in Austin, no surprise there. They got back to work and started playing the what if game. What if they both got hired at the same firm? What if she got hired? Would she change majors? Transfer to UT, they had talked about tuition reimbursement. She laughed and tried not to think about it.
They kissed goodbye and called it a night. She went home humming and wondering what she wanted to do. So many different options lay before her. All she had to do was pick. But what if she chose wrong she wondered?