Hi Guys! The Creative Writing contest brought in fantastic stories about friendships and it blew Mrs. Darling's mind away! I swear!

I saw her tweets and her reels on Instagram and it showed a teacher bursting with joy and attracting five hundred new followers who are mostly underclass students, their lips all puckered up and ready to kiss my English teacher's ass. HIHIHIHIHI!

My story was one of the contenders thanks to Marykelly's help. The entry from her journal gave me a great idea for a novella. She gave me the permission to use her story the way I see fit as long as there won't be any vampires or an axe wielding psychopath as a plot twist.

Social issues is a big NO-NO for her too so there goes my  "Her father is an alcoholic and he is addicted to permanent marker fumes" angle. She wants me to skip the shock value and write from the heart.

I can't really post my written novella word for word in here. You see, at the moment, all the stories are still being judged and it might take another week or two before they release the result.

But  I guess it won't hurt if I tell you what my novella is all about:) Ya know, narrate parts of the story here and there ;) Alrighty then, the working title of my story is:

FROM THE HEART by Jacksie Dahlberg

So my story goes something like this...

There is a girl named Mallory and a boy named Noah. They both lived in the US but in different states. They lived two different lives until their paths intersected through a book left on a street library.

The incident happened when Mallory fell asleep on the bus one day and missed her stop. Instead of taking another bus back, she decided to travel on foot and that's where she came face to face with a quaint looking book depository made from an old tree trunk.

Mallory went to check it out and found a worn out copy of All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. She remembered reading the novel ages ago but never owned a copy so she took the book home and found a scribbled message written on its flyleaf. The message read "Born with a frown. So sad:(" followed by what looked like a username belonging to a social media app and an email address of the book's previous owner.

Mallory works as a virtual personal assistant and most of her clients are either famous actors or  sports celebrities. Her job is to handle their social media pages and it is important in her line of work to practice internet safety at all times. So it means, her anonymity in cyber space is her upmost concern, she should practice caution when talking to random people online and never brag about being a virtual PA of the stars both online and in real life.

Not even her family nor her closest friends knew that she is first name basis with celebrities they adored and loved.  She can't afford to have anyone know what she does online. If a hacker or a troll breached her security, she would lose her credibility and her clients.

But for some twist of fate, Mallory didn't hear any alarm bells ringing as she contemplated on getting in contact with the owner of the username. As a matter of fact, the message on the book peeked her curiosity so Mallory tracked down the person's internet handle. She logged in to a popular messenger app and wrote  " You don't need to be sad. Come talk to me."  on the message box  before pressing send. It was a long shot plus the username maybe non existent but within a minute she got a response. The person behind the screen introduced himself as Noah.

So yeah, that's the first act of my novella. What do you think? It kinda has that Message in the Bottle and You've Got Mail kinda vibe, right ?:) Ok, let me continue the story...

Mallory was kinda wary at first. Anybody could have written that message. She thought that it could be a catfish or a scammer. On the other hand, the boy was hesitant to trust her too. He was thinking that she could be pretending to be a female but actually a male sex offender out on parole. They settled their doubts via answering ten questions ---nothing too personal but enough for the two of them to trust each other.

Mallory later found out that the boy is in his sophomore year and taking four Advanced Placement classes.  He is sometimes moody, testy like a typical teen. She often encouraged him to open up and  when he did, he told her bits and pieces of his life but it was never clear cut.  It's like a jigsaw puzzle with several missing pieces. Mallory could sense that the boy is struggling emotionally and her gut instinct tells her to keep a watch over him, be this boy's personal assistant and keep him in check and away from trouble.

Ok, I know what you guys are thinking. Why would she jeopardize her job for a random person she hardly knew. What happened to her clandestine internet safety morals? Well, Fate stepped in. She did a leap of faith the moment she trusted her gut instinct.
Look, I trust my gut instinct too. Why do you think even if I knew that Nathan is rumored to have athlete's foot I still borrow and wear his Air Jordan. If Mallory did a leap of faith, I did a leap of feet plus his kicks looks better on my tootsies:D

The bulk of the story revolves around their developing online friendship for the next two years up to Noah's graduation day.

Mallory treated Noah like a friend in real life. Noah felt the same thing towards her. He was more inclined to confide to her about his insecurities and problems than to his friends in real life.

Their online friendship is tested in several ways like the time a classmate of the boy spread rumors about him online. There was also an incident with a stalker who was infatuated with Noah and tried to hack his account and nearly succeeded if it wasn't for Mallory's constant interference.  There was a point that Mallory nearly believed some of the gossips but she blindly trusted Noah, her unwavering gut instinct acted like a beacon of discernment and truth prevailed.

So for the next two years, they remained friends but because of Mallory's job, she never entertained the prospect of crossing over from online friends to real friends although the thought was brewing in the back of her mind.

On the other hand, Noah did ask her if at some point in time  they will ever gonna meet in person and she answered "of course ..." For him, it sounded reassuring and scary at the same time. He had a fair share of online meet up and most of them did not pan out well. What if she turns out to be like the others?

On the week approaching Noah's graduation day, Mallory told him that she's got some deadlines she needs to finish and she wont be able to talk to him online as frequent as she used to. The boy halfheartedly agreed.  Mallory sent him an early graduation E-card. "Send me photos. I want to see your graduation ceremony...don't forget:*"and after that, she went dark.

Now, this is where  the story gets interesting. Read on...

So Mallory was getting swamped by emails from Shayne Mackenzie. He is one of Mallory's VIP clients. Shayne is a famous Hollywood movie star, a pro Surfer and a professional skateboarder who has his own clothesline and skate apparel. Shayne has an agent who handles most of his TV engagements but online he prefers to deal with Mallory personally.

He would often talk to her on Skype or on face time to discuss just about anything. He likes Mallory because she treats him like a regular person and not as an A-lister. He has been in the business long enough to know the fakes and the genuine and Mallory is the virtual real deal.
On the other hand, Mallory likes Shayne too because even if he is a superstar, he is very down to earth. Yesterday, she received a frantic call from him. He was asking her to throw a red herring on all of his social media pages.

He said it is very important because he is going somewhere that he doesn't want the media to know. He informed her that he wants this event to be low key as much as possible.

Being his social media PA online, she needs to know more details before she started creating a diversion for his great escape. She wasn't expecting him to tell her where exactly he is going but he did!

"I am going to surprise my high school alma mater and show up on their graduation day! Only the school principal knows I am gonna be there! The rest of the school has no idea!"

"When will this be? I need a time frame."

"This coming Friday. You have five days to make me look scarce online. Tell them I'm going scuba diving in Bora Bora. I will send you photos and videos. Post them whenever."

"Woah hang on, Shane. So your gig is this Friday?! Don't tell me you went to Woodrow Wilson Academy"

"Yeah, how did you know?!"

So Mallory confided to him about the happenstance involving her, a street library, a book and its owner. Shayne was intrigued. He told Mallory to check her email and open the PDF he sent her. It's a muck up of the programme with the list of student's name receiving an award and there it was, Noah's name receiving the athlete of the year and two academic excellence awards.

"The All American Award! I was given the ALL AMERICAN title too back in my day! This is going to be sick! I will be awarding your friend a very prestigious medal. Mallory, you should come with me."

"Is that an invite? Are you serious?"

"Hell yeah, I am serious! You have been keeping an eye on him for years and making sure he is not in trouble. Would it be nice to watch him graduate in the flesh and see his reaction when she sees you. So don't say no. I am sending you a ticket for a charter plane. You leave on Thursday. I will send you all the details later and make sure you fix my schedule."

And now we have reached the climax of my story. We found Mallory and Shayne behind the stage watching as throngs of students and their parents marched their way inside the school's massive auditorium.

Noah checked his phones for messages and there was none. The last time he spoke to her, he was in a bad mood and he snapped at her. He had a splitting headache and she tried to make him feel better by sending him a first aid checklist for headache ending it with a hug emoticon. Instead of a thank you, He bluntly said, "I prefer a physical contact." She didn't react but he knew, he might have hurt her feelings. He apologized and she said it's all good but how come her last message was days ago? Is she really busy or did she decide to leave him now that high school is nearly over.

The stadium was engulfed with screams when Shayne Mackenzie was introduced. He made a little speech and promised everyone that he will be staying to "hangout" with them and sign autographs. All the while, Mallory was watching Noah behind a starry eyed guidance counselor.

Then the recognition ceremony commenced. When Noah's name was called as the school's All American athlete of the year, he felt like walking on air. As he climbed the three steps up the stage, he couldn't believe his idol, Shayne Mackenzie would be the one placing the medal around his neck and handing him the school cup.

Shayne congratulated him and before he left the stage, Shayne handed him a small paper bag. "This is for you, man."

Once he returned to his seat, he quickly check what's inside the bag. He was surprised to see a familiar book. A book he misplaced or probably lost when he went on a road trip with his family two summers ago. He opened it and there it was his handwritten message on the first page but this time, there's a curious looking penmanship underneath his that read "I am here, you don't need to be sad anymore." [[[[{{{Noah}}}}}]]]]

The familiar bracket hugs! Mallory! Wait, what?!

I really wanted to stop my story here but i know you guys are itching to know what's going to happen next. So, to continue...

So once the graduation ceremony was over. People started to make their way towards the stage for a quick photo op and probably to get another glimpse of Shayne.

The principal came to see Noah and invited him backstage so he can properly introduced him to the star.

Noah entered the room and inside were a couple of his teachers chatting up Shayne. Shayne gave him a nod and pointed to a girl sitting in the corner of the room, wearing a navy blue baseball cap, her hair in pigtail plaits.

"Noah!" she cried. "You are amazing!"

At first he couldn't move. It seemed too surreal for him. Then he felt his eyes started to sting. Oh no, he is about to cry.

"Don't cry Noah, I'm here." she said as she was about to give him a hug. Not the brackets and braces this time. A real hug from a real friend.

"What took you so long..." the only sentence he was able to master and  say before he burst into tears.

FIN

There ya go, guys! That's my novella in a giant nutshell:) Mind you, I left out a lot of details. My story has a word count of 20K give and take :) Wish me luck! I hope my narrative will catch the Harlow brother's eyes. Imagine seeing my story come to life on Netflix starring Me as Noah and (watch this space) as Mallory.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the ride! See ya !

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Author's Note:

This blog is a tribute to my friend, Noahkins and our endearing friendship. We had an interesting stint hanging out in the forum and I am glad that out of everyone in there, I became close to you. I have to admit, not everything was fun and I am relieved that they decided to shut the forum down.

It was toxic and the place had people with questionable characters pretending to be somewhat sane but sick in the mind.

The only thing that I regret was, I never get to save our threads and my "dear surfboard" letter I wrote for you.

Now that you graduated from high school, that doesn't mean that I will stop keeping tabs. Even if you are older and wiser(?)You will always be my Noah and I will always watch over you. It is a promise that I planned to keep.