Casey was about ready to give up hope of ever getting an internship when he finally got an email saying he had been accepted. He couldn't remember the name of the place but he had done so many phone interviews at this point that they all blurred together.
He was set to start at the beginning of January and the internship would take up his whole final semester but that was fine because he had planned ahead and overloaded himself during the summer and fall. He would be able to graduate on time after all! This was a huge deal! He was so excited he actually punched the air and yelled "Yes!" in public, which was so unlike him.
He couldn't wait to tell Kane. His twin had thought he wouldn't be able to pull it off. Take that!
Vera too. She knew Casey had been worried about it.
That was strange. He never had anyone other than Kane to tell things about before, including good news. Not in a bad way though. It was actually pretty nice.
Casey decided to order his favorite pizza to celebrate. He walked home with a spring in his step. Nothing could bring him down right now!
"What's with you?" Kane asked as soon as he arrived.
"Guess who got an internship set up for next semester?" Casey asked excitedly.
"No way, seriously?! I thought you'd never get anything because you can't pass an interview to save your life."
That was about the reaction he had expected but even that couldn't bother him right now. He was too happy. Things were finally looking up for him. He had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time and had been so worried it would never come.
The biggest hurdle was behind him. Now all he had to do was be able to follow instructions and pass his student evaluation at the internship to get the academic credit he needed.
That was less problematic than getting the internship in the first place. Casey knew how to follow directions.
After going back to check on the job description at Orchard Books to jog his memory, there wasn't anything particularly worrying in there. Mostly, he would be shadowing an editor until he learned how to do various tasks himself. He would be given trial run projects to edit later on in the internship as well under supervision of his mentor.
That didn't seem to require a lot of talking. His written skills were miles above his verbal ones. Editing things was a lot different from getting words out of his mouth properly.
"Looks like I can pass an interview to save my life after all," Casey said dryly.
Kane shrugged. "I stand corrected."
"This is such a great opportunity for me, Kane! Not only will I be getting academic credit, I'll be able to see if editing is a viable job option for when I graduate."
"Good for you."
Kane's lack of enthusiasm for something Casey was excited about wouldn't get him down. He would probably be more excited about the celebratory pizza. That was just the way he was.
He very happily chowed down on it once it arrived. That really hit the spot!
He felt like he was on top of the world, which was an unfamiliar feeling. He never felt this accomplished.
Perhaps it was stupid to be so excited when he still had so many obstacles ahead of him but he was one step closer to accomplishing his goal. It felt like a big deal to him so he was allowed to be happy about it, wasn't he?
Happiness wasn't something Casey experienced often. Most of the time, he simply floated along without feeling much aside from anxiety. At least that had been how it was before he met Vera. She made him happy too but the kind of happiness that came from her was different from a sense of accomplishment like right now. Her kind came along with a lot of confusion too.
He waited to tell her the good news in person when they met up on Saturday morning as usual for their next lesson. "Guess what! I got an internship set up for nest—next!—semester. I'll be able to graduate on time after all!"
Vera beamed at him. "Wow, that's great! Where at?"
"Orchard Books. I'm going to be an editing intern."
"Do you want to go into editing later? You never mentioned specifically what you planned to do with your major."
Casey shrugged. "Possibly. It's an option I'm looking into. Guess I'll have to see how the internship goes. If I like it, I might try to do online editing gigs so I can still help you at the shop."
He had put a fair amount of thought into this. Getting hired at Old and Bold wouldn't require an interview. That alone was reason enough to work there. Freelance editing might not require them either. Or at least not to the same extent as in-person jobs. Any communication could be over email too, which was a plus.
Vera's expression grew touched. "You would really do that for me? I thought it was just your backup plan!"
Casey would do anything for her. She was the only person who had ever truly been nice to him. He shouldn't say that though. It would probably freak her out.
His decision wasn't made solely because of the lack of interview. She was a big factor as well. Spending more time with someone as warm as her…wouldn't he be happier and more relaxed than he had ever been? Albeit more confused and waiting for the other shoe to drop.
"Yeah. I may not be as passionate about it as you are but I like it."
Casey liked VERA. He was only interested in antique restoration at all because of the way it made her light up.
He knew liking her was a terrible idea and would never go anywhere but you couldn't help your feelings. How was he not supposed to let her kindness get to him? He was pitiful.