So, so sorry for not updating last week! I used to have chapters pre-written so I would just have to edit, but I've fallen behind on that! I'm back in school, so that's taking up some writing time.

As you may know, I was away for a week without cell service, and it's really reminded me to not stress so much over writing. Don't get me wrong, I still love it and will continue to write, but I just won't let it consume me all the time.

Anyway, thanks for your patience! Please enjoy this chapter and stay tuned for exciting news coming very soon!
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Three days later, it's festival week! Despite everything coming down to the wire, it's all completely finished, and I firmly believe that this is going to be the best festival Clearwater Bay has ever seen. I stand in front of the mirror and smile as I think about what everyone accomplished for this event.

"Maya! It's time for you to leave. You want to be on time!" Emma calls.

"On my way down!" I shout.

I pick up my small cross body purse with my phone inside and rush out of my bedroom. When I get downstairs, Emma is standing with my uncle, whispering once again. I shake it off and greet them. They immediately stop talking and greet me. I tell them I'll see them later before I leave the house.

As I'm walking down the path into town, Nicole drives up beside me in a car with Tanner in the passenger seat. "You want a ride?" she asks me.

I nod and jump inside the car. It takes no time at all to get to the festival site. People are already beginning to show up. Nicole quickly parks the car, and all three of us walk toward the stage. As soon as we get there, Nicole whisks me off to the backstage area.

"What's going on?" I ask her as we get to one of the wings of the stage.

Nicole stops and steps in front of me. "Maya," she starts, "please don't get nervous, but you're going to be giving a speech today to kick off the festival."

My mouth drops, and I barely stammer, "W-what?"

Nicole takes a deep breath and explains, "Nick called me last night and told me that he was going to make the announcements for the festival when he was going to still be here. But, he forgot to mention that detail to me, so he volunteered for you to do it."

"Why can't you do it?" I whine.

Nicole raises her eyebrows. "Maya Walker, I get that this isn't something you like to do, but you're going to do it. Besides, what's the point of living if you don't take a few risks? Life is about so much more than just staying inside you're own little comfort zone. Maya, take the challenge. You could be surprised with the results."

I shake my head with a smile. "You're right. Now, what do I have to say?"

Nicole breaks into a big smile and rattles off the information that I need to go over. I get lost in the middle of her explanation. Luckily, she hands me a piece of paper that summarizes all the different things I need to go over.

I look over the paper for just a few minutes before I'm told that I need to go on the stage to speak. Nicole hands me a mic and reassures me that I'll do great. I nod and take a deep breath. I close my eyes for just a second before opening them and putting a smile on my face. I walk out onto the stage with confidence that I've never felt.

People are gathered around the stage, and I begin to speak. My words seem to flow, and I quickly get through the list of events they need to know about. It starts with the festival day today that involves acts singing on the festival stage, and it ends with the play happening in the school auditorium at night.

I finish and tell everyone to have a great day. I wave goodbye and walk off the stage. It isn't until I'm back in the left wing with Nicole that I realize that I just spoke in front of a majority of Clearwater Bay's population. Granted, I had a piece of paper telling me what I needed to talk about, but it didn't tell me word for word what I needed to say.

"Awesome job, Maya! I'm so proud of you!" Nicole exclaims as she gives me a hug.

I pull out of her hug and say, "Thanks for telling me I could do it."

Nicole smiles. "No problem. Now, why don't you go explore the booths while I take care of getting things ready here. I think you deserve some time to cool down from that nerve wracking experience."

"Sounds good," I reply.

She nods and starts giving the sound guy instructions. I leave the stage area and go to where all the booths are set up. I walk down the rows of the booths and take a look at all the booths. When I reach Mrs. Caldwell's booth, I stop and get in line. I soon get to the front of the line.

Mrs. Caldwell's smile widens when she sees me and tells me, "Well, well. If it isn't Maya Walker. I haven't seen you in awhile, dear. What have you been up to? Didn't you graduate?"

I smile. "It's nice to see you, and yes, I did graduate. I've been working on graduating and on the festival. You're nephew left a lot for everyone to do. Thank goodness Nicole is here, though."

Mrs. Caldwell starts putting different pastries in a bag and then hands it to me. "Nick is quite a crazy planner. I've seen the festival agenda, though, and I know this is the best one that Clearwater Bay will ever have. Take these treats as a present for your graduation and as a reward for all the good work you've done."

"Thank you so much, and I'm thanking for everything you've done for me," I tell her out of impulse.

She gives me a sweet smile. "I always knew you could do anything if you set your mind to it."

I smile back and then walk past the last few booths to a picnic table. I sit down and open the bag. As I eat one of the brownies she placed inside, I think about how deep her words to me really were. She knows I've gone through changes, yet she somehow got it across to me that she always knew I was more capable than how I presented myself.

I finish the brownie and walk over to the stage, still contemplating how Mrs. Caldwell somehow knew that there was more to me than how everyone perceived me. I guess it's a relief that there was in fact someone who believed in me, but it's still strange how anyone could see me differently.

Actually, it reminds me of how Alli told me that she has a special gift that she was blessed with that allowed her to see the good in me. I understand what she's saying now because I firmly believe Mrs. Caldwell has been blessed with the same gift.

"Hey, Maya! You came back just in time. The show is starting," Nicole greets me excitedly as she quickly pulls me into the left wing of the stage.

Just then, the first act starts their duet, and it's really good. It's the same way for the rest of the acts performing that day. At the end of the show, Nicole walks out onto the stage and thanks everyone for coming. She tells them when the next show is, which is the next day, and she tells them to go to the play being held in the auditorium in the evening.

When she joins me back in the left wing, she sets the microphone down and gives me a big hug. "The first day is over!" she exclaims.

I laugh and smile at her. "Just four more days to go."

She groans. "You just had to ruin the moment."

I smile as I see her give me a joking glare, and I also hold out the bag of treats Mrs. Caldwell gave me. "Just bringing a dose of reality to the situation. Here's some treats to make it go down better."

She sighs and takes the bag. "Thanks. I guess I'll see you tonight at the play."

She gives me another hug and then leaves the stage with Tanner. I sit down in a chair and stare at the crowds dispersing to all the booths and back into town. It's getting close to five-thirty, so I stand up and leave the stage. I walk toward the emptying booths and find a picnic table.

I sit down and face the ocean to stare at the tide roll in and out. Eventually, I just close my eyes. A small breeze blows against my face, and I take a deep breath. For just a second it's just me under the evening light.

Ring! Ring!

I sigh as my peaceful moment ends and pull my phone out of my purse. I quickly accept the call and place the phone to my ear. I wait for someone to speak. Nobody answers. I wait a few more seconds, but still, nobody answers.

"Hello?" I ask.

Still, I get no answer. I take my phone off of my ear and look down on the screen and see that the person hung up. I also see that it's the same New York City person who has been calling me.

I sigh and stand up. I slowly walk to my uncle's house. When I get there, I go upstairs to my room and turn my closet light on as I walk inside. I set my purse down on one of my shelves and unhook a t-shirt dress from a hanger. I swiftly take off my clothes and slip on the dress.

I pick my purse back up as I leave the closet. I toss my clothes I was wearing into my dirty laundry basket. I turn my closet light off and go into the bathroom, tossing my purse on my bed on the way. I apply mascara and eyeshadow.

Ring! Ring!

I roll my eyes as I quickly put some lip gloss on.  My phone stops ringing, but it soon starts ringing again. I roll my eyes again and place my makeup back into my organized drawer. I turn the bathroom light off and go over to my bed. By the time I get over to my bed, the phone has stopped ringing. I get it out of my purse and see the same New York City number, but I have no voicemail from it.

I roll my eyes and place the phone back inside my purse and leave my room with the purse in my hand. I walk downstairs as Emma is walking into the kitchen. She stops when she sees me. I walk over to her.

"When did you get back?" she asks.

I shrug my shoulders. "A little while ago. I just needed to change for the play tonight."

She nods her head. "Your uncle wanted to tell you that he has to fly out to New York City tonight for a meeting with some people. He'll be back in a few days."

"Oh," I reply, "Is he here?"

She nods. "He's in his office. You can go tell him bye."

I nod and walk to his office. I open the door and see him packing his briefcase. He looks up when I gently knock on the door. He smiles when he sees me and walk out from behind his desk.

"I'm glad you're here. I'm sure Emma must have told you that I have to go to New York for some business," he says.

I go over to him and give him a hug. "She did. I guess I'll see you when you get back. You'll be missed."

He smiles at me again. "I'll miss you too, but it's only for a few short days."

I smile back and start to head for the door. "You won't be missed just by me, you know."

He raises his eyebrow and shakes his head. "Don't meddle, Maya Walker."

I laugh and leave the house. I hurry back down the path toward school. When I arrive, more people are also arriving. I see a few people I recognize, but none of them stop to say hello to me. Though, I'm not exactly upset by it. I know that people's opinions of me can't be changed in just a few short months.

"Maya! Over here!" Alli eagerly calls from the top of the steps of the school.

I smile and wave as I try to push through the crowd of adults chattering away. When I reach the top of the steps, I ask, "I feel like I haven't seen you in a long time. Where have you been?"

She smiles. "My dad took me on a little trip back to where we used to live. We went to visit my mom."

My smile immediately falls, and I worriedly ask, "Are you okay? That must have been so hard for you."

She gives me a small smile. "It was a little difficult, but I think it was good for me. After that incident at Nick's house with Tanner, I think it was good for me to face what really has been on my mind. It was good to just sit in front of her grave and talk to her. It may be weird, but it was something that I needed to do."

I give her a hug. "It's not weird at all. Actually, I can't imagine what it was like for you to go back to her grave. I'm not even sure where my mother is buried."

Alli's mouth drops open slightly. "How does that not hurt that you can't go visit her?"

I get a sickening feeling in my stomach as I realize how I've never given a second thought to what happened to my mother's body. "I never really thought about until just now, and I feel really guilty about not caring."

Alli gives me a compassionate pat on my shoulder. "Don't feel bad. I don't know the whole situation, but from what I gather, it wasn't exactly a good one."

I nod and sigh. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Well, I guess we should be getting inside to watch the show."

She smiles at me as she notices how quickly I changed the subject, but all she does is follow me inside. I find Nicole sitting toward the front, saving some seats. I sit down next to her, and Alli sits on my left. Nicole goes on the stage to introduce the play and then sits back down. The play is very good. By the end of it, though, I'm ready to go to bed.

I give Nicole and Alli hugs when we get outside of the school. I wave goodbye to them and begin to head back down the familiar road and well-worn path to the house. I'm ready to just drop into my bed and let my weary body rest. It's been a long day.

Ring! Ring!

I sigh and tiredly take the phone out of my purse without bothering to see who's calling. "Hello?" I say with a sigh.

"Hello, Maya," an all too familiar voice says, waking me up from my tired state and sending cold shivers I haven't felt in a long time throughout my body.