Free Again, but Better by Christine Riccio Page A

let this go, but I can’t. I hope you give me the chance to prove you wrong. I think I can do this.
    XO,
    Shane
    I slip the London Eye postcard into my bag next to the London Bridge from Wednesday. Class is wonderfulagain. We talk about writing suspense, and then we take the last hour to tackle a suspenseful short story of our own. I write about a nanny who’s attacked unsuspectedly by her employer.
    When we’re dismissed, I run off to catch the Tube to Covent Garden for my interview. My legs nervously jiggle up and down as I watch the stops blur through the windows.
    I’m a couple minutes early when I stepup to the tall white building matching the address for Packed! The first level is a coffee shop, which makes things a little confusing. I wander around the side of the structure until I find another door. This one is outfitted with a buzzer and a little silver plaque above it that reads PACKED! FOR TRAVEL! It’s on the second floor. I reach up and press the button.
    “Hello?” a voice asks throughthe speaker.
    “Hi. I’m Shane Primaveri. Here for an interview?”
    A loud buzz makes me jump back a foot. The door in front of me unlatches. I pull it open and ascend the stairs. At the top of the steps is a white door with a frosted circular window decorated with the Packed! For Travel! logo.
    I let loose a practically inaudible whoa as I step inside the office. A smile itches at my lips. The roomis shiny, white, and modern. The walls are lined with gorgeous poster-sized photographs of cities all around the world. My eyes quickly locate New York among them. A pang of pride runs through me. I bring my attention to the half-moon silvery-white receptionist desk before me. A pale, tiny, twenty-something woman with freckles and a strawberry-blond bob looks up at me.
    “Hello!” She has a heavyIrish accent.
    “Hi! I’m Shane Primaveri. I’m here for an interview with Wendy.” I shuffle my feet together.
    The receptionist introduces herself as Tracey. I take a seat in a modern-looking silver chair adjacent to the door while Tracey goes to fetch Wendy. I watch as she scurries across the floor to the opposite wall and carefully opens a glass door to what must be Wendy’s office. The centerof the open space is littered with silver desks, big high-def computer monitors, and youngish employees. Tracey turns toward me, and I quickly drop my gaze back to my lap.
    “Shane?”
    I look up again to find a tall woman with long, straight, dark hair and golden-brown skin. She’s wearing high-waisted black slacks and an orange blazer. She looks like a model.
    “Hi!” I jump out of my seat as thewoman extends her arm for a handshake.
    “Hi, I’m Wendy! I run things around here. Great to meet you. Let’s talk!”
    I follow Wendy into her office. She has an enormous, sleek glass desk. I timidly seat myself in one of the two silver chairs in front of it. A whole corner of the desk is covered with tiny trinket versions of iconic landmarks: a pyramid, the Eiffel Tower, the Colosseum, the Statueof Liberty, the London Eye.
    “Give me a little rundown about you, Shane. We’re excited to hopefully have you interning here these next few months.”
    I press my hands against my knees, forcing them into stillness. “Um, well, I, I’m studying abroad, and I’m doing the writing program. I love reading, writing, telling stories. I’d love to work as a writer someday. And I have some interest in photography … Um, I have a blog! I post my pieces there sometimes, and I’m turning it into a study-abroad blog for these next few months.”
    “That’s great!” She smiles at me. It makes me feel better. I grin back. “Well, here at Packed! we’re currently working on expanding our online repertoire. I don’t know if you’ve checked out our website—”
    “I have! I love it!”
    She laughs. “Then you’ve seen our city guides.”
    I have. They have travel guides for cities all over the world, the bestplaces to stay, the best tourist