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Isabella “Willa” Angelo was never one who fell in love. Love, like many other things, was what her family considered a choice you made. Everything that occurred in her life was a definitive choice. She was in charge of her destiny. When the applications went out for students to become DHIs (Disney Host Interactives) for the Disney Parks five years ago, it was Willa who badgered her mother into driving her to the audition.
“It’s a great opportunity for my college resume!”, a 12 year old Willa raved all the way to the casting building. “We get to be filmed, essentially immortalized, giving tours of Disney World. Mom, this is so cool!”
Even at the early age of five, she had her entire educational career planned. She was to complete her primary and secondary education in Winter Park, becoming Valedictorian of course. Once she graduated, she'd enroll in Emory University, ‘the Harvard of the South’, where she would major in Microbiology and Chemical Engineering. She would then graduate with honors, apply to Pharmacy School, and ultimately become the PharmD of her dreams.
Everything was mapped out. Now, she had to just get through her Junior year.
Her cell phone ringtone startled her out of her intense essay revision session. “Workin' 9 to 5, what a way to make a livin'/Barely gettin' by, it's all takin' and no givin'”
She and her mom were huge Dolly Parton fans. Willa was practically raised on her discography. From 'Jolene' to 'Dagger Through My Heart', Willa had studied each passage of Dolly’s lyrical prose to the point of commemorative record.
She chuckled as she saw Charlene’s name on the caller ID. Charlene Turner was another DHI. There were five in total, all around the same age: Willa, Charlene, Finn Whitman, Terry Maybeck, and Dell Philby.
She and Philby became friends, the quickest out of the bunch. They were just drawn to each other with her meticulous and driven nature and his passion for robotics. The problem was, as much as she and Charlene hung out, she hadn’t seen the boys in almost a year. The last time she saw them was June after Sophomore year. The boys still looked like premature Thomas Brodie-Sangsters back then. Now, nearing late March, she had no idea what they looked like.
Willa and Charlene were the only two girls so, naturally, they became best friends and hung out fairly often.
“Hey Char, what’s up?” Willa greeted.
Charlene squealed and Willa shook her head in amusement. If Willa was Type A, Charlene was her complimentary Type B.
“Wills, the boys just called me and they are showing a movie at the community center tonight.” Charlene said enthusiastically. “It’s some old movie. Umm.. A Snake Plane or something like that?”
Willa smiled and corrected her, “Snakes on a Plane?”
“Yes!” Charlene exclaimed. “That’s it!”
“You know that film is barely a decade old, right?” Willa chuckled into the phone.
“It has that weird old movie sound!” Charlene responded, causing Willa to stifle yet another giggle. “Anyway, I know you’re busy with being a good student and what not but it’s Saturday night and Jason’s going to be there.”
Jason was Charlene’s latest crush.
“Char, you know I have a lot of homework to do and we just went out last night.” Willa protested.
“Please? I’ll owe you big time. I will… help you study! Next weekend, we won’t go out at all and I’ll go over your nerdy flashcards with you.”
“All weekend?”
“Yes! All weekend! You have my word.” Charlene said definitively.
Willa sighed, “I do need to write a report on a thriller for my Film Studies class at the college.”
“Is that a yes?” Charlene squealed.
Willa rolled her eyes, “I’ll be ready at 7 PM.”
“Ah! Yes! I’ll meet you at your house. See you soon!” Charlene said and hung up the phone.
Willa chuckled to herself and continued revising her essay.
Several hours later, Willa and Charlene walked through the community center looking for the boys. The center was filled with students from 16 to 19 years old.
“They said they were standing by the vending machine.” Charlene muttered, looking around frenetically.
“Which vending machine? The center has over 20!” Willa groaned.
“Agh! I don’t know.” Charlene pulled out her phone to text Maybeck.
Willa sharply exhaled and looked around the room some more. She scanned the room and her eyes landed on a familiar head of red hair. She smirked. That must be Philby. She weaved through the crowd and approached the group of boys. When she finally made eye contact, her world fell apart in an instant.
Dell Philby was not the boy she remembered. Long gone was the lanky, geeky boy with braces and oval glasses. He wore a tight tee and shredded jeans. He was now muscular and had a five o'clock shadow. What had happened?
“Hey Willa!” He smiled warmly and brought her into a hug.
She froze in his embrace, eyes wide, and timidly said, “Hi.”
Suddenly all of those songs about falling in love made sense. Her best friend stood in front of her. He was holding her. It didn’t matter how many times she tries to remember the boyish, geeky boy from before. Nothing could stop the butterflies in her stomach and the lightheadedness that corrupted her.
From Taylor Swift singing, “I was enchanted to meet you” to Doris Troy proclaiming, “Just one look and I fell so hard, in love with you,” words had never rung so true. Throughout all the songs, poems, and books she dissected over the years, one artist stuck out the most.
As Philby pulled away and gave her his familiar yet curious lopsided grin, she knew that Dolly said it best.
“Just an ordinary day, started out the same old way.
Then I looked into your eyes and knew."