"Gurrrrrrlllllll, tell me how the hell this ain't no joke! Mandy accepted my article! Out of all the damn topics I write on, she take this! About when- Girl, what's going on with you? Why you looking like that?"

Biting down on my bottom lip in frustration, I took in a deep breath through my nostrils and sighed afterwards.

You know what I hold near and dear to my heart? What I value so much? Time. Time can be so short if you play with it or pushes its limits. Therefore, when dealing with me, don't waste my damn time.

Congrats to my friend as her article was accepted into the next issue of the magazine, however, there's been this ongoing problem with Mandy and I and guess whose time is being compromised? Mine.

Every word my fingers write is a problem for her and her red pen ends up marking my masterpiece up! Like save the extra shit and just tell me what problem you have with me. You have your typical grammar issues, which I can fix, but there's always an issue with the message in my articles. It could be anything from it not making sense, in her opinion, to her just not caring for it.

Like I said, Stop. Wasting. My. Damn. Time.

You can say that I should use this as a learning opportunity but when your articles have not once made it in a magazine or are constantly rejected clearly because of the editor's biased opinion about you, there's a deeper problem that needs to get solved.

Hell, send me to a different magazine or fire me. There has to be a serious reason as to why you still have me around.

"Once again, my words won't be in the magazine. It's month after month that my articles get rejected and I've been here for a little over a year. This time, Mandy's excuse was that it was unprofessional. In fact, I was reprimanded in this beautiful long email this morning. Check it out."

This is the type of email that makes me want to leave. How do you sugarcoat social issues and tell me to change my narrative to hype someone who's loud and wrong? That's not in my job description.

My job is to report on the issues and I tell what's on my mind. I tell what's morally right. Blasting an apparent racist author for her foolery isn't part of my job? You have a whole story right here and you don't like it for what reason again?

Please, I'm not the one nor the two.

"Look here, J. You can't let Mandy's opinions get the best of you. All you have to do is a bit of rearranging and changing of the story. Do a play on words and write what you feel is correct. Write for those people who can read in between the lines and need what you're working on. You know how Mandy is. She can't read in between a line, a squiggle, or a curl."

Chuckling at her words a bit, I realized that she was right. The more this email and the constant negativity occupy my mind, the more my time is taken from me. The best thing I could do is keep it pimping or walk.

"Somebody's going to see my work and accept it. It may not be Mandy but somebody's eyes are going on my words and they'll be inspired."

"That's right, J! They'll see your name and your message and be like 'YAS BITCH!' And when you become a high-paying journalist, don't forget about the little people....you know? Like me? You heard it here first!"

Cassidy and I were standing by my desk and chatting as I cleaned up for the evening. The rejection email put a quick pause in things but there's room for more improvement. We're coming back better than ever.

"Alright, check this out. Angie from HR and Darian from Sports are planning this crazy vacation during shut down. They're asking everyone around the office and I think we should go." Cassidy proposed.

My mind wasn't focused on no trip right now. I was too busy trying to plan out my revised article before the end of the week. If this one doesn't make it to the magazine, I'm not going to know what to do. That's hard work being wasted.

Snapping my rejected article and posting it to my Instagram story, I sighed at Cassidy's suggestion and said "By the time we go, I may not have a-"

"Stop speaking like that, J! We already talked about that. You're going to rewrite your point and you're going to be accepted. This rejection is just a temporary loss made to be into a long-term win in the long run."

Though she was right and made me feel better, I still wasn't focused on going on this trip thing they're planning. I wanted to finish my article before going anywhere. Earn my trip instead of just going somewhere with nothing to celebrate for.

Cass and I walked with each other down the parking garage and continued talking about the upcoming article that was coming out, featuring a fine football player on the front cover. We're putting Voyage on the map here.

"At least tell me you'll think about that trip over the upcoming weekend because we need an answer by next Monday. This trip is what you need, J. You've worked your ass off way too much not to go."

Why was this trip so important to her and why is she begging me to go? She's that one friend that everybody knows and everybody's cool with. Why can't she ask someone else to go with her?

"Cass, look-"

"Don't pull that 'look here' bullshit. Keep playing, J. You gonna keep working and worrying about this article to the point where you fuck up your mental health. Mandy's not even worth thinking about and you got her taking over your brain like some damn zombies. If you're confident in your own work, you have nothing to worry about. You can't be so hung up over this because, if it's messing with you emotionally, you need to hang it up."

This walk seemed shorter than our usual walks. It could be because Cass is preaching to me about my own mental health like my dad. She is most definitely right though. Another coat on the rack that doesn't fit but there's others that do.

"My dream is to have my own magazine for us. A magazine where we talk everything us. For us, by us like F.U.B.U. I just want to make sure that it's not me and my writing that's getting in the way of that."

We finally made it to our cars and Cassidy turned to me to say "It's you, not your writing. Start your own platform and get bigger than this follow-the-trend magazine. Go into business for yourself because it's that season for you. Hell, I'll be behind you on the fashion end because you know that's my thing. It's still art, right?"

Once again, she comes through with the motivation like no other. This job is temporary so it's not worth the stress but I want to know my shit before I do go into business for myself. Learn from other people, good or bad, so I can run my magazine effectively.

A platform for people to keep updates on the world that's not the one we're in now. A world for us dreamers, wishers, thinkers, doers, designers, creatives, and more...

A platform for our people who enjoy escaping from the real world for a minute. 'Excursion' sounds too complicated and 'Odyssey' sounds too...mythical. 'Journey' is too simple and I don't want everyone talking about my name every minute of the day. We'll figure out the details another time.

A couple of coughs later, I looked back at a concerned Cassidy as she sat back in her truck. Her shoulder-length black hair was covering her right eye as her small stature sat comfortable in that driver's seat.

"Anyway, think on that trip and get back with me ASAP. Oh, question for you. Do you think that fine ass waiter could handle all this body?"

Shaking my head at her, I chuckled as I got into my Jeep. Cassidy had a lot of love to give but wouldn't share it with anybody not worth it. The waiter that served us during lunch time definitely wasn't it and wouldn't be worth her time. Little light-skinned boney kid that looks like he just started college. Cass would eat him up.

"Not at all but, if we go back in about five years and he's still there and single, get the digits." We laughed at the thought.

We definitely feed off of each other. Well, I feed mostly off Cass because she just has that energy. We're never surprised when people ask us if we're sisters and you wouldn't be surprised we're friends when you get to know us. 

****

Hey, y'all! I had to squeeze something in this week but this weekend, you may get so much more!

I know we're still on Cass and Journee but we're a step closer! We're talking about the trip now! I can't wait to get to those chapters! That's gonna be fun!

What do you think Journee will say about the trip?

Are you curious about Cass' love life?

And please tell me what you think about this thing going on with Mandy (the magazine editor) and Journee? Should Journee make her own?

Thanks for reading! I'll see you all soon!