What Happens at The Creek Stays at The Creek

by Maggie Jefferis

​Once upon a time, I couldn't come up with an idea. So I died. 

It was the morning of June 22, and I still had no idea what I was going to write for my narrative for YMP. I smacked my forehead against my worn Macbook. I had been contemplating this for almost a week now and still had no clue. Today was a big day for the video team; it was our first day of shooting. Everything seemed to be falling apart, and I was about to lose it. One of our interviewees had canceled, we still didn't have a mic that was working, and it felt like the world was crumbling around me. 

Then it was almost 11, and I was sitting waiting for the questions to be finished so we could start the interview process. While we were waiting for the questions to be  finished, Sean (Collins) blew up a red balloon he had taken from my backpack. "These balloons are too small," he said, "bring me bigger ones next time." 

Sean, Eli (Bettiga) and I batted the balloon around the room until I nearly knocked over a camera. 

"So sean, how did you know you were gay?" Eli asked. 

---

"I don't like that question, I know it's a popular one, but I really don't like it." Sean said, his hands fidgeting. "But I will answer it. I guess I knew when I would be somewhere like the mall or something when I was younger, and I would notice myself looking at the guys and thinking, 'Oh, they're cute,'" he explained. 

"What about that time at the creek?" I asked. Sean, a long-time friend I brought to YMP, looked at me with eyes that I could have sworn read, "Maggie if you do not shut up I will slap you." 

"What happens in The Creek stays in The Creek," Sean said. 

So I guess the moral of this story is that nothing can turn into something by the power of interviews.