Stephanie Welch is 37 years old and was born in the Tri-Valley of the East Bay. She is 5'8 and has long, sandy brown hair, light blue eyes, and sun-kissed skin. Stephanie attended school in Livermore, and it was there that she met her best friend, Holly Jenkins, in the third grade. The two have been close ever since.
Stephanie and Holly experienced a special bond throughout their formative years, from middle to high school. They spent many days together doing activities; their summers were just as fun. As they grew older, the time they had together before graduation from high school was precious. They took advantage of their friendship and created lasting memories.
After graduating from high school, Stephanie and Holly chose to attend the same college. Although their chosen courses of study took them in different directions, they remained close friends and still found time to spend together whenever possible. Even though life was no longer like the high school days, the two friends cherished the moments they shared.
Stephanie was delighted to meet Tina Mills during her second year in college. Stephanie and Tina quickly became close friends, and over the next two years, they both worked for different media companies doing a variety of research, field reporting, and writing projects. It was during this time that Stephanie and Tina built a strong bond that would last for many years to come. Stephanie was so thankful to have met Tina and to have been able to share this special experience with her.
Stephanie was immensely proud of herself for the hard work she put in to achieve her goal of obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication and journalism after four years of study. To celebrate their success, Stephanie, Holly, and Tina took a trip overseas that summer after graduating from college to enjoy a much-deserved vacation.
After returning from their overseas vacation. Stephaine, Holly, and Tina went their separate ways to start their journey into their new lives. Stephanie was excited when she got hired at KRPZ Channel 11 as a field reporter, and her joy was only multiplied when she was later promoted to the news anchor position. A few months after Stephanie's hiring, Tina and Holly were also brought on board to join the team. Stephanie was thrilled to have two more friends to share the experience with.
Several years later, Stephanie found herself on board the colony ship Frontier, looking out of a large bay window into the deep, dark space of the Triangulum Galaxy. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she thought of all the memories she had left behind.
Good evening, this is Stephanie Welch reporting for KRPZ Channel 11 news. I have some of the most amazing news of my life, however, I am currently unable to share it with anyone. Looking out of the window, I can hardly believe that the stars below us are no longer a part of the Milky Way, but of a completely different galaxy. If only I could communicate this to someone from the station, it would make a truly remarkable headline.
I pull up the calendar on my hologram laptop with a bitter smile, recalling the day I had highlighted: Saturday, July 14th at 9:00 pm - the day that we all set off for the Triangulum galaxy. I remember hearing a few officials saying that it would feel like we had just left yesterday. As I sit here, I can't help but inwardly laugh - it does feel like we only left yesterday. But the tears welling in my eyes are a reminder of the last full day I spent on Earth that I will never get back. It's almost like somebody came and ripped my life away, and all I can do is shake my head.
I had a busy day on Thursday taking care of some necessary tasks. I'm hoping to wrap everything up by this afternoon so that I can focus on other things in the last 24 hours before I leave. I want to be sure that I don't leave any loose ends behind, so I paid a visit to the bank to close my account, and I also went to the mortgage office to sign the deed of my house over to my best friend Holly. It's going to be a nice surprise for her when the time comes!
At 2:00 pm, I had finally completed taking care of my business. I drove one last time to the television station to take a look. Upon entering the lobby, I noticed Jerry and Tina, the station directors at KRPZ, standing in the hall. They both came up to me and Tina kindly embraced me, asking if I was alright. I fought back the tears and nodded my head. Jerry then said that he and Tina understood, and he gave me a hug. As I was looking around, Tina asked if I wanted to return to my office and get something; I declined. I was about to leave when Jerry inquired if I wanted to be on television tonight. I told him it wasn't on my mind. Jerry mentioned that many people had called the station inquiring about me, and he suggested that it might be beneficial for me to provide an update. I told Jerry I would consider it. I glanced at Tina, smiled, and said we should chat via hologram video later. She asked when and I told her it would be a surprise. I smiled at Jerry and Tina, turned towards the door, and left.
As I slowly walked towards my car, I felt my eyes welling up with tears. I knew this goodbye was going to be difficult; I had been working with the same people at the television station for years. Taking a deep breath, I got into my car and drove to Center Point Outdoors Mall, hoping to take my mind off of the emotions I had been feeling by doing some shopping.
I arrived at the mall and parked my car across from Kitchen Mart. I had taken the $1,400 when I closed my bank account earlier that morning, and I was planning to spend most of it in the store. I got out of the car, eager to do some shopping.
When I entered Kitchen Mart, I was immediately drawn to the cooking set. Even though I knew it might be silly to take a kitchen set with me, I knew it would be necessary for my new home. I also looked at a few other things, feeling excited about the possibilities of what I could buy.
Before I took my stuff to check out, I saw some Mason jars; I took some of them and went to check out. I carefully placed all my items in the shopping cart on the counter. The lady behind the counter looked at me and told me there was no charge for my items. I stood there in disbelief and asked why? The store manager then came over and told me that my items were free. I told the store manager: "No, I want to pay for my items." She looked at me with a kind expression and said, "We all know you're leaving soon; this is our way of saying goodbye." I stood there with tears rolling down my cheeks, feeling overwhelmed with gratitude and saying thank you to both the store manager and the lady behind the counter.
I took everything I got from Kitchen Mart to my car and then headed over to Computer Palace. When I entered the store, the manager approached me and kindly told me that I didn't have to pay for what I was getting. He expressed his gratitude for my work as a news journalist and said he would miss seeing me on TV. I was overwhelmed by his kindness and found it difficult to hold back tears. His words made me feel so appreciated, and I was struggling to stay composed. Despite the emotional turmoil, I continued shopping around the store, grateful for his generosity.
I was feeling overwhelmed as I put a couple of mini server pods, three cases of air pads for the hologram keyboard, and a new hologram tablet in my shopping cart. When the store manager walked over and asked if I was OK, I couldn't say anything because I was an emotional mess. All I could do was stand there and hope he understood my expression. I had just given up everything I loved to move to a new planet I had never heard about, and it was hard to put on a brave face. I managed to smile and tell him I was doing well, though I knew it was a lie. Knowing I had to leave soon, I thanked him and quickly took my items to the checkout counter to have them all bagged. I thanked the store manager and clerk one last time before leaving to go to my car.
Returning to my car, I carefully placed all of the items I had picked up at the store in the back seat. Settling into the driver's seat, I let out a deep sigh and started to cry. All of my feelings were released as I experienced a deep sadness, heartache, and loss that I had never experienced before. Whenever someone inquires about how I am doing, I find myself unable to explain the depths of my emotions because I have never gone through something like this. After taking a few minutes to compose myself, I got out of my car and made my way to the last store I needed to visit; the Sunset clothing store.