My third year of high school was finally coming to a close. The end of the year meant cramming, finals, standardized test, pictures, yearbooks, and of course, prom.
Well, in my case, it meant watching everyone get excited about prom when the only thing on my mind was how sore my armpits were from being on crutched for so long.
Balloons, flowers, candles, and massive stuffed animals were being carried all over the place as people became more and more creative with asking their dates to prom. It made me smile a little bit; I should have been so jealous of all these girls getting dates to one of the most magical nights of their life.
But I wasn’t. Maybe I couldn’t go to prom in a gorgeous dress and share a dance with my dream date, but I could get pretty close.
Richie refused to go to prom without me, so we decided just to spend out prom night at the beach instead. It wasn’t anything big or fancy, especially because I couldn’t even get my cast wet. It was an impulsive decision, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t be excited for it.
The week went by in a flash. Finals were over and the teachers didn’t bother making lessons plans anymore, knowing all too well that anything they said would simply get lost in all the prom hype. I was sitting in my last class of the entire year, feeling rather childish sitting in my chair and waiting for that bell to ring.
“You seem excited, Rosalina,” Patrice said, amused by my behavior. “You have something planned for tonight? I mean, considering that you’re not going to prom tonight or anything.”
“Shut up, Patrice,” I said playfully.
Patrice and I were on rather good terms nowadays. We never really talked much outside of class or anything, but we got along relatively well. She had changed a lot this year, going from class snob to a very talkative socialite; she no longer had to pretend to be one of the most popular girls in our class.
“No, really. Do you have plans tonight?”
“Yeah. I’m hanging out with Richie.”
She could tell by my curt answer and embarrassingly obvious blush that I didn’t want to talk about it too much. I just didn’t want people thinking that we were anything more than just friends. The more I talked about it, the more likely people were to get the wrong ideas. That was just how eavesdropping worked, I guess.
Thankfully, Patrice was kind enough to change the subject. “Can you believe that we’re going to be seniors next year?”
It wasn’t the best topic for me, considering that I had almost no plans for the future, but it was better than gushing over Richie. “I know, right? It’s so weird.”
“Tell me about it. We only have one year left to do everything we ever wanted to do in high school. I don’t want to walk out of here knowing that I’ve missed an opportunity to do something great or make something right, you know?”
I knew that all too well, but I decided to try and keep the conversation from getting to personal. “Yeah.”
Despite my rather dull response, she continued talking. “I’m really glad we’ve patched things up between us. It’s nice to know we can end the year on a good note.” The bell rand and the class began to file out of the room. “Phew. Look at me,” she grinned, “I’m getting all mushy and we still have one year to go. Sorry about that. Well, I have to get my hair done for prom. Have fun on your date!”
“Date…?”
Patrice ran off, leaving me alone to escort myself out of the room. She had always amazed me with her ability to talk for hours on end without needed any response whatsoever. She really had said a lot, but it actually meant something to me this time.
Richie was waiting for me at my locker, which was no longer mine since we cleared them out yesterday. He smiled and waved to me and I waved back. We had big plans for tonight, but they suddenly felt so small. I should have been thinking about tonight and living in the now. Instead, I found myself wondering about tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that. Soon, I was thinking about what I was going to be doing a year from now. How was I planning on ending high school?
At first, I thought that the only thing I truly wanted before graduating was closure. I wanted to confirm with Nat and the guys that we were no longer angry at each other, and then exchange my goodbyes as I went on to bigger and better things. It wouldn’t matter if we could even be considered friends anymore; I just wanted to get put an end to what was already over.
As I continued to think about it, however, I realized that it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t enough for me to just make everything okay. It wasn’t enough to just patch things up and leave it alone. I wanted more than just to fix things. I wanted to be friends with them again. I wanted to be able to start a new chapter.
I wanted it all.
