No amount of drama could bring down my mood. Getting into my dream school, with almost a full ride through it, I was so ready for this next chapter of my life.
Now, I just had to get through graduation. I thanked my lucky stars that I wasn’t so good that I had to make a speech, but I was excited to be done with high school and moving onto much bigger, and better things.
However, this little, brewing feud between Trish and Eva was certainly odd, and out of character for both of them. None of us could have expected that Eva would supposedly start all of these problems Trish said she did, and while Trish could be edgy, she had never shown us that side, until now. A part of me thought she was stressed about graduation. She hadn’t mentioned anything about a potential school, so maybe she just wasn’t doing that? But, at the same time, I felt like something in her snapped, or was snapping. Either way, it was low-key terrifying, and Tusk and I were sideliners, watching this happen and not knowing what to do about it. I mean, what could we do? Eva knew what she wanted, and Trish knew what she wanted, and they were, clearly, very different things. So, what now? Let it happen? Separate them like children? No. I decided to keep to myself, after I texted Trish angrily about it. She wasn’t responding, so I wasn’t going to entertain it further.
I pulled out my psychology book. It was my favorite elective, and I decided to brush up on terminology and things I felt might be on the final. After all, that was next week.
Next week. I sat up straight, eyes wide. Jesus. Was it just me, or had time flown by this year? Felt like yesterday the four of us were walking into school, proud seniors and ready to raise some hell. After all this time, we never actually did that.
Well, Trish was now. A bit late, but okay. And certainly not with the people we had said we would raise hell on. Ah well.
I laid on my bed, thinking about what college life would be like. I couldn’t help but smile. My dream school, my dream job. My life was going pretty perfect, honestly. Before I could think much more about that, though, my text alert went off again. It was Tusk. I sat up and grabbed my phone, reading through his message.
Hey man. I know Trish said she was going to take all of us to your college, but I honestly, don’t think that’s going to happen, cuz, y’know, how she’s acting. I asked my parents, and they said they will take you, Eva and I. You down?
I could feel my smile growing wider and wider with each word I read, until my cheeks hurt. I eagerly responded back.
Hell yeah! And thank you. When are we going?
I flung myself back onto my bed, happily. My only hope was that Trish wouldn’t freak out about this, but could she really blame us for excluding her? My text alert went off again.
Let me in.
I jumped up and ran downstairs, unlocking the door for Tusk. He smiled broadly at me, and we went back up to my room.
“I was thinking that maybe we could go after graduation. Like a nice little congrats trip to you.” He said softly.
I nodded. “I like that idea. And maybe if Trish is a bit nicer by then, she could just come with us.”
Tusk’s smile faded. “Dude, what she did today was unacceptable. I don’t think I want to see her again, let alone go on a trip with her.”
“Ah.” I sat back. “I see. I mean, I think maybe she’s just stressed out, you know? It’s the last few weeks of school. We are all a bit on edge.”
Tusk shrugged. “I think she’s just finally letting her true colors show. I just don’t know why she would target Eva so much.”
I nodded without a word. Tusk put his hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry, man. I’m sure we will have just as much fun without her and her antics.”
I smiled. “Yeah, probably.” Admittedly, the thought of our entire friend group not going on this trip kind of sucked. Like, I was close with everyone, so why couldn’t we make it work? Why was Trish acting like this now? I tried to push it to the back of my mind. I could think about that later, when Tusk wasn’t here. I just hoped something would change in the next couple weeks. After all, this was all still fresh.
Tusk stood up and paced around my room. “Y’know, I’m gonna miss you, man.”
I smiled sadly. “I know. And don’t worry, I’ll be home for breaks and holidays.”
“Yeh, unless you forget about us with your new college buddies.” He smirked, but I could see the sadness in his eyes.
“Come on now.” I sat up. “You really think I’d leave you all in the dust? Nah.”
He looked away. “And if you find your soulmate?”
Oh damn, I hadn’t thought of that. “Ah, well, I-” I didn’t know what to say to that. “Then I guess I’d just be taking them back home with me to meet ya!” I grinned, impressed with my smooth save.
Tusk laughed, but it sounded forced. “Yeh.”
I sighed and stood up. “Come here.” I pulled him into a hug. “You’re like a brother to me, man. I promise you, with my whole soul, that I’ll never forget you or stop talking to you.”
He leaned into me, hugging me back. “Shut up, or you’ll make me cry.”
We both laughed as we let go. We sat back down and chatted for a little while longer, before Tusk decided to go home. My parents still weren’t home, so I went back into my room. I ran my finger along the shelf that held my trophies. I smiled. My parents had big dreams of me being a star football player, but that went down the drain after a gnarly fall when I was fifteen. Ok, fair enough. It just made me take up theater. I chuckled. Life has a funny way of putting us on the path we belong.
I thought back to what Tusk said. What if I did find my soulmate in college? It wasn’t my goal. I was hoping to be done with college before I found one. But, since my life hadn’t gone according to plan, but was still fantastic, who was to say it didn’t have another surprise for me? I sat down on my bed again, imagining myself in various places on campus. The dorm, classrooms, lunch, generally walking around. I was nervous, but I was far more excited than anything. And yeah, I was absolutely going to miss my friends.
I heard the front door open, and I nearly tripped trying to run out of my room. It was takeout night! My parents were home with this week’s takeout; pizza.
Dad laughed when he saw me falling over myself to get to them. “What if we had gone broke?” He joked, playfully.
I scowled. “I think that warrants running away from home.” I crossed my arms in front of me, mocking an angry face, much to my parents’ amusement.
“I mean, you already are,” Dad jeered, a playful smirk on his face.
I laughed and snatched the pizza from him. “Gimme that. I’m hungry.” I set the box on the table and grabbed a slice, my parents following suit and sitting with me. Our playful banter was a true testament to our closeness, and why I was the goofy kid I was. I would have been just fine with a class clown nomination in the yearbook, but alas, I wasn’t that good. Ah well, at least my parents thought I was funny.
We began talking about our day, and when my parents asked how mine went, I hesitated. “Well, uh…” I swallowed the bite of pizza in my mouth. “About that…”
My parents blinked at me, in unison, eagerly waiting for me to continue. I cleared my throat. “So, uh, Trish is off the rails or something. I don’t know what’s going on with her, but she’s really pissed Tusk off. I’m sure Eva isn’t too pleased with her either.” I explained the events of the day, and my parents were shocked. Frankly, as I replayed everything, so was I.
“Trish is such a nice girl, though!” My mom protested.
I nodded. “I know, right? I think maybe she’s stressed, with finals coming up. But, Tusk won’t believe me.”
Dad shrugged. “Nah, I get it. It’s still hurtful, regardless of the reason. I’d say, give it a few days. Let it blow over.”
I nodded, taking another bite. I hoped that’s how it would play out, but honestly, I had never seen Tusk so angry. I didn’t have a lot of faith that it would be over in just a few days. Tusk was capable of some serious grudge holding. I just hoped he wouldn’t this time.
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