I'm not adding this as a chapter to Shoebox, but it still kinda follows that. Idk how to explain it. It's after spring break and before graduation. PLEASE REVIEW
Hat and Sweatshirt Day.
She crawled out of bed that morning and went over to her too large closet, almost forgetting what day it was. When she remembered, she was hit by a surprisingly large wave of emotion.
College hat and sweatshirt day.
Her last official day as a high school student would be marked by her proudly wearing an NYU sweatshirt.
So she slid on her jeans, put on a tank top, found a cute pair of flats, and finished off the outfit with her prized sweatshirt.
Slowly, she walked down the stairs, hand sliding down the banister as she thought about her four years of high school. She was snapped out of her thoughts when she saw Ryan sitting at the table eating a bowl of Rice Krispies.
He was wearing a Berkeley sweatshirt.
Inwardly, she cringed. Different coasts. They had never even been in separate…..anything.
And he was only the first person she had seen today.
Why had she ever looked forward to this? She remembered being beyond excited after spring break, counting down the days until she would start her senior project. Now, she wasn't so sure.
She sat down next to him, eating her own bowl of Cocoa Puffs. They chatted a little, ignoring the big topic. Until he muttered to her,
"It's really over now, huh?"
She nodded sadly, and grabbed her car keys and jumped into the driver's seat. When Ryan was fiddling with the radio, Green Day's "Time of Your Life" started blasting. The two of them laughed at the enormous cliché of it all. But since they were performers, clichés were okay.
Pulling into the parking lot, they scanned the sea of students, looking for the logos of various prestigious universities printed across chests.
They walked into the school for the last time together.
She remembered when she was a sophomore and she watched the seniors on their last day. Enviously, she watched as they hugged all their favorite teachers and faculty members goodbye. She had already been the Ice Princess, even as an underclassman, and didn't understand the sentimentality of it. So what if they were done with high school? High school sucked. They were on to bigger and better things.
God, she had been so wrong.
She remembered when she had been a junior. She really hadn't been close to the senior class. The sooner they were gone, the sooner she would rule the school. She had no problem with that. But the lack of emotion her sophomore year was gone. She walked through the halls as the senior class counted down the seconds until the final bell. When it went off, all of them ran around hugging each other and crying.
She was embarrassed for some of them, but she stopped in her tracks when she saw a couple. She didn't know who they were, but they were in love. She knew that much. They just hugged, holding each other tightly. She saw different names posted on their shirts, and that told her all she needed to know. Her throat tightened, and she cleared it in an attempt to regain her composure. But she knew that she wanted what they had.
She went straight to her locker, still thinking of previous hat and sweatshirt days, afraid of seeing something she knew she didn't want to see. It was waiting for her there.
All six feet two inches, toned body, and curly hair of him. His usual message tee had been ditched in favor of one with an even more important one.
UCLA Bruins Basketball.
Her heart actually hurt when she saw the bold lettering on his light blue shirt. He pulled her into a tight huge, instantly reading her face like his favorite Sports Illustrated magazine.
The bell rang, and they each planned on going to class on time.
He smiled, "I'll never have the chance to be late for first period again…I might as well take advantage of it."
They kissed, ignoring the sea of catcalls echoing off the walls as everyone scrambled to class. They were seniors damn it! It was their last day of high school together. They could kiss if they wanted too.
Fifteen minutes later, a slightly disheveled Sharpay Evans and a beaming Chad each went off to their last first period class.
When the lunch bell rang after four long periods, the gang all gathered together at their infamous center table. She loved colors, but she hated all the different ones that everyone was wearing today.
Gabriella in Stanford maroon and white.
Taylor in Princeton orange and black.
Zeke in Michigan blue and gold.
Kelsi in Northwestern purple and white.
Jason in Notre Dame green and gold.
Troy in U of A red and white.
They tried to eat lunch normally, and succeeded most of the time. The only lull in conversation was when Zeke had accidentally let the word tomorrow slip. They each brooded over their last school lunch, thinking about the future.
As Sharpay sat in her last class of high school, she stared at the clock. She knew that it was getting closer and closer to countdown time and yet she still was almost surprised when it started. How had high school gone by so damn fast?
She could hear the numbers getting lower and lower, and all she could think about was finding all her friends immediately. As soon as the bell rang, she ran into the hallway.
She grabbed on to Gabby and Taylor, tears leaking from her eyes. They hugged for a few minutes, before each moved on to their significant other.
He found her. He always did somehow.
She latched on, holding him tight, never wanting to let go. She remembered junior year and smiled. Who knew so much could happen in a year?
She simply rested her forehead on his shoulder, laughing at the chaos around them. Papers were flying, hats in the air, yells echoing off of every surface.
What she didn't see was a small blond junior staring at the two of them, wanting what they had.