Cinn: Well, I only have a vague idea about this one, but we'll see whether I totally ruin it or not.
Chapter 2: Reflection; The Next Step
So, I get to recount the part where life really starts - Sixth Form College. Where you only study subjects you want to, and get time to do your own thing and be more independent from what you were in High School.
Naturally I stayed best friends with Debbie (who'd taken Maths, French, ICT and Classics) and Jade (who'd taken Maths, Biology, Physics and Chemistry), making loads of new friends in my subject lessons. I was in Maths with Jade and Debbie for French. But in Music and Art I made loads of seriously cool new friends - not that Debbie and Jade aren't seriously cool - I made more friends in Maths and French too, just not as many.
Most of my new friends in Art are Rockers and/or Goths, but they're fun. In Music they're either Rockers or people similar to me. But hey - they're all cool. In Music they even tried to teach me base guitar, which wasn't as hard as I thought, but I prefer singing and piano. Most of the people in my Music class either are or were in a band, so they know a lot about music. In Art it's just anyone creative - because it covers more than drawing and stuff at A-level. But sketching and using the clay will always be my favourite parts of artwork. With the small exception of Spray-Mount Glue.
Another thing about Sixth Form that was new was the level to which things could be taken without getting detention. The amount of stuff everyone got away with - including me - was phenomenal. At heart I am a pranker, and I had a really bad feeling it would be difficult to pull pranks without getting detentions at Sixth Form - but it was quite the opposite. No one cared - in fact, most of the teachers found them all hilarious. You get treated really differently there, my Art teacher said that I was 'unleashing my full creativeness' and many believed her.
"There's nothing wrong with a bit of fun, especially when there's not harm done..." She would say when she heard my latest prank.
Ah, Sixth Form was fun, and I think many trees suffered because of it. Oh well - the world's getting on fine even without my help.
So after getting though AS levels with the best possible grades, I had to drop one - its school policy, 4 ASs and 3 A2s. So, which? Maths, Music, Art or French? Well, it was definitely not Art or Maths - I like them too much... In the end I dropped Music - I continued it outside of school even more than I did before I dropped it. So it wasn't a big loss or anything.
However it was about this point when we had to think about Universities as well - which not only meant a repeat of the Sixth Form/College incident but we had a lot more choice and had to pick on single subject to carry on with... So Maths or Art? I felt I knew enough French for now... So me Debbie and Jade spend at least 10 lunch times with prospectuses on our knees raiding through them.
"OK, which will be better for Medicine? Cambridge or Oxford?" Jade asked, trying to pull the Cambridge prospectus away from me.
"I dunno - I was looking more Art or Maths - Cambridge doesn't do Art though..." I added.
"True - just give me the prospectus, please."
"Cambridge is better for grouped Sciences - Oxford does single - does it do a separate Medicine course?" Debbie asked, looking through the Edinburgh one. I ended up resigning the Cambridge prospectus at this point as I'd discovered I needed at least AS further Maths - which I didn't have. Maths at Oxford looked equally boring - and I wasn't very likely to get in because again I have no AS/A2 Further Maths. But Fine Art looks good.
Debbie was looking at Computer Sciences in both, while Jade was trying to find a good Medical course... Jade soon ticked off Cambridge as she said the entry requirements were slightly higher and the course didn't quite look as good (I looked and I didn't even comprehend the section that said 'Entry Requirements' Jade however looked and managed to read them). Debbie still couldn't decide when it came to filling in the forms.
We have to chose five or six to apply to in case we don't get the grades for our first choice or whatever. Oxford - Christ Church (Art), Lancashire (Maths), Edinburgh (Maths), London (Art), and NYU (Art). Jade put down all Academic ones for Medicine on each - Debbie put the same ones as me down (for Computer Science) except NYU and Oxford.
It was about this time as well when the discussion about careers came up, a lot. Naturally among friends, but teachers and heads of years felt like they needed to have some influence on the matter - which we didn't want but were forced into the sessions thanks to school rules.
Debbie wants to go into ICT, and she says she's going to design a computer game that will be so popular that every single person in the world will want one - either that or she'll design the ultimate computer that never goes wrong - which I actually believe she'll be able to do. She'll be able to teach Microsoft something then. Jade wants to go into Medicine and says she's going to go into cancer research full time - in the hope of finding a cure - that's slightly less possible than a computer that rarely breaks. But Jade is the sort of person when you've known them for as long as I have you just start to believe anything can be possible.
And then there's me - who just doesn't know.
All I know is that I don't want to spend my life in a boring job in an office where everything is predictable and routine. I want to be happy and do something I enjoy and can be spontaneous. This is a concept that teachers seem to be incapable of understanding. Whenever they ask what I want to do later in life and I reply saying something that I enjoy and/or that I don't know they laugh and say I better hurry up and decide otherwise I'll be stuck in a job with very little or no pay, and I'm just sitting there thinking, I don't care too much - I'd sooner be doing something I find enjoyable with low pay than something I hate with high pay.
So yeah - that's the only reason teachers don't like me. I follow practically everything else they find acceptable, just not when it comes to decisions and work and pay, not including Mrs. Kettleton who is the only teacher in the whole school who understands my point of view on the whole matter... Oh well, the others will get over it.
So before our year knew it - once again the exams where upon us, granted there were only three but I think the hours make up for it...
Debbie's exams finished first - and my last one was the day after. But poor Jade had all hers after ours, except maths which was my last one. Debbie dropped Maths after AS. So whilst Debbie and I were revising and doing the exams Jade was on her own revising. Then when we've finished she's on her own doing exams. Actually - Debbie felt this was best as this way we're less likely to distract her and she can get the grades she deserves. This is also true.
So the afternoon after my last exam Debbie and I were sat in overly hot whether in the park trying to cool down. Which was practically impossible as it's an unusually hot summer (at least so far) so we only got half way near that goal when we bought ice-creams. It was ironic however when we met one of our jujitsu sensei's and had to explain why we hadn't been for the past month because of the exams then signed a verbal contract of going next Monday, as we needed to prepare for our next grading... Woo - another examination. Notice the sarcasm there. At least jujitsu gradings are no where near as stressful as school ones - you just have to remember every throw/punch/kick you've ever learnt and their names. Which usually isn't too hard because they're kinda a give away e.g. hip-throw.
So - yeah, we were sitting around trying to decide what order our universities were in to each of us - we'd all gotten our choices (well the conditional offers) and now had to decide which one we'd go to provided we got the grades and which was the back-up one for that etc. It wasn't particularly hard to do - but there were a couple that were really iffy - but I'm going to Oxford - I should get it because there aren't actually any grade requirements it's just all 'recommended' stuff.
"Oh look - Debbie - it's your boyfriend..." I said, nodding in the direction of the person in question - Kevin. Also putting a handy apple core on the seat next to Debbie in case he tried to sit down - it's a classic.
"He's not my boyfriend, as you fully well know." Debbie replied, she knew who I was referring to without even having to look.
"No, I know that you want him to be."
"Shut-up." She replied, going ever so slightly red - you've got to hand it to her, it's difficult to tell when she's blushing - then attempted a vague change of topic. "How come you never got a boyfriend?"
"Never found anyone worth bothering about. As you know half the boys in our year were only ever after girls who'd fool around with 'em. "
"Well, there were a few who weren't like that. Not many granted..." Debbie replied, she was right.
"Yeah, well, they were the ones we were friends with and never found attractive in any other way."
"True. With the exception of Jade and Rob." I considered this, and mutely agreed.
"But that's the reason it didn't work between them. They were too used to being just friends..." It was Debbie's turn to consider this." Despite your efforts at getting them back together... Didn't you eventually threaten to give Rob a black-eye if he didn't get back with Jade?" I asked, remembering with vague amusement the lengths to which Debbie will take things in what she believes is the best path to be taken.
"Yeah - only he said that I wouldn't because I'd get bollocked for it and that he was a mate. Oh and Jade would murder me."
"Which points were true?"
"That fact that I'd get bollocked for it - and that Jade would probably never forgive me. She wouldn't kill me."
"True - what exam is she in today?"
"Biology, even worse she's got Chemistry tomorrow." Debbie replied, pulling a face, which I soon copied. We both hated Biology. The other two sciences I quite liked, Chemistry more. Debbie didn't really like science, with the exception of 'control in circuits' unit in Physics.
Debbie's younger brother turned up on his bike at this point - he's in year 9 - and reported that her parents wanted her home because her Gran was coming over. This meant Debbie had to go home, change and behave really politely. Ha! Debbie and polite usually don't go - but I have seen her once she's into the role and she pulls it off quite well.
"I'll see ya later then." I said, retrieving half my papers which had been scattered about the table and shoved them into my bag. I didn't have a piano lesson for another hour so I felt I better go find something to do. Going home was not the best decision I ever made. It was pandemonium when I went in, even worse when I left. When I got through the front door mother was berating me for not being home the second my exam had finished to look after my younger sister so she could go out, little sister (Nina) was trying to break the TV remote and TV in one go. Well she didn't mean to but being four she doesn't exactly understand that you don't have to pummel the remote to get it to work.
And Dad, well put it this way, mother chucked him out and got a divorce about 2 years ago. Apparently because he was always an extreme slob, personally I don't know why she was complaining because she doesn't even know the word tidy. I'm the one who has to tidy up. I was always on Dad's side - at least he was nice and understood that I had friends - which I wanted to talk to - as well.
It didn't take long to prise the remote off Nina; however I still had to endure mother's ranting for about three quarters of an hour. Actually I left early and decided to go the longer way so that I could escape quicker. Out of exercise or mothers ranting I'll take exercise, thanks.
She'll have gone out by the time I get back - she always does - so that means that for the five minutes between me getting in and mother going out, Nina will be on her own. I usually find her locked in the toilet holding a screwdriver waiting for me to get in.
Tonight was no different. I got in - the house appeared disserted - first thing I did, knock on the toilet door and shout of Nina. She comes straight out once she knows I'm there. Usually rugby tackling me, or attempting to. Not really, she just hates being on her own that much. She's fine once someone she knows is with her - even more so once you get one of her favourite TV shows/movies on. Tom & Jerry is one of them - and something I can still appreciate the humour of. So that's what it usually is.
Actually, I think because of my mothers shouting and not really bothering to look after us properly has lead to my many pranks and creativeness. It's an outlet, I guess.
So as usual I had to calm Nina down then convince her that she was actually tired and wanted to go to sleep. But having a years practice kinda helps that matter, it didn't take long. I soon went to bed after her, sleeping wasn't exactly an option because as usual I went to bed with many millions of thoughts in my head - which probably isn't too healthy on the brain - which meant I had to shift through them all before I had a chance of sleeping.
So yeah - the week left of exams (for Jade and some other members of the year) passed quite quickly. At which point we were able to hang out around town and do all the stuff we usually did - a favourite was sit in the park and analyse every single person who walked past, especially cute guys - we're 17 we have rights - and talk about every single little thing that came up during that time.
Actually it wasn't long before Debbie and Kevin got together - which meant that we had to accommodate for an extra person being among us and meant that pointing out cute guys was at a low - so we just ended up talking for ages, especially Jade and I, because Kevin seemed to want Debbie all to himself. We weren't to happy on that being imposed on us, but Debbie somehow managed to keep things on a pretty even balance. Like only Debbie would be able to do, I think it may have had something to do with a certain figure-four arm lock... Nah, I'm just kidding, she's very persuasive when she wants to be - she's had Jade and I wrapped round her little finger since Primary School.
So as the weeks went by we ended up being faced with Results Day again, and had another day of the holidays being worried about the results we'd gotten - and how to hide hideously bad results form any suspecting parents. We had some very good ideas for that - none of which are being shared in the potential of anyone else trying to steal them.
It was pretty similar to GCSE Results Day - only more formal and with fewer results to pick up. I was last out of the three of us. This meant an extra five minutes of silent boredom except with the names being called out and another sickly individual going to get their results - when I say sickly I mean that they looked like they were ready to puke.
In the end I got:
Mathematics 1: A Mathematics 2: A+ Mathematics Overall: A+ French 1: A French 2: A French Overall: A Art 1: A+ Art 2: A+ Art Overall: A+
Woo! I did well, I actually did a lot better than I thought, I thought I'd completely flumped one of the Maths and one of the French exams... Phew. Jade did fantastically - i.e. all A+ - and Debbie did similarly to me only I think she got one more A+ than me.
Which means I'm off to Oxford, and get to live by myself without any of mothers shouting, which I've only endured so that she'll pay my university fees, which she says she's only paying so I can get a good job and pay for her when she's too old to fend for herself... Or she could stop smoking and drinking so that she's likely to live longer and healthier, but that's being stupid. Jade's also coming to Oxford and Debbie's off to Cambridge - which means we're not too far from each other. Jade and I aren't in the same College - she's in Pembroke, which is about a minute away from Christ Church. So we'll be able to see each other loads, and Cambridge isn't that far away so Debby will be able to come see us every once in a while - or we'll go there.
Oh, it's going to be fun!
Cinn: Hm, this is probably where I start to ruin a perfectly good fic. Anyone wants me to jump off a cliff - ain't gonna happen - I may stop writing this till I get a fantastic idea in which to continue with, but that's about it.
starlight wishes - I do apologise if I didn't reply to you're review, I've completely forgotten whether I did or not. Thanks - the review actually gave me a lot more confidence about this that I originally had. And I updated for you, just hope I didn't ruin it and you'll now come after me with a spork or something... Thanks for the review.