Chapter 15

POV: Simon

It was almost over. There was only one more exam remaining before the end of the year. I was now certainly going to MIT. I had decided that, although it hurt deeply, I had to move on. I was leaving soon, and Jeanette wasn't coming. I wasn't prepared to sacrifice the opportunity for which I had been waiting for my entire life.

My problem was that, although I had decided that I would go, I still loved Jeanette. Knowing how I felt about her, she must also be gravely disappointed. Perhaps I was being egocentric, but had our roles been swapped, I would surely have gone insane.

This was of little consequence toward my decision, though. I had to place my future before my emotions. I was strong enough, and Jeanette would be, as well. Unfortunately, I was less than certain as to these facts.

"Simon?" I heard Jeanette bedroom door, "Can I study with you again?" I nodded and gestured for her to sit down next to me.

"I have my lecture notes for the whole year in this pile." I pointed to a pile of papers neatly stacked on my desk. "Where do you want to start?" I asked.

"Well, I think I need to review anti-differentiation again." Jeanette replied, and I agreed.

"Let's try these questions to see how well we remember the method." I turned the pages of my textbook before finding the questions pertaining to anti-differentiation.

We sat, quietly working on problems, and looking up solutions when necessary, for the remainder of the evening. Eventually it was time for Jeanette to go home. It was disappointing when she left, but I tried not to show it.

I sat alone for a while, before deciding to check on my brothers.

"Hey, Alvin." I spoke over the noise coming out of Alvin's speaker system. "What are you doing?"

"Playing Call of Duty." He replied.

"Oh, what a wonderful way to use your time." I sighed, "Where's Theo?"

Alvin looked around his room briefly. "I don't know." He stated. I walked to the kitchen, expecting to find Theodore, munching a snack. Instead I found an empty room.

"Huh." I muttered, confused. "How odd." After a quick search of the house, Theodore's absence became apparent.

I decided to get back to studying for another hour or two. If Theodore wasn't back by then, I would start looking elsewhere.

I never got the chance, as the door opened a moment later. Theodore walked into the house.

"Theodore," I approached him, "where have you been?" Theodore seemed not to hear me.

"Isn't she just the nicest girl you've ever met." Theodore spoke softly. I smiled, he was completely smitten with Eleanor.

"If your talking about Eleanor, I guess I can second that." I didn't mean it, of course, but I didn't want to start an argument. Theodore walked to his room, mumbling happily to himself. I chuckled.

I studied for hours into the night, until, eventually, I fell asleep on my desk. It was surprisingly comfortable, for a wooden surface.

The next day was that of the final exam for the year. After this, I would be free until I would leave for Massachusetts. Jeanette had beaten me to school, which was not surprising, considering that I had slept until ten A M. Luckily for me, the exam only started in the afternoon.

It wasn't as difficult as some of the previous ones. I got through the exam with time to spare.

"So that's it, then." Jeanette exclaimed after we met outside the classroom. "No more school, ever." She was right. This was our last day of school, for the rest of our lives.

"Now we move on to college." I said, "I don't know exactly how different it will be, but I don't think it's going to be easy sailing." Jeanette sighed.

"I've going to be studying at CSULA." She remarked, sullenly. I wished there was an easy solution to our problem, but there was no way out without sacrifice.

"I'm sure you'll be happy there." I told her, "There will be more people like us in university than in school." It was true.

Days passed, and soon even weeks began to blend together. Not much happened in my life. I had procured my airline ticket to Boston, Massachusetts. It wouldn't be long before I would have to use it. Jeanette was still the main constituent of my thoughts. I kept telling myself that it was better in general if I went to MIT, but there was always a tiny voice in my head that stated otherwise.

Theodore had started dating Eleanor regularly by this time. Their happiness when they were together was something that made me smile and yet, at the same time, saddened me incredibly. That could have been Jeanette and I, but I had to stick to my plan. My education always took top priority, but why didn't it feel like the top priority?

It didn't matter, because I knew it was the top priority, regardless of my infinite emotional regression.

The day had finally come. It was time to say goodbye to all of my family and friends for quite a while. Soon I would be on a plane to Boston, and from there, I would be driven to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and my allotted residence therein.

We had arrived at the airport an hour before my flight. It was better to be safe than to be sorry, as they say.

"I know it will be worth it for you, Simon." Jeanette held me in a long embrace before, finally, we parted.

"Goodbye everyone," I said, "I'll come back and visit on the holidays." I promised Dave again.

I walked into the passengers-only zone to enter the plane. I presented my ticket to the ticket lady, and made my way to my seat for the next five-and-a-half hours.

The plane took off smoothly, and I watched as the people I loved shrank until they were but ants in a busy forest of grey. I wouldn't be gone forever, but it sure felt like it.

I arrived at Boston Airport after approximately six hours of music, four magazines and three glasses of orange juice. I found a cab which would take me to MIT, and we drove off. At my dormitory, I unpacked my clothes, of which there were few, and my various electrical appliances. My roommate was to be a short, dark haired, bespectacled young man, named Bernard. He spoke not a single word the whole time that we were in our new dorm, that day, which was less than encouraging.

I decided to get some extra rest for the next day, so I went to sleep early.

University life was relatively monotonous. I woke up, went to the various lectures and labs, came back dorm-ward, and continued studying. It was exactly what I had wanted for as long as I could remember. There was only one thing missing; Jeanette. No matter how hard I tried to logically explain to myself the reasons for which I had left my home in LA, I couldn't stop thinking about her depressed expression when I had walked onto the plane.

Her absence was the most torturous thing I had ever undergone. There was a gap following me around, where Jeanette should have been; together with me, happily laughing at our terrible jokes.

But she wasn't here, laughing. I was alone, and, even though the staff were nice and the students serious about their education, there was no one else in my life, no one who could fill the hole.

After a week of constantly being reminded of Jeanette, I was starting to lose confidence in my decisions. I had left her alone, and now I had no one either. There was no way I could continue this for years.

Bernard wasn't the most sociable person either, much like I had been before I fell for Jeanette. He just sat in silence for hours, it was slightly eerie.

A month was my breaking point. I missed seeing her face light up at my compliments, I missed the way she could lift my mood when I was sad, but most of all, I missed having the one I love in my arms. I couldn't be without her any longer, ever. I had one last chance to save my sanity.

My plan was crazy, but if it worked, my life would be worth living again.

Simon seems to be in a similar situation to that of Jeanette, at the beginning of this story.

I have to say, I'm extremely thankful to ChipmunksRule4ever for being so supportive and reviewing every single chapter so far. If it weren't for him, I would have stopped writing long ago.

Please review.