The Academy of S.I.D.E.

No. 55: End Of The Year

May went by surprisingly fast. Janus and Remus apparently had a very successful anniversary, and though they didn't disclose the details, a video of the two of them singing a cover of "Take Me To Church" had been posted the next morning, and Remus wouldn't stop humming "Imperfectly Perfect" for over two weeks. The finals were easier than Virgil expected (except the Combat Training one---his spine still hurt a little).

Before he knew it, it was the middle of June---and with that, the end of the school year.

"I can't believe it hasn't even been a full year since I started here," Virgil murmured. "Feels like forever ago."

"Well, September 5th will be here soon enough, and you'll be a junior," Janus said, popping a Rolo into his mouth. "And in the meantime, expect many calls from me hounding you into participating in one of my videos."

"Excuse me if I'm a little shy when it comes to revealing my face. And I really don't think this is the time to be discussing this."

The newly-made crew was sitting outside with the rest of the school as they watched the senior's graduation---which was apparently a big enough deal that everyone needed to attend. Janus was telling the crew all of the ways the graduating seniors screwed up, keeping up the guise of whispering but yet being loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Melvin Raleigh!" Emile called, waving up a tall, freckled boy. "Come on up!"

"Ooh, yeah, he cheated on his girlfriend three times and got away with it," Janus muttered, then raised his voice. "Hey, Raquel, you dump him yet?"

"Already done!" a senior girl with braids called back.

"Excellent!"

Melvin gave Janus a dirty look as he took his diploma. Janus cheerfully flipped him off in response.

Patton gave him a look. "These people are graduating. It's one of the best moments of their lives."

"Exactly! All of these people are lulled by a false sense of superiority based on the fact that they're graduating school and leaving the rest of us behind, forgetting that graduation is really an abstract concept. So, they deserve to be reminded that they are not, in fact, all that special." Janus grinned as the next person was called up. "Oooh, yeah, this guy is good."

Virgil let out a frustrated groan. "Could you not---"

"Hey, Ralphie, do you think that Yale would accept a guy who puts frog urine in his friend's drink for disagreeing with him about Lord of the Rings?" Janus called, grinning.

Ralphie gave him a thumbs-up. "Already got the letter, and that is still the proudest moment of my life!"

"Good for you!"

"That was you?!" one of the other senior boys exclaimed. "Not cool, dude!"

"Suck it, Harold!" Ralphie yelled. "Sam rules!"

Janus leaned back, a satisfied smirk on his face. "See? This is why I love graduation."

"This is gonna bite you in the ass when you're the one graduating," Virgil muttered.

Logan frowned, slightly confused. "I can't imagine how it could---"

"It just means that he's probably going to get the same treatment when it's our turn to graduate," Roman cut in.

"Ah."

"Oh, don't be silly, nobody's going to have the guts," Janus said, waving a hand. "I've been through an awfully traumatic experience, after all. Antagonizing me will only make them feel incredibly guilty."