Eudaemonia

Chapter 12

Songs for this chapter: Granted - Olivia Rodrigo

~*-*~ ~*-*~

~*-*~ April ~*-*~

"Sammie Evans, please report to the guidance office, Sammie Evans, to the guidance office." a voice called out from the speakers while Sammie sat in math class.

"What's this about?" asked Theodore.

"I'm not too sure," Sammie replied. She stood up and skipped to the main floor with her hoop skirt knocking any unsuspecting freshmen out of the way. Once she reached the office, she waited outside patiently.

"Sammie Evans?" the guidance counselor, Miss Margarita, called.

"That's me!" Sammie stood up.

"Congratulations Sammie! You're going to Australia!"

"Wait what??" Sammie was so confused. Australia? Why would she be - OH. Sammie's face paled and her mind wandered to earlier this year.

~*-*~ Earlier this year in September ~*-*~

One day I was walking into school and I passed the office on the way to class. I noticed a bright pink poster hanging on the wall.

Sign up today for summer exchanges abroad!

The reason I applied to this art school in the first place was to explore writing as a career. This exchange would give me a great opportunity to meet new people, make connections, and attend a specialty writing school abroad. I quickly signed up since something like this would look great on my application for college and hopefully it would increase my chances of getting a better post secondary education.

I hurried over to the notice board beside the office and filled out a sign up sheet. It said that I would also need to send a digital application including a resume and a sample of my writing. That day, after school, I hurried home to submit all of this.

There were a lot of great writers at this school, so I wasn't sure if I would get picked for the exchange, but I hoped for a chance to complete a semester at a prestigious school abroad.

As the months passed and there was no response from the school, I quickly forgot about my application. It was okay though, since I had great friends and a wonderful boyfriend.

~*-*~ Back to the present ~*-*~

"We looked over your application and decided that you'd be an excellent choice to represent our school abroad. This year we'll be sending students to Australia!"

"Wait... so you mean I'll actually be going to Australia? For real?"

"Yes! I called you down to discuss all the details. The term starts July 12th, so you'll be arriving July 5th. You'll get to spend the entire summer there! We'll take care of everything for you. All you have to do is fill out a few forms, talk to your parents, and pack for your trip! Congratulations again!"

Sammie walked back to class in a daze. She couldn't believe that she'd been chosen out of so many applicants! Her friends regarded her with questioning glances when she entered the math classroom and sat down next to Theodore.

"So, you gonna tell me what happened? Are you in trouble?" Theodore's eyebrows were furrowed in concern.

"Uh, no everything's fine. They just wanted to talk to me about the mandatory volunteer hours."

Theo laughed. "Sammie you already have like 200 hours. There's no way they can keep you from graduating!"

"Yeah, it was just a mixup in the system. Everything's fine now," she squeezed Theodore's hand. He smiled at her and turned back to his work. Sammie hated lying to him but she still hadn't completely made her mind up about Australia. She'd tell him when she was ready.

~*-*~ One week later ~*-*~

This was the day. The final day for Sammie to confirm her attendance for the Australia exchange trip. If she didn't decide by today, the spot would be given to another student. She had been thinking about it all week. She even made a pros and cons list.

Unfortunately (but not unexpectedly), the pros on that list greatly outweighed the cons. This was a decision that would impact the rest of Sammie's life. This was bigger than boyfriends and high school relationships.

This school could literally set Sammie up for the best writing programs in the country and it wasn't something she could turn down. She loved Theodore and she loved her friends, but she'd already made this sacrifice once when moving to this art school. Making a sacrifice in favour of her future would benefit her this time around as well.

"Sharpie?" Theo called to her from where he was leaning nonchalantly against his locker. He gave her a playful smile. "You ready to go to lunch slowpoke?"

Sammie took a deep breath and stared intensely into his eyes. "Theodore... I'm going to Australia."