From the bus stop to the school, Emma chewed on 5gum. It was loud and I knew for a fact she did it on purpose. I guess she probably thought it would distract me from my obvious problems. It didn't. I had no clue if I had even graduated yet, I was supposed to find out in just a few minutes; hours from the actual ceremony. I figured I could put off my Erica dilemma till next week. And as Emma and I entered the foyer of the school, it was pure wilderness. There were ten line ups, they had seperated our last names so giving out forms and report cards would be easier than just one huge line. The graduating class from last year were here helping out. I went to my designated line up and waited, Emma stood by my side. We talked about prom and if I would ask Erica. I had totally forgotten about prom while establishing how to break the bad news to her. The real question was, would I break up with her before prom or after? The obvious idea would be after but something deep down told me before.
We inched closer to the desk and my anxiety was so high that I was constantly biting my lip. I felt Emma's elbow dig into my ribcage.
"What?" I demanded. I was anxious as it was and she had to bring pain upon my list of problems. She was captain of the girl's rugby team, her elbows were not only pointy but she was used to shoving people around.
"Isn't that Penelope?" She squinted her eyes.
"Oh what? You need glasses too?" Clearly pointing out the fact she didn't have to squint her eyes to see.
"Wasn't she prom queen like two years in a row?"
"I'm total trash" She added.
"Penelope isn't even that prett-" I cut myself off noticing we were actually at the desk.
I stared at her. She was actually that pretty. I'd known her my whole life, always the older girl and the most popular one too. I got lost in her big brown eyes, feeling my entire body stand still. Emma rescued me.
"This is my friend, Jordan."
"Ya." I included.
She smiled and I couldn't help but smile too. I wasn't supposed to smile, I just embarrassed myself in front of prom queen of 2012 and 2013. But I smiled anyways because she did. And as she looked through the papers looking for my last name to appear soon, I stared at her concentrating. I could feel Emma's gaze go from me to Penelope and vise versa. When Penelope finally gave me my report card and a bunch of loose forms, Emma tried her hardest to get me to ask her out. But I couldn't because Erica was my girl. It wouldn't have been right.
We walked down to the cafeteria and sat at a table in the back.
"You know, this is it? If I don't have the grades, we already know what all those colleges will say, right?"
"Can you just open your stuff already?"
We argued for a brief moment only to be interupted by Haylie. Her blonde hair free and her blue eyes filled with excitement.
"So guess who got into the University of Chicago?" We knew the answer so we didn't bother with replying. Emma and I were closer than we were with Haylie. She was too white girl, she was too into life, too open for everything and me and Emma spent our friday nights in her basement watching weird foreign films while eating Thai food.
"Soooo Jordy, you get in anywhere?"
"We don't know, he won't open anything."
Haylie snatched my report card, opening it and demanding to open the college letters as well. I let her open them but asked her not to read it. By the time everything was open and turned over so we couldn't see anything, my group of friends circled around me. I was being stared at by rich kids who got into places like 'The University of Barcelona' or 'The University of Paris.' Emma knew exactly why I didn't want to read anything in front of them, so did Haylie. They scooted everyone away, even Malcolm, who was my best friend too but I knew I couldn't face him telling me he was going to Europe to live there for the rest of his life with inherited money. He had exactly five yachts and two huge houses and I lived in a house that was only two floors, two small floors... But I was grateful for everything I had.
I turned over my report card, no C's so that was good. Emma smiled at me as I read my teacher's comments outloud. I knew she was the most proud of me, especially since we both stressed about me getting into college. Haylie told me to call her later tonight and tell her where I'll be deciding to go.
"I'll read one and you read one, okay?" Emma leaned in saying.
She took my nyu application response because I was too nervous to read that one and I took the local one. I felt her smile radiate towards me, I felt chills go down my body.
"You got in."
Later that night my parents told me to sit at the table with them. I gave them my university responses and my report card. My dad read my report card, looking rather satisfied and my mom reading the responses. I saw my mom cry as she read the nyu one and then the local one. They were happy. This is exactly what they came here for, to see me succeed and I gave them exactly that. When I was younger I was told this story over fifty times. A simple civil war in Yugoslavia, nothing like the American civil war I was taught but something more real and gruesome. They were in love with one child and rather great money making jobs. My mother was a teacher and my father was a police officer. But all those city states couldn't click after President Tito died. It was all the city states against one another. My parents never took sides. But after the first drop of bombs in Belgrade they packed one suitcase and fleed to Sweden, crashing in a motel then gradually buying a small apartment. That's when my sister came in the picture. After several years, Swedish authorities found out my parents fleed from Yugoslavia to Sweden, asking them to leave because they did not support refugees. They couldn't go home and they knew it, so it was another one suitcase routine to the North American Continent.
I decided to go to college in town. Personal reasons.
