Becoming Mrs. Bryant

𝐎𝐍𝐄

Nova

𝐅𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟏𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑

Today marked the beginning of the second semester, and for those like Aubrey and me, who had chosen to delay our college decision by a semester, it was our first day. Personally, I couldn't understand why we had to attend college, given all the blessings we had received in the last six months.

Let me backtrack. Our college consideration started in August of 2022, right before school was set to begin. Aubrey's grandfather, Paw, passed away suddenly from heart failure. Aubrey was devastated, and I decided to stay by her side, leading us to make the last-minute decision to withdraw our first-semester enrollment.

A week after Paw's death, Aubrey was presented with a 40 million dollar check. Paw had left his entire will to Aubrey, which was approved by Meme. Aubrey has cousins, but no siblings, so this sudden windfall caused a lot of tension and severed ties within the family.

For her 19th birthday in October 2022, I gifted Aubrey an adorable black lab, whom she named Pepper. We adore Pepper, who is still very young. The thought of leaving a young Pepper alone at home while we attended college didn't sit well with Aubrey. So, once again, we decided to take this semester off from school.

I'm not saying it's a good thing that Paw died, because it truly isn't, but his passing brought Aubrey and me closer than ever. In fact, it brought our entire group closer. Nick, May, Hailey, Lewis, Jason, Zach, Aubrey, and I have become inseparable. If you had told me halfway through our senior year at Norwood that the eight of us would end up together, I would have been skeptical. Yet, here we are at Florida State University (and Norwood High School for Hailey and Zach).

Our senior year was filled with drama, and none of us took the college application process seriously, so it's no surprise that we all ended up at a school that was openly accepting Florida residents regardless of GPA. Matt and Maddie are no longer part of our group, although we still keep in touch. They don't attend FSU, which isn't surprising given their situation. Matt joined the military to "secure his family," and Maddie is a stay-at-home mom. As much as I respect their choices, I still feel that baby Aubrey, my goddaughter, shouldn't have been born so early. Her parents are constantly bickering, and I know they both secretly miss the freedom and fun we used to have.

Jason has a girlfriend named Naya, and she's often compared to me, although I think I look better. Lewis and May are still together, but they don't seem as close as they used to be. They claim it's because college is "super busy," but I find it hard to believe, especially since they always have time for our group and others. They don't seem to argue when they're around us, so I'm not sure what to make of their relationship.

Nick and I have become the best of friends, despite our rocky times at the end of senior year. I always worried that being this close would lead to one of us catching feelings, but that hasn't happened yet, at least as far as I know.

I've noticed that Nick has become quite popular with the ladies, seen with a new girl every other week. Jason and Lewis claim he wasn't like that before I arrived at Norwood, so apparently, I'm to blame for that behavior. That's understandable, but I hope it's just a phase. I don't want Nick to get a bad reputation.

Hailey is now a senior at Norwood, but she doesn't seek popularity like Aubrey and I did. She's content with that, which is all that matters. She and Zach have been together for over a year now, and I hope they last.

Aubrey and I live in a 4.95 million dollar Tallahassee mansion with ten bedrooms and twelve bathrooms. We bought a house this big in case family came to visit or friends wanted to stay over. Aubrey's immediate family consists of her mom, dad, and grandma, as she has cut ties with the rest of her relatives. My immediate family is just my mom, so that would only take up three rooms. Our friends don't mind sharing a room, despite the ample space we have.

My mom and I talk a lot more now, and she's doing better. She stopped trying to talk to me from a mom-to-kid perspective and now tries to talk to me as a friend, seeing that I'm grown and doing well. I took her with me when I bought my first car, as the one Lewis gave me had a lot of issues, and I was better off buying a new vehicle. I bought a black coupe, with tinted windows and customized it with rhinestones around the license plate and headlights.

Life is great so far. I have no complaints, except for the fact that I don't want to go to school, but at least I won't be alone this.