can i ask you a question?

10

To say the least, my entire perspective changed after that one day at Lisa's house. After that, I never bothered or annoyed her in school. We still don't talk much, but she never resented me for insisting on our group doing our project at her house. I tried to talk to her about it, but she said it was fine and to forget about it.

We were both extremely busy these past few months with final exams and projects, so as much as I wanted to build a better relationship or even just a friendship with Lisa, we were both extremely busy. In addition, because of her night shifts, she uses our break time to sleep.

We have now reached our final day of high school for our graduation. I arrived with my mother, and there are already a large number of people present. Mom noticed Jisoo's parents and is casually chatting with them. When Rosie and her parents and sister arrived, they began chatting with our parents. My gaze wanders around the room, looking for a specific person among the crowd of people dressed in their graduation robes.

I excused myself and left to use the restroom inside the school building when I noticed a student in the hallway. She's sitting right next to the lockers, her head resting on one. I didn't give it much thought because I went straight to the bathroom. When I walked outside, it occurred to me that it could be Lisa, so I returned to the lockers and saw her in the same position. I approached her and knelt in front of her to make sure it was Lisa. She's sleeping here while she waits for the ceremony to begin. It'll start in a few minutes, so I reach out my hand to grab her arm gently, which woke her up.

"Hey," I said softly as she adjusted her gaze to the light shining through the corridors, "it'll start in a few minutes," I said.

"Oh, thank you for waking me up," she said. I lean over to assist her as she tries to fix it while looking down at her robe.

"Have you applied to any universities?" I inquire, hoping to strike up a conversation.

"None at the moment," she replied, " you?"

"I have a few, I'm sure I'll get in most of them," I said, knowing full well that I'm being overly confident about it, but she's so used to it by now that she chuckles and nods her head in agreement. When I finished helping her, I stepped back as we both walked over to the location of the ceremony. I noticed she isn't with her father or any other adult.

Lisa was then greeted by my mother and Rosie's family, who must have recognized her because she is best friends with Rosie. Jisoo's family greeted her as well, as it was their first meeting.

The ceremony has begun, and it is taking its time, especially the lengthy speeches. Jisoo was one of the top students, so she gave a speech as well, which was thankfully brief and meaningful. Lisa was sitting a few rows behind me, so I tried to look at her and she was either talking to some of our classmates or sleeping on her seat while someone was giving a speech.

Students gather at the end of the graduation ceremony and walk towards their friends or family. As I approached my mother, she handed me a bouquet of flowers and I noticed she was carrying another.

"Why two?" I ask.

"Hold on, I'm looking for the shithead," she explained.

"Mom!" I warned her, making her chuckle as she continued to look around. Then we saw Rosie and Jisoo with their families, but Lisa was nowhere to be found.

"Have you seen Lisa?" I inquire of Jisoo as she approaches us.

"I have not," Jisoo said, turning to face Rosie. "Rosie, have you seen Lisa?" she asks.

"Oh, she's chasing time... she's been talking to her neighbor for a while now; he wanted to help Lisa getaway, and college will definitely dig up some more student debts-"

"So, where is she?" I interrupt her long rambling.

"Oh, she had to enlist this afternoon, so she left early."

"Enlist?" Jisoo asks, surprised.

"Of course, enlist... her neighbor is in the military."

"Do you mean she won't go to college? " I ask

"No, she won't," Rosie responds.

"Come on, we might catch up to her," Mom says.

"For what?" I inquire of her.

"So we can give the bouquet?" I known damn well it's more than just the bouquet.

"I don't know why we're doing this, Mom," I said, sitting in the passenger seat and pointing to the direction of Lisa's house.

"Hun, as I've said before, regret can haunt you for a very long time. If you wanted to apologize for anything, do so; if you wanted to bid her farewell, do so as well. It's up to you, just so you don't feel like you could've done something today but didn't," she said. When we arrived at Lisa's house, I noticed her putting her bag on a car parked in front of her neighbor's house.

I quickly exit the car with the bouquet and proceed to the car window where she enters. When I saw the shocked expression on her face, it was very apparent. She rolled down the window and told the man in front of her to wait a minute.

"My mom bought another bouquet for you, I'm just going to give it to you but you left early," I said, she takes the flower and softly thanked me.

"Did you and your mother drive all the way here because of that?" she asks, embarrassed.

"Well, it comes with an apology for not being so nice and, I guess, goodbye," I said.

"Not being nice? That's putting it lightly."She said it jokingly, causing me to roll my eyes.

"My mother won't stop talking about regrets and all that, so I'm trying to avoid an entire year of her using that against me," I explained, making her laugh even harder.

"Well, tell your mom that I accepted the apology and goodbye," she said, looking towards the car, hoping to catch a glimpse of my mother.

"Have you made up your mind?" I questioned, which confused her. "About this," I clarified.

"It's my best option," she said honestly, and I could tell she's happy to go with it, so I nodded. " I appreciate you stopping by. I hope no one will take your timetable in college." reminding myself that it was not only the first time we met, but also the first time I was ever bitchy towards her.

As he reminded Lisa of the time, the man in the driver's seat apologized. They were going to be late, so Lisa thanked me again and congratulated me on the graduation, as I had done for her. She gave one last wave before rolling up the window and they drive away. I'm glad I was able to say goodbye to her, and also apologize. Regrets don't bother me at this point. It's the things I wish I could change about my high school life.

[END OF BOOK 1]