The only question that adults ever ask kids is, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" For many, that answer changes constantly. For others, they knew their passion from the moment they first dribbled a basketball, when they stitched together their first dress, or when they first held a guitar. I knew my passion when I got my first sketchbook at six years old; each page filled with scribbles that no one but me could understand. I've grown to appreciate the beauty in everything-- the sunset, a bird, even the sketchy dollar store on the corner, but most of all, William Gold.
We met in fourth grade on the third day in school. He started a bit late since him and his mom had just moved to New York. I was shy and didn't pay him any mind, but my best friend since diapers, Rachel Gonzalez, called him over during recess. I had complained about having nothing to draw, so she instructed him to sit still and let me draw him. He sat quietly while I focused, making sure to get every single detail right. Of course, it looked like absolute shit, but he still acted honored. Wilbur still has that drawing framed in his room.
Since that day, we all became a trio. Our class grew up knowing us three stuck together, and no one exactly cared about us. Wilbur was the kid with a weird accent, I was the quiet artsy kid. Rachel was the most liked, but still not in the top of our school's level. She's been beautiful her whole life, so I'm sure she could be in the main clique, but she chose us. Plus, her passion is Yale law school, so she's always focused on that.
We all fit perfectly together, though. Our typical hangout spot is Rachel's basement. Her parents are older and richer than most, and they've spent the majority of the past few years on random cruises that lasts months. (It's ridiculous and irresponsible when you have a teenager at home, but they trust her a lot. I guess they know none of us know enough people to throw a party, but still.) We're down in that basement now, Wilbur on the beanbag with his guitar, Rachel typing away on her laptop at one end of the couch, and myself drawing in my fiftieth sketchbook at the other end of the couch.
"Nicole," Rachel says, her eyes still glued on her screen. "What time is third period tomorrow?"
Since we're seniors now, we're only required to take two classes at school. Wilbur's mom works with the school, so she's able to arrange all of our schedules to be the same, thank God. "Eleven, then lunch, then fourth."
"Okay. I'll pick you guys up around 10:30, then."
"Not me," Wilbur says, mindlessly plucking the strings. "I told Sabby I'd start picking her up every day."
Sabby, or, Sabrina. Or, massive bitch. And I rarely use that word. The bane of my existence. Oh, she's a handful. Wilbur and her started dating at the end of last school year, and it's been pure torture for me. It was bad enough when he had his glow up last year and girls started noticing him. He was no longer my secret crush, who was still cute in my eyes even if others didn't think so. I hadn't planned on admitting my feelings anytime soon, but it still hurt like hell. Sabrina won over every other girl.
Looks wise, I can't blame Wilbur at all. Her black hair is always silky and in perfect waves, her green eyes are always bright, and her pale body is annoyingly perfect. She's short, although anyone is short compared to Wilbur, and plays volleyball in the shortest and tightest shorts. Also known as: every guy's dream.
Personality wise, she can go to hell. She's all sweet and innocent in front of Wilbur, of course. But Rachel and I have had the pleasure of seeing her true colors. We both tried our best to be nice to her at first, but we quickly found out that she talks shit about us to all of her friends. She said low key racist comments about Rachel and just straight up awful things about me, most of which weren't true and definitely weren't even necessary to talk about.
We haven't told Wilbur about this, though. Not yet, at least. He gushes over her every day, talking about her flawless beauty and how cute and nice she is. It makes us both completely sick, but we don't want to ruin his relationship. He says he's in love, which breaks my heart each time he says it. Rachel promises me that soon he'll find out what she's really like, but the wait is killing me. But why should I care? It's not like I'll ever get the courage to tell him how I feel. How I've been deeply in love with him for years and how he means the world to me and how all I want in life is just one kiss from his lips.
"Oh," Rachel mutters. "Will you still sit with us at lunch?"
"Aw, of course. I can't abandon my girls." Wilbur flashes a smile. "But she'll probably want to sit with us."
Rachel and I loudly groan. Although he doesn't understand our reasoning, we still don't hide the fact that we don't like her. Instead of telling the full truth, we just complain that she's annoying.
"Get used to her!" He rolls his eyes. "I really like her. You know, I think her and I could last a long time. I know it's just been four months, but still. I want you guys to like her as much as I do."
Rachel grimaces. "As much as you do? I may be a lesbian but I don't want to fuck her."
I grin at her comment. "Wilbur, you do remember that Sabrina cheated on both of her exes, right?'
"Hey," He replies, pointing at me. "Third time's a charm."
After another hour, Rachel announces she's ready to go to bed, so that's our signal to leave. I put my bag next to Wilbur's guitar in the backseat of his car as he starts the drive back to our neighborhood. Just a couple of houses separate mine and his, and we're only a couple of minutes from Rachel.
"God, I can't believe we're seniors tomorrow." Wilbur sighs over the music. "We've been waiting for this forever."
"Yeah," I reply, scratching my jeans. "Makes me sad, though. We're all going different ways after graduation."
"Yale's only an hour and a half away from here. And... I dunno, I think I won't go back to London for college. I've been looking more into NYU, and you're right. It's a really good school. Plus, Sabrina wants to go to Penn State, which isn't too far away."
I can't help but laugh at his comment. "Dude, Penn State isn't easy to get into, and Sabrina isn't that bright."
"I know, but her parents went there. I'm sure that gives her a boost."
"No, but their deep pockets will give her a boost."
Wilbur shuts his mouth, obviously ticked off at my picking of her. I would do anything to just spill everything about her then and there, but he probably wouldn't even believe me.
I climb out of the car as he stops by my driveway. I grab my bag and give him a quiet 'goodbye' before walking up to my house. It's just me and my dad, who's a pharmacist, so he's usually home when I am. Still, it's almost eleven and he's likely asleep, so I carefully open the door and walk down the hallway to my room.
I lay out my outfit for tomorrow, pack my bag, and set my alarm. I always have crazy anxiety the night before the first day of school, so I pop a bunch of melatonin before changing into pajamas and crawl into my bed.
And, like usual, I fall asleep to the thought of Wilbur.
a/n: AHHHH FIRST CHAPTER !!!! hope u all like :)) check out my other books about wilbur if ya wantttttt
