The Way We Say Goodbye

Chapter 1

     The day I first spoke to him began like any other day. I woke up late and was rushing to get ready for school, all while my dad yelled up the stairs at me that I was going to be late. I always rolled my eyes when he felt the need to say that. I already knew I was going to be late; that's why I was rushing. It never took long before I was ready and running down the stairs. I always yelled "Bye" at my parents as I ran out the door and to my car. That day was no different.

The drive to school was a short one, so it wasn't long before I was parked and made my way into the building. I still had a few minutes before class started. I had time to stop at my locker, loop arms with a friend who shared first period, and head to the classroom. We were seated with a minute to spare.

"Wow, Dee. You really like to cut it close."

I turned my head to look at my friend. I rolled my eyes and responded, "Violet, class hasn't started, and Ms. Mahoney is nowhere to be seen. It's fine."

Violet laughed and turned to face forward. "You really have no fear when it comes to school. Do you, Delta?"

I looked over her face before turning to face forward as well. "Why should I be afraid of anyone or any consequences here? The people and time here are a brief moment of my life. It's all irrelevant."

I glanced over at Violet, who was looking at me with a smirk. "So, after graduation, you're just going to go on with your life and forget all about me and the rest of our friends?"

The corners of my lips twitched upward in a smirk. "Well, if you're lucky, I'll keep in touch with you, Vi."

She laughed and shook her head. "Screw you, Novak."

"You know you love me," I mumbled back and looked down at my desk.

Classes went by quickly, and before I knew it, it was time for lunch. Lunch was the best time of day. It was the only time during school hours that I was together with all my friends. I rushed up to the table that seated my group and slid in next to Violet, bumping roughly into her. She shoved me over and loudly stated, "Guys, guess what. After graduation, Dee is going to move on from this little town and leave all of us behind, without a second thought about it."

Scarlet rolled her eyes and, with one hand, flipped her hair behind her shoulder. "So what? Dee is just as insignificant as the rest of us."

Scarlet was what some might call the leader of our small group of friends. She was a bold girl, who never felt the need to spare anyone's feelings. She was icy and blunt, and the word "sorry" was not in her vocabulary. She was known most throughout the school as being a bitch. More specifically, people often said, in reference to Scarlet, "She's a self-centered ice queen who will die alone for being such an intolerable bitch." Scarlet had plenty of negative qualities that should have made her unlikable, but for whatever reason, everyone in our group liked her despite those flaws.

"Ooo harsh!" Marco exclaimed.

I smirked and held up my middle finger to Scarlet before saying, "Everyone on this earth is insignificant after enough time passes."

Joshua raised an eyebrow at me, then nodded. "That was unexpectedly deep."

Joshua and Marco were twins. They lived a few houses down from me, and the three of us had been friends our whole lives. Marco was commonly referred to as a clown or a goofball. He rarely took anything seriously, and he always viewed the world with a positive lens. Joshua was far more serious when compared with his brother. Joshua had more of a dark side, and throughout the years, he had been bullied for being "emo." Coming into high school, Joshua stopped dressing in all black and started taking medication for his insomnia. Now he's seen as one of the hottest guys in our high school, and he's become fairly popular.