The Best Choice

Chapter 7

5 months ago

"Hey, lady," yelled a kid. "Can you pass that frisbee back to me?"

Elizabeth quickly broke out of her daze. She fumbled for a moment, and quickly threw back the red frisbee to the kid. Children were screaming and laughing left and right. Countless jogging couples passed Elizabeth. Bikes ringed as they passed by Elizabeth, warning her to move her stretched out foot as she slumped over the park bench. The sun dipped half-way through the horizon, gleaming the sky crimson red. It was a Friday afternoon, and Elizabeth was waiting. She could back out. It wasn't too late. He didn't deserve this. Maybe next week, when everything is better. When he's in a good mood, this news wouldn't upset him. After all, it wasn't anything-

"Lizzie!" yelled a voice. The words carried great excitement, although with hints of exasperation. The voice clearly belonged to an ecstatic, devoted boy who was happy to see his girlfriend. Elizabeth couldn't help freezing on the spot. Her heart started to beat erratically like a drumbeat. She had to make this perfect. With a swift turn, she locked her eyes on Jacob- her soon to be ex-boyfriend. The sweetest boyfriend anyone could ever have. He was sweet, caring, irreplaceable, but she had to break up with him. She had to though. She had just got her acceptance letter from Fartham, and she talked about the logistics with her family. It was an indispensable opportunity for her education. In addition, though she could never admit it, it also gave her a chance to take a break from home.

"Hey honey! Sorry I'm a bit late. I was stuck in practice, because Harry and Charlie were fighting in the locker. Took one huge football team and an angry coach to break the fight. Anyway, what did you want to talk about? It sounded pretty serious," he said with a warm smile, unaware of the impending conversation.

She took a deep breath, her heart pounding like a drumbeat. This had to be perfect. She looked into his eyes. He was smiling, completely unaware. Ignorance is bliss.

"Hey, listen. You look great," Elizabeth regretted what she said immediately, wishing she rehearsed this earlier with Sherry, "I mean you always look great." She had to shut up, and recompose herself for a second.

Jacob raised an eyebrow, half flattered and half suspicious, "Ummm... thank you?"

"Hahahaha. Your welcome," Elizabeth forced a laugh, attempting to lighten the mood and mask her unease. She realised she needed to gather herself and recompose before continuing the conversation.

"Honey, everything okay?"

Elizabeth was screwing this up badly. She had to rip the bandage off, "I got accepted to Fartham. Fartham. That fancy school. I passed. I got the scholarship. A scholarship. A really good one. Fartham is a good one. The British one. I mean you always loved soccer. I mean they call it football. So I guess to be fair, the British are the backwards of America. The older version. The weirder version." She was rambling. Worse, she was spiralling. She was screwing this up so badly.

"Honey, slow down," Jacob interrupted, his voice filled with a mix of surprise and support. "You're going to Fartham? Congratulations. I knew you could do this."

Elizabeth paused, her breath catching in her throat. She felt her words getting caught up in her throat. A sense of nausea was rising up her stomach. He was congratulating her? He was supportive? He was too supportive. This made it so much harder.

Finally she could arrange the right words in her head to end this madness. She pulled off the sheepish look off her face and calmed her drumming heartbeat. She took a deep breathe- about to utter the words, until-

"So did you plan the long-distance?" interjected Jacob innocently.

Elizabeth's heart sank as Jacob innocently interjected with his question about the long-distance aspect of their relationship. His supportive and congratulatory response had momentarily thrown her off balance, making it harder for her to deliver the news she had rehearsed in her mind.