A goodbye never said (by EliIsCool555)

Chapter 5

Melissa's POV:

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The next day at school, something feels... different. I walk through the halls, watching sunlight pour through the big windows, lighting up the floor. Maybe it's the fact that today is math exam day, but there's this tiny flutter of excitement in my stomach. Though honestly, I'm not excited about the exam. The thing I look forward to is hanging out with Celine.

As I approach the classroom, I see Celine Hunter, my best friend from the parallel class. Her bright, curly hair bounces as she stands by the door, talking to a group of girls. When she spots me, she waves, her face lighting up with a big smile.

"Hey, Mel!" Celine calls.

I instantly feel better. Celine always manages to make me feel good, no matter what. I hurry over, feeling my mood lift just from being around her.

"What's up?" Celine asks, her green eyes sparkling with excitement.

I shrug. "I don't know, I just feel like today's going to be special. I have this weird feeling, you know?"

She laughs. "Maybe it's because we're about to conquer the Roman Empire in history class? You're like a walking Roman history encyclopedia. You probably already know everything."

I grin. "What can I say? I'm Italian! I practically have Roman history in my blood."

Celine smirks. "Yeah, yeah, I know you're from Rome. You don't have to rub it in."

"Don't you dare insult Italian culture—MY culture!" I say, giving her a dramatic glare before bursting into laughter.

We head into the classroom, finding our seats for history. Our teacher has assigned a project about the Roman Empire, which is basically a piece of cake for me. I know most of it already, thanks to my dad teaching me all the important stuff when I was younger. "The fall of Rome? Please, I've heard this story since I could walk," I thought.

Our teacher drones on about Julius Caesar and the gladiators, but my mind is elsewhere. I'm thinking about how I'd totally ace this project. Roman history is my jam. Meanwhile, poor Celine is furiously scribbling notes, looking like she's trying to absorb every word.

"Relax," I whisper. "I've got this."

She glances at me, wide-eyed. "Easy for you to say! You're basically a mini Caesar."

"Well," I say, flipping my pen between my fingers, "maybe not Caesar, but I'd definitely fit in with the emperors."

Celine rolls her eyes but laughs. "Sure, just let me copy off you for the project then."

I lean back in my chair. "Done deal. But let's survive the math exam first."

As the morning flew by, the dreaded math exam loomed closer. I found myself glancing at the clock way too often, hoping time would magically slow down. It didn't.

Lunch came around, and Celine and I sat together in our usual corner of the cafeteria. Monica, Sophie and Nicole join us shortly after, making it a full-on meeting of "The Real Housewives of High School."

"So, how was your weekend?" Celine asks me, chewing on a piece of her sandwich.

I sigh. "It was fine. You know, the usual: chilling at home, trying to avoid thinking about math." I bite into my sandwich, thinking about how math was literally designed to ruin lives.

"Speaking of math..." Nicole says, leaning forward. "Are you ready for the exam?"

"Ready? Please." I groan. "The Romans conquered Europe, and I'm trying to conquer algebra. Same struggle."

Sophie laughs. "Yeah, except they didn't have to deal with quadratic equations."

We all laugh, but deep down, the anxiety of the math exam is creeping in. I'm not terrible at math, but it isn't exactly my favorite thing either. I much prefer the Romans, with their battles and triumphs, over anything involving numbers and letters mashed together in a way that makes no sense.

As we finish up lunch, I look around at my friends and smile. Math might be waiting for us, but at least we have each other to survive it.