the destination project [cth au]

one // reflections

|| calum ||

Everyone gets that feeling of relief and freedom on their graduation day. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who is actually in a state of reflection. I mean, I think about everything. Even before high school.

My life only really started when Octavia was the new girl in school, ten years ago. We were in second grade, and the first semester was coming to a close. Before I saw her, I was more concerned about why she came late in the year. But when she walked in, I guess I forgot about that. The first thing I noticed about her were her eyes. They were so big and green, and it reminded me of the time we visited Oregon earlier that year. There were so many different shades in one small circle. Her hair was in one braid reaching the middle of her back, complementing her red blouse and black skirt. She was short, very petite. She still is. Tavia's baby face was so prominent back them. It's still visible, just not as much.

"Hi, I'm Octavia," she said shyly.

Her voice sounded so soft, so fragile.

She sat next to me that whole day. I remember I said something stupid to her the moment she sat down, but she laughed anyways. I believe after introducing myself, it was the start of a great friendship. We had a lot in common, like our favorite movies. Even as we grew older, our music tastes developed the same way.

As we became closer over the years, our families did too. Our parents got along well, and so did our sisters. It began with little things like brunch, maybe some barbecuing, or the movies. But then it started to get into the bigger stuff. We would all go to Disneyland and other theme parks. And soon enough, the bonds grew stronger and our families did everything together. Camping, trips to LA, and weekend getaways in San Diego. When we were fifteen, we all went on a cruise to Mexico. But the fun things happened on the ship. Octavia and I quickly made some new friends. Luke, Jade, and Iris. We found out that we go to the same school as Luke and Jade. One of the nights, Jade and I caught Luke and Octavia making out in one of the pools late at night. I think you can guess what happened that next school year. Yeah. They started dating. Luke, the lacrosse jock, was dating my best friend.

As for me, I never really dated anyone. I didnt really feel the need to. Ever since I was ten I liked - or loved - Octavia. My dad always says to me, "You've been in love with Octavia ever since you knew what love is." And I believe him. I just don't exactly know when I know what love is. Maybe I was twelve or thirteen. Either way, I've loved her for a while. It kinda sucked watching her date other guys. Well, she's only dated one, and she's still dating him. Luke.

I don't even understand why she liked Luke to begin with. Sure, he has perfect hair and perfect facial structure. Sure, he is - or was, because we graduated - the captain of the lacrosse team. Sure, he volunteers at animal shelters. Other than that, Luke is a total jerk. He acts like the perfect angel around adults, but the minute they're not looking, he becomes very controlling and rude. I'm pretty sure he's just like every jock: they think they're better than everyone. When Octavia told me they were dating, I felt happy for her at first. That was before the jerk in Luke surfaced. In the middle of the year I figured out how selfish and rude he really is.

But I actually showed him up. He didn't think I could do anything for myself and that I sucked at everything, until I had him, Octavia, and Jade watch me try out for the soccer team. Every time I kicked the ball into the net, I could hear the girls cheering for me. When I would look over at Jade and Octavia, I could see Luke hesitantly smirking and shaking his head, a gesture of somewhere between surprise, impression, or maybe even jealousy.

We had to do sprints and races, and not once did I come second. I think Luke gained a bit of respect for me that day. But ever since day one, he knew how I felt about Octavia.