Cry, my beloved people

Back to school Part 84

The week between Christmas and New Year was filled with horse riding and spending time together.   Except for the day that Gregory helped Tracey moving to the house and changing the furniture, he and Linette spent most of their time together.  It was New Year's eve and they have gathered again at Linette's place.  They were sitting in the garden, watching the fireworks in the neighborhood.

Linette took his hand and gave it a squeeze: "Our time together is running out and I'm petrified to go to the new school.  I'm afraid of the questions pupils may ask.  I'm glad I'm not going back to my old school, there are too many kids that know me and I'm not ready to answer all their questions."

"Make friends with the nerd in your new class, she won't be talkative and would not mind if you're not ready to answer questions, because she is probably in the same position.  You know what they say: A stranger is just a friend you do not know.  I'm not sure who said it, but it's true for me and Paul."

"How did you meet him?"

"He banged our room's door open and threw his stuff on his bed.  I was terrified, then he shook my hand and introduced me to the world of boarding school.  I just did as he said and now we're best friends.   I pray that you'll also find a kind girlfriend.   Always remember I'm just a message away, so don't forget to message me and I promise I will make time to call you at least once a week."

"I guess I'm going to live from week to week to hear your voice on the phone."

"Don't forget, I get some weekends away from boarding school that will enable me to visit you.  Then you can tell me everything about your trials and experiences in your new school."  He gave her an encouraging smile as he squeezed her hand.

"Thank you, you know you mean the world to me," she said.

The next moment the sky burst into a ray of colors with the sound of tooters and shouts of "Happy New Year."   He took her in his arms and held her tight as he kissed her and wished her a happy New Year.

"A happy New Year to you too, I'm so glad we're starting this year together."   She said and buried her face in his chest, he felt the wetness of her tears and held her for a long time.

Then they kissed good night and he went home.

The next morning after church, they met up with Jessica, who was also in a sad mood because her brother was leaving for boarding school.

"Hi, don't be so sad, I'll send you a message each Saturday to Linette's phone, then you can read it every Sunday when you have your ice cream together.  I'll visit every weekend that I have off at boarding school, so you will see me a lot more than you can imagine."

"We'll answer his messages every Sunday while we have our ice cream, that's going to be fun and we're both going to new schools.  We can tell him about our schools and the new stuff we learned."   Linette tried to help.

Jessica gave them a sad smile and hugged Gregory tight. "Don't forget I love you," she said as she kissed him goodbye.

Linette helped him to gather all his stuff and walked him to the bus stop, that was near to her house. They both had tears in their eyes as they hugged and kissed goodbye.