Weathered Love

GRADUATION

Ivan was mad that he missed the party. Mostly because he would have been sure to give Aria and Crystal a piece of his mind. He also gleaned from some of the party-goers that Greg might have had a thing for me. But if Greg did have a thing for me, he didn't say anything. And I promised myself that I wouldn't just go for a guy because he was decent and showed an interest. I needed to go for a guy I really liked. I refused to repeat what happened with Derek.

It was time for lunch. I headed to my locker and was met with Samantha and Ivan. They weren't making out this time. Just talking by the lockers. At least my locker wasn't blocked at this point.

"Hey guys," I casually said as I opened my locker.

"Hey," Samantha replied with her usual gentle smile. "What are you doing for graduation?" she asked.

"Oh, don't do that," I pleaded. "Graduation is so far away. We're barely through February yet. Ask me after Spring Break."

"Seriously," she insisted. "Let's at least start brainstorming. So that if we need to book anything, we can book it before it gets full."

"So let's book a beach house for the weekend," I replied. "If it's the usual crowd, we should be able to afford a beach house for a night or two."

"Ooh, yes!" Samantha exclaimed. "That would be so much fun! Do you know how to get one?"

I chewed my upper lip. I knew I'd get roped into doing the work. I should have kept my mouth shut. It was too late now though. "Sure, I'll set it up. But I'm not putting down the deposit," I stated. "Unless I get the money from everyone else first. Seriously," I added. "I'm not getting stuck with a thousand dollar bill because people want to mooch and pretend they'll pay later."

"I hear ya," Samantha sympathized. "Well, get to it missy. People need time to gather up their funds." I smiled in her direction, knowing how people were going to handle this. But I was going to put my foot down this time. I refused to get suckered. Again.

Ivan put the idea out there at lunch. Everyone agreed, even Ella. She wasn't graduating, but it wouldn't be the same without her anyway. "But, you guys have to give me the money before I book," I warned. "I'm serious, I will not book unless I have everyone's money." Everyone seemed to agree. So, at that point, I had Jenna, Caleb, Ivan, Samantha, Mackenzie, and Ella agreeing to the beach house.

We needed to keep it contained though. We couldn't invite the whole graduating class. "Guys, let's keep this between us. No outsiders unless you run it by me. Just because we can only have so many people in a house," I explained. Another round of agreement ensued.

I went home that night and found a couple of beach houses that looked promising. We all settled on one and, within a week, I had everyone's money and had booked the beach house. The rest of the group had joined in. And, because they were graduating too, I invited Derek and Greg.

* * *

The rest of the semester zoomed right by. Before I knew it, it was the end of May, I was busy studying for finals, and I was still struggling to decide between two colleges that I had put deposits down for. One was local, another was all the way in California. I liked the local one because it meant I would be close to home and all the friends I already had. I liked the California college because it had a better business program and I could live in California for four years. Living somewhere new had always been a dream of mine.

"So, are you coming with me to California?" Ivan asked Samantha while standing near my locker. That was another plus to going to California. Ivan and I would go to the same college.

"I'm staying here," Samantha replied. "I can barely afford tuition. Trying to afford an apartment or dorming on top of that will kill me." Ivan nodded in understanding and gave her a peck on the forehead.