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〖 chapter ten ⋆stand and watch 〗
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Time waits for no man – and time was running out. The sand in the hourglass was almost done draining and there was no time to think or take a moment; there was only time to get what needed to be done complete and not think, never think. There was no time to ponder where or not he really wanted this, wanted anything, there was only time to do; only time to regret it later when the hourglass would be tipped over and there would be more time to drain and think.
But not now. He had no time to think about how he didn't want this, he didn't want anything, and how he wanted everything to stop. The deadline was coming up and his dad was still hounding him and asking about it every time they saw each other and he couldn't look him in the eyes. His dad was smile or look disappointed, tell him exactly how much time was left, and tell him to get on it. As if his life depended on it, as if when he ran out of time everything would be over – game over. Maybe for his dad, but not for him, maybe it would be a blessing. His happy ever after, knowing that he wouldn't have to worry anymore.
He would, though. That was the thing; there was no escape. Time would still come for him and his dad would still pressure him and there was no escaping because early access deadlines were ending soon but not actual applications. God, he hated the cruelty of time. It always got to him.
A hand reached for him from across the table. He looked up to see the concerned look of his friend, eyes wandering his face before asking, "You good?"
He nodded. It wasn't believable, he knew that. "Yeah," he said, continuing with the lie (as if he was ever okay), "It's just that early access for Columbia is ending soon and my dad's just been on my ass about it lately."
Clayton winced and leaned back against the booth, "Sorry to hear that, man. That's exactly why I'm not telling my parents where I'm applying until I get into one of them."
"Wish I could do that," he joked, a small grin forming on his face that he didn't mean. It helped keep up the illusion, he knew that, but he was hating it more now than ever before, "But you know how my dad's been wanting me to go there since forever. Can't really hide anything from him."
The West boy dipped a fry into his ranch, "You tell him about the other schools you applying to?"
Shaking his head, he almost dipped a fry, "Nah. He doesn't even know that I'm applying to other schools at all, thinks that Columbia is it."
"So he doesn't want you to have a backup plan just in case you don't get in?" Clayton frowned.
"Yep. Well, he thinks that there's no way that I'll be rejected, so why apply to other schools that I'm never gonna go there anyway?" he asked rhetorically and a bit bitterly, "Whatever, it doesn't really matter."
