See You on the Other Side | ✓

3 | Wait, What?

"It feels like hell to me. It's all okay to me." - Alfie Templeman, Like an Animal

~~~

I didn't want to go to that stupid burial anyway. Another day I could go without wearing that itchy suit was a day worth seeing.

When my grandma walked in the house returning from the burial, she seemed to be in a worsened emotional state. Her wrinkles were deepened and it seemed like her wispy gray hair was losing the little strength it retained over the years.

The previous day took an obvious toll on her, but now that he was underground, I guess the sorrow was really kicking into high gear.

"Are you okay?" I asked, knowing she wasn't.

"No, my husband is really gone," she wailed into my shirt.

I awkwardly patted her back. She was a woman of short stature, making my 'comforting' gesture feel less out of place. I was 6'0", barely meeting the fuckable height. I don't know what that has to do with anything, but apparently, that's important for males in society.

Moving on...

She pulled away from me after completely drenching the fabric with her tears. Luckily, my shirt was black.

From that, I learned that death could be for one day with one person, but cause the deaths of multiple souls for a prolonged amount of time.

~~~

It was about time for me to go back to school. My grandma allowed me to be absent for 2 days in mourning. Once she saw my apathy, she ordered me to go back to school.

Central Annapolis High wasn't my favorite place to be, but it wasn't too bad. I did the bare minimum and still found a way into the clubs that were highly selective. Don't ask me how I got into the National Honor Society. I don't know what they were thinking when they asked me to be in it.

However, my grandparents said that it would look nice on college transcripts when I received the form last year. All I was thinking was what if I don't even make it there?

"Don't forget to wear your coat, Adrian," my grandma reminded. It was December and 35° (about 2° C) outside so, I'd be a fool not to wear it.

"I won't, don't worry."

"And drive safely, now."

I nodded and left for the road. The number of people who seemed to not know where the hell they were going pissed me off. The amount of elderly who lived in the area really said a lot about how dead my surroundings were becoming.

Not much happened in Annapolis. No wonder so many teens drank here. People know of the city because of the Naval Academy, but the people who went there were as much of an annoyance to me as the old people.

After I parked, I adjusted the hat on my head and left my car. When I walked in, I instantly wanted to leave. 2:40 couldn't come fast enough.

In my 2 days of absence, I did not miss this place at all. I never really had friends, just a lot of acquaintances. Ya know, the ones that ask you for answers on assignments and the links to the quizlets, but don't talk to you at any other time.

I mean, who'd actually want to talk to me? I was thin and had basically no muscle. Easy target. The only things I had going for me were my height and my eyes, which were green.

My first class started at 8:10, but I went a little early to catch up on whatever work I might've missed in AP Statistics. (A/n: someone PLEASE get my reference.)

I sat down in the seat I usually sat in and removed my hat from my head after the teacher told me to take it off twice. That same teacher called me over to her desk.

"Mr. Johnson has asked to see you. He said he emailed you, but... it's understandable if you didn't see it," she informed.

I left the room to go see the college help dude. He had a formal title, but I didn't call him it. I wasn't giving Noah that power.

When I walked in, I looked at him and got nauseous. When I looked at him, I saw what I was afraid to become; a middle-aged dude whose hair is all gone. He wasted his degree on helping kids waste their already minimizing futures.

"Why do you want to talk to me?" I asked. "I already told you about the colleges I started applying to go to."

"This isn't about college, I wanted to talk to you about graduation."

"Oh God, I don't want to hear about that sh- I mean graduation."

"I'll act like I didn't hear that almost come out. Anyway, based on how you're going, you are not going to graduate."

"No, I won't be vale- wait, what?" I exclaimed in disbelief.

☠A/N☠

Happy New Year!! May you make it through another year.