A Search For Something More

Chapter 24: Back to School

It's the Monday after the beginning of the new year, and school is starting again for the spring semester. My alarm clock wakes me up, and I turn it off half awake and lay in bed until my mom calls out through my bedroom door telling me to take a shower. I sigh sadly before I reluctantly get out of the covers of my beloved bed and start getting ready for the day. I try to look on the bright side, thinking at least this is the last semester before I finally graduate high school...but then I moan when I realize that still means several months of note-taking and essays and tests and heaven knows what.

After breakfast, my mom drops me off at the front entrance, and I proceed to the administration office to pick up my spring schedule. I get in line and wait patiently to get my schedule when I hear someone calling my name. I turn around to see Soarin and Caramel, joining the line right behind me.

"Hey, guys, how was the rest of your break?" I ask.

"Oh, it was pretty good," Soarin answers. "But it was better whenever Rainbow Dash texted me, and we would start talking for hours, which gives me the feeling that we're starting to become a little closer as a couple."

"That's great," I say.

"Speaking of great, you seem a little better than last we saw you," Caramel says. "What happened while we were gone?"

I give a small smile before I answer.

"Sonata invited me to celebrate New Years with the Apples and the other Rainbooms, and I guess that kind of helped me out of my 'want-to-be-alone phase," I say. "I'm still brokenhearted about Octavia, but...well... every bit helps, you know?"

"Totally buddy," Soarin says. "And hey, maybe we can test that by hanging out after class."

I smile as I say, "I'd like that. It would be nice for us to hang out without you guys having to see me with a distant face."

"Oh, hey, you're not feeling guilty about how you were acting before we went out of town, are you?" Caramel asks.

"Well...I am a little bit," I say. "I mean I've been down for some time, and you guys tried to cheer me up and-"

"Let me stop you right there, Rough Draft," Soarin interrupts. "We're fine trying to help you like that. Yeah, it would've been nice for you to be cheery with us when we were hanging after finals, but we get what you are going through. You really love Octavia, and it hurts that she dumped you. Sometimes all we can do as your friends is our best with your heart broken like that."

"Yeah, what Soarin said," Caramel says.

I smile appreciatively at my two best friends.

"Thanks, guys," I say. "And hey, maybe for our last semester, we can finally share a class or two. I mean, I've been here since last spring, and I've only been seeing you guys around in halls or at lunch this whole time."

"Oh, man, you're right; we haven't shared a class ever," Soarin says. "We'll have some classes together, I know it. This is the last semester before becoming high school graduates, so it's our time, bros."

"Sure hope so," Caramel says before he frowns. "But Rough Draft, what if you share any classes with Octavia?"

My smile disappears. I haven't thought about that. Octavia and I were hoping that we would share a couple of classes when we were together, and now that we're broken up, it might make things awkward if we actually do - maybe for Vinyl, Lyra, Bon Bon, and Derpy too since they're closer to her than me.

"If we share any classes, both of us will just have to deal with it," I say reluctantly. "I'd rather that she comes back to me at some point during this semester, but until then, we're broken up, and that's the way things are even if I don't like it - and I hate it. If it were up to me, this whole Anon-a-Miss thing on top of our break up never happened, and we probably would have met at the front entrance today to collect our schedules together, hoping that we have at least one class together."