hate is a strong word (bxb)

52

For the next few weeks, time seems to fly by as they all approach mid-May. It had become the time of the year where everything seems to happen in a blur.

In a weird way, Benjamin had conflicted feelings about how he felt about how quickly everything was moving along. He didn't know whether he was dreading or looking forward to the end of the year. Watching everyone around him get accepted to colleges or make plans for after high school worried him tremendously. While he was happy for all of those people who were certain about their futures, he couldn't help but feel as though he was behind somehow.

Every single day, he found himself checking his dad's mailbox at least two or three times to see if any colleges had sent him anything. It had become a habit at this point. He could barely walk past that house without opening the mailbox and taking a peek inside of it—especially because he figured that if he were to go too long without checking it, his father would get to it first and then just throw it in the garbage.

So far, there had been a few places that were somewhat interested in him but they all seemed less than desirable. None of the colleges that he had actually applied to had accepted him yet. He had gotten a rejection letter from one college, though he knew that he didn't have much of a chance of getting into that college in the first place. The acceptance rate was incredibly low but there was still something so off-putting about receiving a rejection letter.

Though, he tried to not let it get to him too much. He had applied to three other colleges—all of which had better acceptance rates—and he knew that there was still time left.

Braxton, on the other hand, had already gotten accepted into a college. The college was called Pine Hill University and from what Benjamin collected, it was a somewhat decent college that was only about twenty minutes away. Whereas Ben was incredibly happy for him, he couldn't help but be a tad bit jealous.

Still, it seemed that time was flying by way too quickly. In a short matter of time, it would be prom, and then right after that, there would be finals and then it would be graduation and then the end of the year. It felt like everything was flying at him at once and he felt himself running out of time quickly. It was a bittersweet feeling. He couldn't believe that there was barely a month until the end of the school year.

Sitting in his bedroom on Monday night, Braxton turned to Benjamin—who was doing his homework—to start a conversation. He spoke up to say, "So, prom is this Friday. Are you excited?"

Ben narrowed his eyes at Braxton as he muttered, "It's next Friday, dumbass."

"No? It's on the fifteenth and today is the eleventh," Braxton corrected him.

Ben put down his homework and picked up his phone to look at the date—mostly in an attempt to prove Braxton wrong—but he grew shocked as the date on his phone confirmed what Braxton was saying. "You're..." Ben paused awkwardly, "you're actually right."

"Of course I am," Braxton narrowed his eyes at Ben, "I'm a genius."

"So I guess prom really is this Friday then," Ben bit down on his lip as he thought, "Aw, shit, prom is this Friday," Ben repeats again with a different affliction.

Braxton looks at him and raises one eyebrow, "What? I thought you were the one who wanted to go," Braxton questions.

"No, I'm really looking forward to it... it's just that..." Ben pauses, "I have to go back to my dad's house to get my suit."

From the time that he bought his prom ticket up until this very point in time, it had been in the back of Benjamin's mind that he would have to retrieve that suit at some point. It was the same suit that he had worn to his junior prom last year and he planned on wearing it again this year—as he saw no point in going out and buying another expensive suit again when he knew damn well that he hadn't grown or lost/gained weight since he was sixteen. It just seemed like a complete and utter waste of money—especially given his current situation. He truly didn't have money to waste like that.