College Fund

//You're Still the One//

Eric and I were standing by the entrance of the school waiting for Sage to appear from the costume room. She was one of the last people to leave, probably because she had looked like Kermit's twin the last time I saw her. It must take a while to get all that green stuff off.

Sage stumbled out of the costume room and turned to us, her eyes light and a huge smile across her face.

"Sagey bear!" I sprinted up to her and tackled her in a hug. "I knew you were going to be in the play but you never said you were going to be the star!"

"I wouldn't say I was the star." Sage said in a feeble attempt to be humble. That wasn't going to cut it for me. She was the Wicked Witch in Wicked! If that wasn't a starring role then I don't know what was.

"I am so proud of you." I smiled at her. "I could never get up in front of all those people and sing and dance and act and do everything you just did! That's amazing."

Sage blushed and shuffled her feet. "Well, it's what I love to do. So it doesn't really seem hard, I guess."

"Well I know you love it, but it's impressive!" I continued. "You should be proud of yourself too."

She sighed. "I know, but there was that one part where I stumbled over my words. I'd probably give myself a three out of four."

"Oh please." I rolled my eyes. "You are way too hard on yourself. I think you did amazing, and I'm going to take a guess and say the audience thought so as well, considering you got a standing ovation."

Her smile came back a hundred times brighter. "Thanks Cassidy. I'm really glad you guys were able to come see the show!"

"We wouldn't have missed it for the world! And who knows, maybe next time Eric will be up there with you." I nudged Eric teasingly.

Sage's eyes lit up, and she turned to Eric. "You act?"

Now it was Eric's turn to act bashful. "Not really, just off and on, you know."

"Oh trust me, I know," Sage insisted. "They call me the Drama Queen."

"Well you definitely earned that title tonight," I agreed. I glanced down at my watch to check the time. It was getting late; Eric and I should probably head to the bus stop. "Anyways, I think Eric and I were going to head to the Eiffel Tower for a bit. Do you know the way to the bus stop?"

"Yup, just go out those doors and head to your left. It won't be too far until you see the stop."

"Merci beaucoup! Oh, and congrats again! Tell Margaux and Bria we won't be out too late."

"Mhm," Sage muttered, clearly unconvinced. "I'm sure you guys will need plenty of time. I'll tell them not to wait up."

I rolled my eyes. "Do what you want. You always do."

"Have fun!" Sage winked, then scurried off to join some of her drama geek friends. Crazy kids.

"Shall we?" Eric extended his arm to me.

I linked my arm around his. "We shall."

Eric led the way out of the school building and down the street. The sun had set long ago, but you could still faintly see the stars shining despite the bright city lights. A chill from the winds that had suddenly picked up cut through my thin jacket and I shivered.

"You want my jacket, Butterfly?" Eric offered, sliding his arm out of his thick leather jacket.

"N-n-no, I'm okay." My teeth chattered.

He looked at me unimpressed. "You know, there's nothing in the rules of friendship that says friends can't share jackets."

"I know," I replied stubbornly, not about to back down. "I just don't need a jacket. I'm not that cold."