May 6, 2016

Walkerville High Computer Lab

2:50 P.M.

The final day of classes for seniors might have been a year in the making, when the day did at last arrive, it still managed to knock Keesha off of her feet. She knew the end of her time in high school was coming to an end once Spring Break passed, and finals the previous week had been a clear sign that time was running out. School was all she'd ever known, though, and despite the fact that she knew she'd never be a student within these walls again, she still didn't feel as though she were at some major crossroads in her life. Surely, the end of high school should feel more notable than just another day. Yet here she was, working late on her final article for the Walkerville High student paper, refusing to acknowledge the momentous sound that was the final bell.

She was determined to leave the paper on a high, and her last story had promise. In it, she'd interviewed a number of past students from the school for one of those inspirational "Where Are They Now" segments that readers could never get enough of. The process had been time-consuming but worth-while; now, the article needed just a few final tweaks before she could call it complete.

It was difficult to comprehend that she's never work for the paper again.

But Keesha wouldn't allow the excitement of summer to be overshadowed by nostalgia or nerves. She should be thrilled to escape Walkerville High once and for all. There was a big world out there, much of which she'd research as she worked on articles and essays, and for the first time since third grade she could finally go out and see it herself.

Keesha should have known that Wanda would never let her celebrate the end of the year alone in the computer lab, though. As she saved her few last-minute corrections, the door to the empty computer lab swung open. Wanda stood in the doorway, a manic grin on her face, boxes of sparklers in her hands. "Hurry up, nerd!" Wanda ordered, uncompromising in her tone. "I've got places to be, you know."

"Clearly." Some things would never change. Keesha relaxed as she shut down the computer for the final time; no matter how much her life changed from here on out, at least she could always count on her friends to remain the same – no matter how much DA tried to make them grow into mature young adults. "Alright, I'm done. Let's get out of here."

"About time! School's been over for an entire minute – I'm not wasting anymore time in this place."

Keesha picked up her bookbag from the floor and slung it over her shoulder as she joined Wanda in the hall. She nearly asked about the numerous boxes in Wanda's hands, but honestly, she didn't want to know what her friend had planned for the sparklers. And as Wanda said: they had places to be. Now was not the time for lecturing her on appropriate sparkler etiquette.

The pair traded summer plans as they walked down the wall, the skip in Wanda's step the only real evidence that summer was on the horizon. As they turned the corner into the main hall, their conversation was cut short by the sight of a familiar face. Wanda smirked – now, even on the final day of classes, Arnold Perlstein continued to struggle with his locker.

Rolling her eyes, Keesha leaned against the metal locker beside Arnold's. "Need some help?" she chided playfully, raising a brow. "I know you've only had 4 years to figure out how the damn lock works."

"I think it's stuck," Arnold explained, breathing heavily from the effort of trying to force the jammed lock. He ran his hand through his hair, fiddling with the matted locks. "I swear, I've tried everything-"

Keesha tapped the locker and the door swung open, sending Arnold's belongings tumbling to the ground in a heap. She looked him in the eye, a smug expression on her face, and Arnold crossed his arms. "Okay, that was just dumb luck and you know it."

"Sure. Luck."

Arnold huffed as he began shoving his things into his bag, forcing himself to move as quickly as possible. He'd already spent longer at his locker than he wanted to, and while he didn't have any plans for the evening, he didn't really want to pass the minutes sorting through his now useless notebooks and binders.

Unlike Arnold, Wanda was thoroughly amused by the entire affair. Her cackling laugh echoed down the hall as she watched Arnold picking through the mess and was so infectious that soon Keesha and Arnold had to laugh along. Keesha knelt down and help Arnold pack his bag and, in no time at all, the three were ready to depart for good.

"So, what's the plan for the evening?" Arnold asked, basking in the warm sun as he stepped out of Walkerville High with his friends at his side. "Are we doing something special to celebrate, or…?"

"I might have something in mind," Wanda answered coyly, eyeing the sparklers she'd been hauling about. "But I figured we'd just meet in your basement. No one can mess up that."

Keesha snorted at the thought. "I'll see it when I believe it," she murmured, and Arnold chuckled along.

Wanda was unperturbed, though, and simply shook her head, a mysterious smile playing on her lips. "Oh, they're not gonna want to miss this. Trust me."

May 6, 2016

Walkerville High Computer Lab

2:50 P.M.

As he stepped out of the boy's locker room, his face still red from his last class in conditioning with the rest of the football team, Ralphie couldn't help but admire the empty field just outside the gym. Football might never had been so important to most of his friends, but he had always found a real sense of belonging whenever he took to the field; he'd miss the late afternoon practices with his teammates after today.

Evans stopped beside Ralphie. "Parting it such sweet sorrow," he uttered, wistfully staring out across the field. The space felt bigger with nobody running around the track, and both boys had to acknowledge how lonely it all seemed that evening. "Which is why you should come to my kegger tonight!"

As if on cue, Ralphie's phone buzzed. He peered at the screen, then shook his head. "Sorry, man. I've actually got somewhere really important to be."

"Is it your friend's basement?"

"Yup."

Evans pat Ralphie on the shoulder. "Good on you, dude. Friendship is the most important commodity a man can offer. Don't you forget that when they try to distill you down to the output of your labor."

Ralphie grinned and pulled Evans into a tight hug. "God, I have no idea what you're saying, but I sure am gonna miss hearing you say it."

"And I'm gonna miss that blank expression on your face when you think I don't know that you're lost."

Ralphie wiped a tear from his eye. "You know me too well, man."

The boys exchanged another long embrace, neither quite ready to call it a day. Time continued to tick by, though, and eventually, both knew they'd have to go their separate ways. "Well, have fun with your friends," Evans told Ralphie warmly.

"Have fun at your party, Evans." Ralphie turned to leave but paused momentarily to look back at Evans. "Hey, your pool party is still on for tomorrow, right?"

"Hell yeah! We got the babes, we got the boys – it should be tight."

"Sweet." Ralphie took a deep breath. "I gotta go now. I'll bring by the vegan finger foods about noon."

With that, Evans and Ralphie said the hardest of goodbyes as they walked away from the football field, their memories and their helmets both carried close to their hearts.

May 6, 2016

Walkerville High Courtyard

2:52 P.M.

Phoebe looked up into the towering tree in the center of the courtyard. She still vividly remembered her disastrous baby project from freshman year like it was yesterday; she could recall slipping through the fence with Carlos and Ralphie as they raced to join Tim at the hospital. High school had been stressful and daunting most of the time, but she knew she'd miss hanging around the lunch table with her friends once the day ended and they'd all gone their separate ways. That's why, even though the final bell had rung, she couldn't seem to pull herself away from that peace and quiet of the courtyard.

And that's exactly where Tim and Janet found the girl when they peered into the outdoor space, searching for any sign of the girl. Tim knew that Phoebe could be overly sentimental at the best of times; he'd figured he should check she wasn't hanging around alone before he and Janet joined the rest of the gang.

Tim cleared his throat. Though Phoebe didn't move, he was sure she'd heard him and Janet enter the space. "You doing okay?" He asked gently, moving beside his friend.

"I'm fine," Phoebe assured, admiring the quivering leaves as the soft breeze danced between the branches overhead. "I just wanted to have a quiet moment before leaving."

"We should head out, Phoebe," Janet told her. It took a great deal of willpower to call the girl by her name and not some condescending jeer, but she knew Tim wanted her to make more effort with his friends. This seemed to be the very least she could do. "Arnold wants us to meet up in his basement."

Phoebe frowned. "All of us?"

Janet sighed. Sometimes, Tim's friends could be so clueless, and that fact continued to frustrate her to this day. "Yes, all of us. Even ex-girlfriends."

Phoebe was taken aback by the girl's final comment. "I didn't think you knew about that…"

"Tim told me. And Arnold probably cried it to me at some point."

"I figured you didn't care enough to listen."

Tim shuffled uncomfortably; he appreciated Janet making the effort to get to know his friends, but she didn't have much patience for their endless petty drama. If she were to snap at Phoebe, everyone was bound to be worse off for it.

But to the boy's surprise, Janet smiled at Phoebe. "You kidding? I can respect a girl that knows what she wants. Besides, Arnold was getting way too mushy for my liking."

"You respect her now?"

"You want to know what I think?" Janet pressed on, ignoring Tim's confused stares as she approached Phoebe with a devilish grin. "Show up to that basement looking so put together, so sure of yourself, that he has no choice but to respect it, too."

Phoebe shrugged, sticking her hands in the pockets of her cardigan. "I'm not sure I can pull off 'put together'. I'm more a 'held together by a piece of thread and an iced coffee' kind of girl."

"You don't have to be put together. You just have to make him thing you are." Janet wrapped an arm around Phoebe and started to lead her to the door. "You're going out on your own next year, right? Let me give you some advice on independence…"

Tim watched as the pair left the courtyard side by side, his mouth agape at the scene that just played out. Janet and Phoebe… Being friends? He rubbed his eyes; high school had only been done for a few minutes, but already the real world had him feeling out of his depth.

May 6, 2016

Walkerville High Front Entrance

3:14 P.M.

DA had texted the group that she'd be a little late to the basement – as class president, she'd wanted to make sure that all the paperwork for student council had been sorted and labelled for the junior class to take over during the next few weeks. She hadn't been held up for too long, but she'd resigned herself to making the short walk to Arnold's basement all on her own. She hadn't counted on running into a familiar face just outside the front entrance to Walkerville High.

Carlos stood up off the staircase when he noticed DA approaching and wiped the dirt and dust from his pants. "What's up?" he grinned, handing a paper cup to the blonde.

DA frowned. "Uh… Just student council stuff. What's up with you?"

"I saw your text," Carlos explained, sticking his hands in his pockets. "I didn't want you to have to walk over to Arn's alone, so I thought I'd kill time at the café across the road. Then, I figured you might want something, so… Voila. Hope you like cappuccino. Or… a cup-o-cino, if you will."

"I will not."

"Fair enough."

DA stared at the cup in her hand as a familiar warm feeling crossed her face. Why was she always blushing around him? "This was really sweet, Carlos. Thanks. And yes, cappuccino is fine."

"Cool. I asked the lady what was, like, a normal drink, and that's what she said, so I was really hoping."

DA cocked her head. His stiff muscles and stuttered, rambling explanation were impossible to miss, even if she hadn't known the boy as well as she did. What she couldn't figure out though, was why, on today of all days, Carlos would be feeling anything less than incredible. "You okay? You're being weird."

Try as he might, Carlos could tell there was no playing off his awkwardness. He sighed, leaning against the staircase railing. "I'm just a little freaked out about high school ending," he confessed quietly. "And you always make me feel better and stuff, so I wanted an excuse to talk. I guess coffee wasn't a subtle enough excuse, huh?"

"This is the first time you've bought me coffee in nine years, so – no, not particularly subtle." DA joined Carlos at the railing, her eyes fixed on the cup she held. "But I guess it works. Which is good, because I wanted to talk to you, too."

"Really?" Carlos frowned. "Am I in trouble?"

"No…" DA inched closer to Carlos, an action that didn't go unnoticed by Carlos as he gazed upon his school for the last four years. Despite her reassurance, he still frantically thought through any stupid thing he might have done recently; was she trying to lull him into a false sense of security? But what for? Why was she so close? Why did her perfume have to smell so addictive?

"We survived high school with our friendship and our sanity intact," DA began, a grin crossing her lips. "And now we get to go to college together, and… I'm just really looking forward to it."

Finally, Carlos began to relax. DA was warm and gentle; he felt so much more at peace talking with her than anywhere else in the world. He was glad he decided to wait for her that evening. "Me, too."

"But there was one thing I meant to say before we leave high school."

"Yeah?"

DA's limbs grew stiff, but to her relief, her nerves weren't evident from her voice and Carlos remained blissfully unaware. "Do you remember freshman year, when you took my schedule and walked me to geometry?"

Carlos turned to DA, frowning as he thought back to the day 4 years prior. "Um… Yeah, I guess. Why?"

DA smiled. "Well… You looked really acute that day, too."

Then, to Carlos's amazement, DA stood up on her tiptoes, moving her face just centimeters from her own. It felt like a dream when she placed her lips on his, and though he took a second to comprehend just what was happening, soon his hands were running through her hair as he leaned into the kiss, too.

How long the two stood in front of Walkerville High, neither knew. After four years of stolen stares and comfortable closeness, to finally by standing hand in hand felt impossibly overdue, and neither wanted the moment to end. They might have been lost in the own world for a minute or an hour; eventually, though, the moment had to come to an end.

Their kiss was interrupted by a loud noise blasting from the street. DA pulled away, looking up at Carlos with wide eyes as they listen to the sound go off again. She gasped. "Is that…?"

Sure enough, a familiar yellow school bus rolled around the corner and parked in front of Walkerville High, it's horn honking as it approached the pair. Through the windows, it was clear that the rest of their friends, Janet included, had already taken their spots inside. Once parked, the metal door swung open, revealing a frizzy-haired teacher with an infectious grin at the wheel. "Room for two more," she called in a friendly, sing-song tone. "All aboard!"

Carlos and DA exchanged another glance. This must have been what Wanda had been planning for the last week, they realized simultaneously. Which was embarrassing now, because there was no chance the kiss had gone unnoticed by the bus-full of nosy teenagers, an erratic teacher, and her anthropomorphic lizard. Carlos smiled and shook his head, hardly surprised by the unexpected twist. "I guess you could say we've been bus-ted."

After smacking the back of the boy's head, DA turned and sprinted to the bus where her friends were waiting. Carlos watched for a second, reliving the past few moments, and after a final goodbye to Walkerville High, he chased after the girl onto the bus, one more field trip waiting just for him to begin.

And with that, we've officially reached the end of the gang's high school shenanigans! A huge thank you to everyone who has stuck by this story – it's been 10 years in the making, but I always knew that we'd reach this point someday. I hope you enjoyed the finale, and that the whole journey has been a treat to read. As for what comes next… That's a story that I probably won't be writing.

It means so much to me that so many of you have continued to read and review, even after countless unexpected breaks and irregular uploads. I never anticipated this story becoming so lengthy, and at times life has gotten in the way of me prioritizing it – after all, I'm not in high school anymore :)

So, thank you again from the bottom of my heart. I'll probably never post another story anywhere near this long, but I'm proud that we've managed to stick with this for so long. Stay safe, be well, and keep reading! ~Sundrenched-World