Fire and Freedom - Book One of the Café Latte Trilogy

Chapter Twenty-Five - Jasper

Chapter Twenty-Five – Jasper

Exams, quite frankly, could suck my dick. I hadn't been worried about them until they were happening, and then suddenly everything seemed way too difficult. I'd revised, shoving countless amounts of information into my brain, but it felt like I didn't have enough space. I kept confusing lessons, mixing up quotations, and pissing myself off in the process.

To his credit, Ross had been great. He had suggested a nightly study session for me, Rory, Cyri and Tom, and had even brought Harper and Raven around to help quiz us. Ross, of course, had ditched us a couple of times to get away from the shroud of exam stress, but he'd always left us with great takeout and some new flash cards. It was three weeks of intense studying, intense exams, and intense sighs of relief once they were completed. Now, I was in my final exam. The last exam I'd take at school.

Turns out, my stressing about the final exam had been for nothing. I barely took the entire two-hour period to plan and compile the essay response to the question, as it was one from a previous exam that I had already answered in a mock. When Rory had read it, he flashed me a grin; we'd been over them the previous day. We both wrote confidently, and were done ten minutes before the end of the session. As we left, we high-fived and Rory said, "Well, that was a nice book-end to the year."

I stretched out and said, "Man, we're done. We're finally fucking done."

Rory bowed as we headed towards the bags. "Goodbye, school. We hope we never see you again."

I picked up my bag. "Never again," I said, and a flicker of excitement lit up in me. "Our last sixth form event before results day."

"And prom," Rory reminded me.

I scoffed. "Prom. Forgot about that shit. We're not going, right? It's weird to go to a prom when you're a mature student."

"Shame you can't bring people outside of the school," Rory said sympathetically. "You could have brought Ross."

I looked at him in disbelief. "Ross, come to my prom? Are you fucking insane?"

"It would be funny!" Rory protested.

I laughed. "He'd drink all the alcohol, get pissed, dance with all the girls, make sexual advances on all the guys, fuck a chaperone or two and then pass out on the stairs."

Rory paused, and then nodded. "Okay, fair enough. But you know what I mean – to see the look on Harry Richmond's face if Ross came to prom-"

I felt two hands go over my eyes, and then Ross' voice growled in my ear. "I'm not coming to your fucking prom, so don't even think about it."

"You couldn't come even if you did want to," I said, pushing his hands off my face. "It's students of the sixth form only - I'm not even sure we're allowed to go. Plus, why would I want to? It'll be the same people I ignore every day at school, but in overly bedazzled dresses and suits. What's the point?"

Ross smiled, and patted my head. "It's times like this that I realise what a positive role model I am in your life. Why would I want to join you at a cheesy dance full of arrogant, stupid idiots?"

"Because you'd fit right in?" I suggested, and got pinched in the ribs as punishment. "Ow. Why are you here anyway? I said I'd meet you out front."

"Well, I wanted to surprise you with something," Ross said, and threw something at me. I caught it, and saw it was his car keys. "Seeing as you passed your driving test, I added you to the insurance for a month."

My mouth dropped open. "You're kidding."

"Am not," Ross looked pleased by the look on my face. "Rory, you need a lift back or anything?"