Sugarcane Chronicles Volume I: One and Lonely (ryden)

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A week passed and I felt even more anxious about the class trip to England. I just couldn't bring myself to believe Ryan wouldn't try something with Daniel. Maybe I just needed to get over myself.

I realized that I was going to be turning eighteen in the first week of April, a week before we took off on a plane. I guessed it was good, because when you're eighteen, you can do anything in England, but I felt weird. I had a horribly clichéd moment similar to High School Musical 3 where I didn't want high school to end and life was being thrown at me. The good part was that my parents hadn't forced a college on me (I was never college material anyways) and would support me with whatever I would end up doing.

However, I couldn't shake that feeling of life being forced at me, no matter what I did. Like I was in a car going too fast, the brakes broken, and no way to get out. The mere thought of doing anything to decide my whole future, my entire future, terrified me.

But I got over it when I talked to Mom about it over a cup of tea. She told me I had all the time in the world to decide what to do. That the car was only speeding past everything if I let it. I thanked anything that was out there for such a great Mom.

 So I continued my life, as it inched closer to me being a real, legal adult, and I wondered if I would feel any different. Like I would wake up and have bulging muscles and a long flowing beard with a sudden urge to go out and get cigarettes I could finally buy. But that seemed ridiculous. It would probably just end up being another boring day in the life of lil' ol' me.

I talked to Mom about my party and asked if I could have a sleepover (to, you know, battle and counteract my adultness). She said I could and she would send all the moms 'save the dates' (whatever those were). I invited anyone that would come to the party part of the party and only a select few to the sleeping part of the party. The usual gang (Ryan, Patrick, Spencer, Josh, Tyler) were sleeping over, plus Mikey.

On the day I asked them all to come to my party, Spencer was being moody and Josh was being friendly and they ended up wanting to race each other on the track at school after the bell had rang. It attracted a crowd of all of our 'friends' and acquaintances, which included the usual lunch crowd, Jack, Alex, Mikey, which brought Ray, Vic, who was there to cheer on Spencer, Gerard and Frank, plus a girl named Tay that was Alex's friend. The regular gang was there, too; me, Ryan, Patrick, Josh, Tyler, plus Bronx because we had picked him up from preschool.

"Alright," Tyler shouted. "On your marks, get set, GO!"

Josh and Spencer took off down the track and were tied for a while before Spencer got ahead. We all cheered them on (well, most of us. Frank and Gerard were apparently too cool for that), but Tyler and Vic were definitely the loudest.

"Go, baby!" Vic yelled. "Spencey, beat that blue-haired pestoso!"

"Don't listen to him, Josh!" Tyler shouted. "Do your best!"

Josh caught up to Spencer and by then, they couldn't hear us. But Vic and Tyler (especially Vic (he kept screaming spanish insults that no one could understand)) still cheered them on.

When they were the farthest they could be from us, Josh was ahead, but he tripped on something that Spencer tripped on not long after.

We all winced and Tyler and Vic stood up. They called out Josh and Spencer's names, then took off running.

I was at a point where I could take a glance at everyone without looking weird and saw the same expression on almost everyone's faces. Worry, concern, secondhand pain or embarrassment. Except Frank and Gerard. Frank was laughing silently and Gerard was trying (and failing) to hold back a smile.