PICS and IT DIDN'T HAPPEN

35. The Counsel

Part guilt, part confused, I continue to see Frank. At the end of the our agreed week I'll let him know I broke our pact, and that's just how it's going to be.

Right now at Heabrow there's a much more stressful situation going on as college admission prep and guidance counseling is on full swing.

The rows of chairs in the auditorium has been replaced by large oval tables. All the final year students have congregated here for the seminar on deciding our future.

As soon as Tess, Becca and I find an empty table, Raylan and his friends join us. Raylan sits next to me. "You couldn't find any other table?" I ask him while looking around, and realize he couldn't.

There's at least twenty students standing at the back with no more free tables on sight while one of the teachers shouts about bringing in three more tables.

The seminar goes on and on forever. It's mostly about how to pick the right college and get in there. Fortunately a respite occurs in form of forms.

A form is given to each student for us to fill in our college and course choices and a million other things like the extra curricular activities we've participated in.

When I get mine, I read through the fields and begin to stress already about college admissions. Not a single one of these fields is easy to fill except my name. Every other thing takes some deep pondering into my very soul.

And when I see around the table and around us, I see all the hunched figures of the students whose faces scream the same feeling as I'm feeling now.

I get back to my form and start slowly filling it, while Raylan keeps grabbing my wrist and lifting it up so he could see what I'm filling and copy it.

Eventually, we both turn the page. The first field is our top three college choices. Although I don't know about the second and third, I know what's my first choice is, the FRK college at Inclot.

Before I could write it down, I see Raylan write down the same college in his form.

I'm not surprised. It's the alma mater college for most of the adults in the Mueller Avenue. My parents went there. Raylan's too. His oldest brother went there as well. And now, his younger brother is also there.

I write down the first choice, then move onto second.

He copies my second choice.

I write down the third.

He copies my third choice.

If he copies my department of choice as well, I will strangle him. Lucky for him, he doesn't. I choose science, and he chooses business studies.

Soon all the forms are filled and collected, and the students are finally let out of the auditorium. The school hour has ended. Everyone in our year decide to head out to the beach for a much needed change of mood from having forced to brood on our future.

By late evening, the entire beach is covered by our school's final year students, and nearly all of them are in the water, in spite of how cold it is, including me and my friends.

"That was intense," Tess says, swimming next to me, "and it's all just getting started."

Becca and I groan. Tess is right, the drudgery has just begun.

We swim until it's nightfall. The light posts turn on. Some of the kids have brought with them loud speakers that start playing party music.

Little by little the party moves from water to the sandy beach.

My friends and I get out of the sea. Only when I reach the dry land I realize it was a bad idea for us to just jump into the water without bringing any change of clothes.

Even worse for me since I start shivering from the cold. I cover my chest with my hands, both to warm myself and also because I'm wearing black bra with my white t-shirt, not the most wet-friendly outfit combo.

I see Raylan come next to me. The boys left their stuff near ours. I notice his jacket on the ground. I look at him, to ask for it, but he takes off his wet t-shirt and picks up the jacket and wears it. How could I ask him now when he needs it? He notices me looking at him. "Like what you see?" He says with a smirk. I return that with a glare.

He looks down at my arms covering my chest, and takes off his jacket and wraps it around me. He leans forward and whispers next to my ear, "Since when you hesitate to ask me anything?"

I feel warmth in my body, whether it's because of his jacket or words, I don't know. "Besides," he says, "you look good in my jacket."

My face heats up. To hide my embarrassment I tell him, "Don't complain to me later if you catch a cold."

"If I catch a cold you come take care of me," he says.

"And why would I do that?"

"So the kittens won't catch my cold," he says.

I chuckle. He sometimes sounds incredible cute for a jerk.

Wait... Did I just think he's cute. No. No. No. I shake my head.

"What?" He asks.

I gotta go. "I better go warm myself up in the car," I say and turn to leave.

He grabs my arm and says, "Need my help with that? I can warm you up quicker than my jacket."

I bite his arm, and he takes it away laughing. I leave with my friends to our cars. Tess had some extra towels in her car that we use to dry ourselves a bit more. The breeze has started to dry our clothes already.

After having some snacks from the nearby stalls we head back into the beach and join the rest of the students around the bonfire that had somehow appeared during the short period my friends and I were away from the sand.

"I don't want school to end. I'll miss this," Becca says.

I sigh. Me too. I don't want this to end, either.

But the chapter has to end, so - End of chapter

A/N - To be continued... tomorrow :) Please do vote and comment, and if you had missed any chapters, remember to catch up with those when you've the time 💕