Strings Attached

Chapter Twenty-Four

I chuckled a little. "You don't say," I muttered under my breath.

Henry rolled his eyes. "This is going to be interesting," he said.

Teddy continued. "College is just the beginning, you know? It is only the start of something great. We will miss each other a lot. That's a fact. We will miss high school as soon as we see what college really is. This is the beginning of a journey that we cannot fully comprehend yet. We'll miss our classmates, and it'll be hard, but..." Teddy sighed. "I can't do this," he said, shaking his head. "I can't pretend that everything's fun and games in high school when it actually isn't."

I shook my head. "He can't be serious," I said, surprised.

"This just got a million times more interesting," said Henry, smiling and listening attentively to what Teddy was saying.

Teddy took a deep breath. "Frankly, I don't feel a connection with my classmates. There are only three people here whom I consider true friends, and in all honesty, they're one of the most authentic people in this school. Others are too afraid to be themselves that they pretend to be something they're not, and that's very sad. It really is. It's sad to know that people don't stay true to themselves anymore.

"When I came here, about five months ago, I met some kids who would pretend that they had slept with a million girls when they were, in reality, virgins. Why pretend? I mean, it's not like they'll be killed for being virgins, right? Why don't they accept who they are and move on? Because if someone does not like you for who you are, what's the point in spending time with that person?

"You can lie to everyone, but you can't lie to yourself. I know this speech seems to be off topic, and I seem to be digressing, but I have a point. I want to tell each and every single one my classmates that lies aren't necessary. We are who we are, and that's it. If we don't embrace who we are, then there is no way we can be truly happy.

"I embrace who I am. I embrace and cherish each and every single one of my qualities. I love being weird and having deep heart-to-heart conversations. I love the color green and pizza. I love making puns, even if they're lame. I love to read, and I love to collect wires. I just love many things that many other people despise, and that's all right because if we all were the same, then what would the point be?

"Being unique, being original, is what we should really aim for. There are short-term goals, and then there are long-term goals. Short-term goals include studying for an exam or doing our homework. Long-term goals include going to college and buying a house. Our main long-term goal, though, should be to always be ourselves, to stay true to our hearts. I don't know about you, guys, but I will keep being myself... Because if being myself is the only thing that I am good at, then I will do it till the day I cease to exist."

With that said, Teddy nodded and left the podium. The audience remained silent for a little while, but then we all started clapping, and Henry and I stood up and clapped even louder.

"You rock, Theo!" exclaimed Henry, smirking.

Teddy simply smiled a little and walked out of the gym hurriedly.

I turned to see Henry and asked him to record Louise's speech in case I missed it.

"Where are you going?" he asked, curious.

I sighed. "Just do it, please."

"Okay," he said, nodding.

I smiled thankfully and walked out of the gym.

Teddy was sitting on the floor of the hallways, and I simply sighed and sat down next to him. He smiled at me.

"Did you like my speech?" he asked, grinning.