Black and White

Chapter 48 Trying to move on

Jessica's pov

After watching the movie, there were tears in my eyes. They were not happy tears that I did well but they were the tears that Dan did well and I won't ever get to see him again. It hurt but I kept it in. After the movie was over, we walked out which was more like rushed out as the movie ended. There were so many people wanting my autograph. I tried to give it to most of the people but there were too many. After about half an hour we finally made it out with the securities help. People can really go crazy sometimes. One of Peter's friends sighed as we finally made our way out. It was a long and retreating sigh causing me to giggle. A silence took over but when they realised it, they all joined me. After that we all went to get ice-cream. The whole time, I wondered if any of Peter's friends would have seen me crying. Peter was too engrossed in the movie to look at me so I didn't have to worry about him. None of them had asked me about it till now so I was relieved. We all took different flavours but Peter and I both took mint chocolate. We were the strange siblings who did the strange things together. His friends cringed hard at his pick but took bites from mine. I guessed it was the privilege you get when you are their friend's younger sister. They smiled and giggled at my lame jokes while they frowned jokingly at Peter's. It felt good to have something to distract me from Dan. After finishing the ice-cream, we all walked to the nearest beach. It was already afternoon so we all sat on the warm sand letting the waves hit our feet. The sun was going down and the morning was turning into a beautiful sunset. All of it reminded me of the first time I met Dan on the freshman trip. I sighed while taking in the air. I closed my eyes. The air was warm and the breeze was gentle. We all sat like that for some more minutes before Peter's voice ringing in my ear. I slowly opened my eyes to see all the guys towering over me. They had gotten ready to go back without me knowing. One of them lent me a hand and I took it and got up. I hit Peter's arm and asked him why he had not told me with a pout. He grinned and told me that he didn't want to ruin my moment. I gave him the smallest smile before starting to jog with all of the guys close behind. We walked back to the house and entered as the other guys went their separate ways. Dad was sitting in his armchair with a book on his lap. He must have heard us come in because he was already there in the dining room. He asked us if we were hungry. We had told him that we would be coming back before sunset to have lunch together. I said no trying to avoid embarrassment but my stomach grumbled at the same time. My face went red as I heard Dan and Peter chuckle. Dan gave Peter a glare and said that he was also not in the position to laugh right then. He shut his mouth almost immediately causing me to smile. Dad asked the cook to make a light snack while he gestured to us to sit down. The dining table was long as we always had guests over. Mom also joined us. The cook came out with a plate filled with grilled sandwiches. His idea of a light snack which contained everything of a normal meal but in a smaller portion. My eyes lingered on the amount of oil he had put. He must have noticed me booking at the plate skeptically so he said that he tried to use less oil. We all laughed as he tried to defend himself. We treated the people nicely who worked for us. Most of them were here working before I was born. After having the so-called less oily sandwiches, I headed to my room and collapsed on my bed. I stretched myself out and gave my legs a little massage as they hurt from walking all day. I switched on the tv to see what was going on in Ufa. Many of the channels were filled with news of the wars and the floods in the other said of Russia. I was still changing channels when one of them caught my eye. It was an interview with the principal of Bailey High. I saw my kind principal smiling from the tv. There was a tour of the whole school. I caught a glimpse of me and Dan together. I remembered a few days before Dan's birthday that there were cameras all over the place. We didn't pay attention to it then but now I got to know what they were actually doing. The principal gave an introduction of the school and then the interviewer took over. He showed some pictures of the students. Dan and I were on most of the photos as we were mostly together and were close to everybody. I saw a picture of Dan and me together. I was about to change the channel when I heard my dad from the back. I turned around to see him sitting on my bed. I asked him when he had come in but he just smiled. He asked me if I really wanted to change schools. I gulped. It was the only answer I was unclear of. I shook my head up and down. He sighed and got up from my bed. Before exiting my room, he ruffled my hair and gave me a kiss on the head. I knew that was enough for him to agree to my request. The next morning he handed me a sheet of paper. It was inside an envelope. I opened it to see a booklet with some pictures in it. It said 'Great Oak University' on the front page. I gulped and started flipping through it.