The letter just lain there on the dinner table as I stare down at the half eaten breakfast I left this morning.
Mom came in the living room with coffee in her left hand, and a bundle of dry cleaning clothes wrapped up in plastic in the other.
"Mama. Are we still going through with this?" I muttered, my voice full of deepest reverence. She smiled and nodded.
"Yes, Gabe! Baby if you give this school a chance, you may not actually regret the decision to want to go! I would have killed to get this opportunity to get into this school, you do know that-"
"That this is a very prestigious African American school that isn't like a traditional HBCU that sprouted from the south, I know. I know mama." I huffed in annoyance. Mama gave me a look, and I straightened up my posture as I stared back at her.
"This is only a tour of the school, and a meeting with some of the students. Don't worry about it so much! You got accepted, that school is so highly exclusive that only like what 7 or 8 families go there? That's crazy!"
"It's 10." Gabriel replied.
"So you've been doing your research! See, you'll be there and thriving in no time." Mama said, she kissed my cheek and brushed past me heading into the kitchen.
The truth is, I had no idea how I got into this highly exclusive school because I never applied.
I mean sure my grades are decent, but not enough for the academic excellence they are looking for Odina University. I mean, tampering with admissions of ANY school is big enough to be a federal offense, so there must be some mistake.... I am damn near an outcast going to a school that doesn't seem to understand me. Blending in and not being seen is my strong suit, I'm not even sure that I have that many pictures in the yearbook this year. So as far as I'm concerned, this admissions letter shouldn't have been sent to me and there's another Gabriel McClaire out there that's missing their acceptance letter.
One things for sure, I am not gonna tell my mother about the fact that I didn't apply.
"Gabe baby, you have a week to pack. Don't put it off, and I'm sorry we're taking a few days off of your spring break." Mama yelled from the kitchen. I didn't care, it's not like people were gonna miss me or that I had spring break plans.
Small knocks were placed on the front door and I jogged downstairs to answer. I opened it and was immediately bombarded with a big hug from a person I know all too well.
"Cherilyn why do you do this to me every time you see me?" I say as she smothers me with her embrace. At least she smells like cinnamon, she always smells so good.
"You know I love to bother my best friend every chance I get! Where's mama?" She says in a cheerful tone.
"I'm in here Cher!" Mama says in the kitchen. She pushes past me and runs upstairs into the kitchen.
I sigh and close the door, and jog up to meet my mother and best friend in the kitchen.
"Gabe, you didn't tell Cher that you're gonna be out of town for the first part of the break?" She said with deep confusion. Cherilyn on the other hand was shooting daggers at my direction and I shift my weight from one leg to the other.
"I thought I did....you s-sure that I didn't tell you Cherilyn-"
"Don't start stuttering on me now Gabriel! Why didn't you tell me you gotten accepted into Odina University? That's a big deal dude!" She exclaimed. Mama started silently chucking behind her, not willing to back me up or help me in my case at all.
I blew a puff of air out of my nostrils, and smiled in a nervous manner. She narrowed her eyes at me and rolled them. I watched as she skipped into my room and I followed her in after.
She plopped on my bed and lain back, sighing dramatically. I did the same right next to her as she looked at me.
"What am I going to do with you, Gabe." She said. I looked back at her.
"You're not going to cry are you?" I said with a chuckle. She smiled and shook her head no.
"I never thought we would get to this point my dude, the last semester of high school, and you're leaving me to go to some prestigious HBCU!" She said, framing her fingers like a banner in the lights.
"I actually didn't apply. Literally I didn't even know that applications for this school even existed, like who do you know even is a student at Odina?" I said, the words started to get faster and faster as I speak. Cherilyn chuckles as I start talking.
"Yeah sure you didn't Gabe.." Cherilyn says as she sits up again. My mouth falls open and I shoot up in annoyance.
"Why would I lie about not applying to a school? Tell me how that's something people would casually lie about?" I exclaimed. She leans back away from me, I didn't realize I was getting into her face.
"Well, if you didn't, then explain how you got the letter?" She asked in a confused tone.
"I don't know. It's weird, I applied to plenty of schools that I didn't get into...but this one is the most confusing. Literally I got into Clark Atlanta, Prairie View, and Alabama and Odina wasn't nearly a school that I was thinking to even apply to...." I said, my voice trailing off.
"Those are great schools, hell I applied to one that I didn't think I was gonna get into but I did, and I think I'm going." She said with a small smile. "That's what I was coming over to tell you."
A smile slowly creeped up on my face. "Cherilyn! What school? I'm so proud of you!"
"I got into Fisk!" She said, smiling brightly from ear to ear. "I just received the package to start my housing and I'm seriously thinking about going through with it." She replied.
I grabbed her and hugged her tightly and she giggled as I squeezed her sides. She hugged me back with the same force.
"So. You're going up to New York to go and tour the campus, it's gonna be magical! Please bring me back a t shirt of your secret society school!" She said.
"Of course. You know I always bring you something back." I said with a wink.
She smiled and sprang up. "I'm gonna make it my mission to research everything you need to know about Odina. You will be an expert of this school before you go!"
"Wait, Cherilyn you don't have to do that-"
"I can and I will!" She said, running out of my room. "Bye Ms. McClaire!"
"Bye sweet heart!" She yelled before the door slammed. I jogged back down stairs and sat down on the couch.
"What are you doing? Go pack boy I am not gonna be waiting on you on Saturday when we leave!"
~
I'm gathering my items out of my locker and I slam it closed. It's not like me slamming the locker door would make a difference, there's way too many people in the hallway and it's loud. My school is a large, strange blur. There's about 2000 people and it's constantly expanding and getting smaller at the same time. I blend in, and I'm okay with that.
"Gabriel!" A familiar voice shouts.
Cherilyn walks down the hallway, it's almost like she's in slow motion. She's wearing a long, black wind breaker, mom jeans rolled up to show her gray socks and Doc Martens. I notice a few students, both men and women that gawk at her. I don't blame them though.
She's my beautiful best friend.
One thing I am bound and determined to do is to tell her I'm in love with her, but I am absolutely terrified of what she's gonna say after that. I don't want to ruin our friendship in the process. But I want to tell the prettiest girl in my life that I want her in my life forever.
The students around her are smiling and waving at her as she pasts, she acknowledges them but keeps her eyes on me. As soon as she walks up to me she smiles and hugs me like we haven't seen each other in years. She kisses my temple quickly and reaches around me to her locker. I watch her as she picks out her books for the day.
Cherilyn was a girl that I never thought I could ever be friends with. Thinking back, when she arrived to Campbell High School in the middle of Sophomore year, I don't know how she decided I was going to be her first and only friend of the time because I was so awkward.
~2 and a half years ago~
The lunch period was loud and full of chaos as usual. I usually hated this period of the day, having to choose a seat in the lunch room. I never really made any friends as a Freshman, the people I tried to get acquainted with only used me as fillers to get to their friend groups. I spot a table in the way back of the large room, the room closest to the gymnasium because no one usually sits there. I get back there and sit and slowly eat and observe the room. Everyone in the room is talking loudly and laughing, sharing stories about their lives and what the did the day before. It makes me sad at how I don't have a natural desire to want to mingle and talk to my peers, my fears of rejection and getting made fun of disrupting my thoughts.
Then I saw her.
She had literally everything in her hand, her food, a journal and pens under her arm and balled into her fist, a large book (from what I could see was the 6th Harry Potter installment), and her purse pinched by her thumb and index finger. She looked around like she needed to rush to put it all down before she drops it, then her eyes land on me. In the back of the room, all people to look at and she chose me. She smiled at me and nodded her head at me like she was asking a question, I grinned and she started speed walking to my table.
Oh shit she's walking back to me.
That was the first time that time slowed down around me, and she and I were the only ones there living in the moment. She gets to the table and everything plops down on the desk and chair all at once. I jump a bit at the sound it made.
"Hi! Thanks for letting me sit here, I thought everything was going to drop out of my hand! I'm Cherilyn what's your name?" She said, smiling brightly to reveal bright light blue braces in her mouth.
"G-Gabe." I mutter. I was too scared to even say a word.
"Nice to meet you G-Gabe!" She said in a teasing manner. I couldn't help but smile at her for being so nice when she barely knew me.
That next day, we spent hours talking and getting to know each other's lives and spaces and understanding one another.
So to fast forward to today, we have been inseparable ever since.
"Gabriel McClaire! Wake up out of your day dream please we have to go to first period!" Cherilyn says. I snap back into reality.
"Hmm oh sorry." I replied and shake my thoughts away. God, this girl gets me into this trance.
She takes off and I jog next to her, she clings to my arm and we walk into Statistics class.
"Get ready to listen to me talk nonstop about this school you're about to attend." She says, sitting down next to me on the second row.
"Why don't I have a say in this?" I say with a chuckle. She rolls her eyes in a playful manner.
"Gabe trust me. You're gonna want to go go this school, I found so many things."