“Can we please take a break from studying?” I whined, falling back onto James’ bed to stare up at the ceiling.
“Not this again,” he chuckled. “Don’t you want to ace your fall exams?”
“Yeah…but can’t we do something exciting? It is Friday, after all.”
After my stunt with the boxers, I’d been banished from the rest of the school and put into a small, muggy room underneath the school next to the wrestling gym. It was the “containment room”, as the teachers called; it was where all the juvenile students went to rot. I’d attended all my classes down there and nearly suffocated. All I could do was work, work, work. We didn’t even get lunch! And don’t even get me started about the other kids down there with me.
Ricky had given me the silent treatment for two whole days, only breaking to tell me to pry off the rest of the tampons from the ceiling. I’d finally caved by waking him up Wednesday morning with a giant breakfast sandwich from Starbucks (his favorite). It’d been hell trying to bribe Henry to drive me at six in the morning. But, it was worth it. Ricky and I were back on speaking terms.
The week had passed by brutally slow, but the celebratory high-fives and butt slaps were never ending. I couldn’t walk down the hallway without getting a “good job, Hark”. And with the official news that I was the new addition to the Stephens family, I was getting calls from tons of frantic girls trying to get gossip on Ricky. I was just wishing it would end already.
But, that was the least of my worries. James had been uptight and serious all week. I kept trying to figure out what had got him so anxious, but he wouldn’t spill. He’d persuaded me to come over today and “study”, but I knew it was a hoax. He was going to reveal something big; I just had to find out what it was.
“Like what?” he asked, a smile on his face.
“I don’t know. You’re the planner!” I exclaimed. “And I would’ve thought you’d try and put the moves on me since your parents are gone for the weekend.”
“Are you implying that I’m a pervert?” James gasped jokingly.
“No! I just thought you might want to do something other than study…” I quickly looked away from James’ face, scared of his reaction.
It was silent for a bit as James finally got the gist of what my sentence meant. I rolled over, hiding my blushing face. I felt the mattress sink and soon James’ arms were wrapped around me, tugging me to his chest.
“Emma,” he started. “I love you. I’m in this relationship to be with you. That’s all I want. And for once, I’m not asking for anything else. You mean the world to me and I don’t want to be hasty about this. We’ve only been together for a little over a month, anyways.”
“I know,” I grumbled.
“And…” James trailed off, hesitating. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”
James sat up abruptly, pulling me with him. I swiveled around so I could face him. He wouldn’t meet my eyes, but I could see there was a look of sorrow hiding inside them.
“I-I’ve got some news,” he whispered.
“What is it?” I asked, itching to finally hear this thing he’d been hiding from me all week.
James walked over to his desk, pulled out a small packet of papers from inside a cupboard, and came back to my side. He sat down, the squeals of the mattress sounding ominous. I heard him gulp and take an uneasy breath before handing the papers to me.
I clutched them tightly and began reading:
Dear Mr. Jameson Paul Wiley,
We’re pleased to inform you that you’ve been accepted into the Wendorf Military Academy for Boys. This acceptance will become active immediately after the end of the first semester at your current school. We are happy to have…
My hands shook so badly; it made it impossible to continue reading. I sucked in a shaky breath and gently placed the acceptance letter on the bed. I felt stiff and sore all of a sudden and any movement hurt.
“Emma?” James’ voice sounded far off. “Emma, are you okay?”
“What does that mean?” I whispered. “Since when did you start applying to military schools?”
“It was before we met. In fact, I applied almost a year ago. The chances of me getting in were so slim. I didn’t think it was even possible…” he explained, sliding his arms around my unresponsive body.
“I’m…” James froze, bracing himself for my reaction. “Happy for you.”
He exhaled loudly. “You mean it?”
“Yes,” I nodded numbly. “I really do. It’s your dream, isn’t it?”
“It is. It means a lot to me,” James said, bringing me down to rest on the blankets. He stroked my hair, running his fingers through my wavy locks.
“Then that’s all that matters to me,” I choked.
But then the tears came. And I couldn’t stop them. I think I might’ve just flat-out sobbed for over twenty minutes, clinging to James. By the time I decided to resurface, James’ shirt was soaked. It was so pathetic. I was so pathetic. And what did I look like to him? Some clingy, over-emotional sophomore with no structure.
“Oh, if I could get out of it, I would. I would!” James cried out. “But, this is a once in a lifetime chance. You don’t think I’m being selfish, do you?”
“Not at all,” I croaked, my throat raw.
“You’re the only one that knows, besides my parents and Leah. I haven’t even told Ricky.”
“What are you planning to do?” I asked.
“I’m planning to leave as silently as I can,” he rubbed the tears away from my face. “I don’t want to stir up anything. The last thing I want is some farewell party.”
“That’s smart,” I mumbled, not able to think of anything else to say.
“I would’ve told you earlier. But you were so happy and caught up in that prank war and…I just couldn’t bring myself to tell you. I didn’t want to crush that happiness.”
I understood. I would’ve done the exact same thing. If James had told me earlier, I probably would’ve had a complete meltdown. But now, in his arms, it seemed like everything was going to be okay.
“What about us?” I asked suddenly.
“I’ll always love you, Emma,” James said into my hair.
At that moment, I knew that this was the end. Our relationship was coming to its conclusion. It was silly to think that we could make it work, when I was going to be stuck in this small town for two more years and James was going to be overseas or in some far off land close like Narnia. There was no point in trying to keep something alive that wanted to pass on. The saying, all good things come to an end, seemed to fit this moment perfectly.
“Can I have the rest of the night with you?” I hugged him tightly.
“It’s all I want,” James smiled.
Then he kissed me. It was passionate and fierce, but concluding. I clung to the fervent part, but found myself longing for the end. It was selfish of me to hold on to him, to drag him down. James was about to start living his dream. He was ready to move on. I needed to be supportive and encouraging. This was my time to shine, too. One breakup wasn’t going to be the end of me. I was stronger than that. I’d faced death. I’d faced loss. I could stand to go through one more hardship.
Did I end that too abruptly? I hope not!
GUYS GUYS! OH NOES! JAMES IS LEAVING FOR MILITARY SCHOOL! THAT MEANS JAMEMMA IS NO MORE! Sorry, Team James. I believe you’re out of the game. (; BUT DON’T BE UPSET! There is sure to be more fun along the way. :D
Love you guys! <333 Thanks for all the support!