The first thing Toby heard was the pop of the cork. The second thing he heard was the sound of the fizzle of the drink, followed closely by about ten groans in the crowd. Matt's excitement had gotten the better of him, and some of the liquid was spilling out of the bottle and on to the lawn.
It was the first day of summer, and this summer was especially meaningful for Toby and his friends. When their last exam concluded yesterday, they were officially finished with high school and moving on to the next chapter of life, wherever that might take them.
For some, like Toby, the choice was simple. He had applied and was accepted to the University of British Columbia, where he would start in the coming September. He was excited about the idea of university and all the opportunities that came with it.
For others, the path started to split as more options presented itself. Some wanted to take a year off and travel abroad. Some were finished with school and were ready to start working full time. Some wanted to explore their passions in areas such as music or writing.
As everyone was about to head off in separate direction in a few months' time, they came together for a party on this day to celebrate their time in high school and also to bid people farewell. Toby felt mixed emotions as he analyzed the faces in the crowd, knowing that some of them might be away for an extended period of time.
Matt was one of those people. The free spirited host was headed down to Colombia for a four month volunteer position before moving over to Ecuador for another four months. South America was always high on Matt's bucket list, so this series of events made sense to Toby. Still, it was going to be weird not having Matt and his positive energy around.
Aside from being the Energizer Bunny of the group, Matt was also frequently the host of their gatherings, case in point. His family was generous in offering up their house for a variety of events. Toby and the others had been to this spacious residence so many times that the address automatically stuck in their minds.
1712 Acadia Road.
Everyone knew where the house was. The neighborhood might have been complex, but as frequent visitors, they knew the directions better than any GPS system. Muscle memory, perhaps.
With Matt leaving for South America in a matter of weeks, this party was going to be the last event as this household for a while. Someone else was going to be responsible for rounding up those staying in Vancouver and gathering them at a different venue.
Toby walked around the yard and engaged in some short conversations with those that he knew was leaving. Kyle was traveling east to study at the University of Toronto next semester. Dillon was packing his bags to work in the oil fields of Alberta. Bridget was taking a semester abroad in Denmark.
It was bittersweet for Toby to watch everything unfold in front of him. On one hand, he was extremely proud of his friends' successes. He had no doubt that each and every one of them were going to accomplish incredible things. On the other hand, he had spent the past three years getting to know everyone, and he wasn't ready to watch them leave just yet.
He had felt like an outsider at the beginning. The new kid from Revelstoke. It was difficult for him to ease himself into the routines of the other students, since most of them already had premade friend groups from their junior high days. The first few months were rather tough.
But he had Megan.
She was his first new friend. For the first few weeks, she helped him settle in at school and in the city. Eventually, through her connections, Toby was able to make other friends and develop his own social network. Which, perhaps unsurprisingly, looked remarkably similar to Megan's.
That was why Toby felt comfortable with his outlook, even though people were heading in different directions. No matter what happened, he knew that Megan and him were nearly inseparable. Both of them were heading to university together next fall. It was the next chapter of their ever growing friendship.
Speaking of Megan, the blonde had quietly sidled up to Toby. With a plate of food in one hand and a cup of sparkling juice in another, she was definitely enjoying herself at this party. She had always been one to make the most of any situation.
Toby noticed that Megan seemed happier. It had been a few weeks since the Trent incident and that time had helped to alleviate some of Megan's sadness. That was an encouraging improvement, but Toby remained cautious about being overly optimistic. He didn't want to see Megan get hurt again.
During a lull in the conversation, Megan tapped Toby on the shoulder. "Hey, did you pick out your courses for next year yet?"
"Some, but not all," Toby responded. "I'm waiting on a few electives. They are currently full but I'm hopeful that someone will drop it."
"Which ones?"
"Introductory psychology is one that I'm really hoping to get."
Megan flashed a sly grin. "I'm in that class."
"The afternoon class with Mr. Casselman?"
"The one and only."
A mixture of shock and disbelief came over Toby's face. "How?"
"I woke up early on the enrollment date, and once the course selection portal opened up at ten, I locked in all of my required and electives courses. I'm set for the semester," Megan responded with a playful smugness.
Toby groaned. "That was the week I caught the flu. I accidentally slept in because of the medicine. When I woke up, I was already a few hours late to log in and choose my courses. Most of the popular electives were already gone at that point."
"Psychology is quite a popular elective."
Toby frowned. "Now I'll never get in."
"Don't worry." Megan placed a hand on Toby's shoulder to comfort him. "There's still a few months left until school starts in the fall. I'm sure somebody will drop the class between now and then."
"I hope so."
"Even if we're not in the same class, we'll still find some other time to catch up," Megan promised.
Toby was relieved to hear this. He hadn't really worried about missing the psychology class up until this point. There were quite a number of semesters to go before graduation. He could have taken it at a later time.
It was Megan that he didn't want to miss.
It was always about her. Even since Toby met her at the beginning of grade ten, he knew that she was important to him. Important enough to influence his decision making process. Toby would have bent over backwards to secure a spot in that psychology class if that it was the only way to see Megan. With this promise, he didn't need to.
"Lunch breaks?"
"Every day," Megan assured.
There were a lot of uncertainties heading into university, but Toby was glad to have Megan by his side as they embark on this new journey. Everything was going to be different once again. The buildings, the people, and even the timetables. Having a close friend around was invaluable. Toby couldn't imagine how someone like Bridget must feel. There were some drastic changes that she would have to face alone.
Toby glanced over at Megan, who was digging into a piece of cake. He wondered whether she felt the same way about this next phase as he did.
"Are you nervous?"
"About?"
"University."
The corners of Megan's lips quirked up. "Are you?"
"A little bit," Toby admitted. "There's a lot of unknowns. I don't know how to feel about change when I don't know what is going to change."
"That's a good point."
"You still haven't answered my question," Toby pointed out.
Megan set her fork down on her plate. "Well, I don't know how to describe my feelings. On one hand, I'm excited. University isn't supposed to be as structured as high school. There's a lot of opportunities to try different things. I can't wait to see everything that university has to offer. On another hand, I'm nervous like you. I've heard horror stories and I've wondered whether that would happen to me. Not everyone adapts well to the change."
Toby knew what Megan was talking about. Occasionally, he would hear about university students committing suicide, usually around exam season. The stress was overwhelming for some people.
Megan noticed Toby's glum expression and quickly added, "I think we'll be fine. At least we have each other. If anything happens to us, we can talk about it and work things out together."
As always, it seemed like Megan just knew all the right things to say. Having that support system was important. Toby glanced around at the rest of his friends. They were one of the reasons why Toby enjoyed his three years at Magee.
Although they were now at the figurative fork in the road, where people were about to take different paths for the first time, Toby knew he could still count on their support. They were just a call or a message away.
Besides, he still had Megan. She was his main pillar of support. No matter what happened, Toby knew he could confide in her.
There was a lot ahead of them. University, for one, but also things like taxes and mortgages down the road. That was a part of the growing up process. It might not be easy, but with Megan by his side, Toby felt comfortable for whatever challenge awaited him.
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It's been a while! Sorry for the wait but this chapter is finally out! With the release of Acadia, this concludes the first flashback (high school) phase. What does everyone think of this segment? Character development, plot, everything?
As always, how does the writing fit in with the music? Is there anything that needs to be tweaked? Let me know!
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