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*1 month later…*
I'm in Ms. Alba's classroom, taking up my remedial exam for today. I have made it to this very moment, I can't back down here.
"I already have high hopes you can finish that quickly, Mr. Alrose. Your grades will come up quickly thanks to your satisfactory results." She smiled, having her full trust in me that I'll ace this.
"I've studied everything in the remedial modules for this moment. Doing my best has always been my goal." I confidently answered each question one by one.
"Then my hopes are placed in the right spot. By the way, when you're done, meet Sir C in the faculty. He has something important to tell you." She announced while opening her phone and browsing social media. Important? What could be important right now?
"I will meet him and see what the discussion is." I got curious, so I quickly worked on the exam papers.
Luckily, I managed to finish the exam in 4 and a half hours. Note that the remedial sessions I am taking cover ALL subjects in the 4th Quarter. To finish all of them is painful and could take a day or two to actually finish for an ordinary student.
"Alright, you're done with remedials. Grade 10 is within your reach, Mr. Alrose." She put my remedial exam papers on the desk.
"One question. Have you thought on a potential career path, Mr. Alrose?" She asked the million dollar question.
Unfortunately, like with Serra, I do not have a million dollar answer.
"I... am still deciding." I answered, hesitantly. I never had my future planned out for me yet. I can pursue many things but choosing one of them is difficult.
The curse of being academically great, I suppose.
"There is still time to decide. After all, you're great in almost every subject." She smiled.
"Yes… I'll be going now, Ms. Alba." I grabbed my bag and prepared to leave.
"So long, Mr. Alrose." I left the room.
I did it. I finished the remedials. All that's left is to get my report card next week and things will be smooth sailing from here.
And school already starts next month, time flies so fast…
I then went to the faculty room. And surely enough, Sir C was indeed waiting on his desk. I let myself in.
"Ah, Alrose! Good timing. Have a seat. This is important." I brought a chair close to Sir C's desk.
"Is something up?" I sat down and listened to what the news was.
"Yes. I've been meaning to tell you that I visited a school in Canada during my summer break. I wanted to be a teacher in that school for a year, or maybe permanently if I feel satisfied teaching there." Sir C visited a school in Canada? That must be great.
"That's nice, but why am I hearing that?" I was curious to know how I am involved.
"During my visit, they asked me if I have any particular students to attend their education there. And it so happens…" Sir C grabbed something and presented a piece of paper on his desk.
I took a look.
"From: Garrison's Public University
Dearest Renn Alrose,
Greetings, it has been brought to our attention that you have been recommended by Sir/Ma'am Christian Geralde to study in this top-rated university. You have become a person of interest at our university, and we'll be looking forward to seeing you in the upcoming new term.
Garrison's Public University looks for students who can reach the top, use their minds to the best of their ability, and reach new heights that they never reached before. Minds will be tested to see if you can make the passing grade average of 90 in all subjects from our Entrance Exam happening on: July 15, 2023.
We continue to shape young, hardworking minds, and we hope to shape yours to a bright future!
Signed by:
WILBUR GARRISON
Principal"
Huh? What? Is Sir C for real?! I had to rub my eyes, quickly blinked, and pinched myself to see if I was dreaming.
"(Ow… Painful pinch…)" I was NOT dreaming…
"From the look on your face, I can see you aren't expecting to see this. This is indeed a letter of recommendation. In short, you are going to be transferring to a nice school in Canada. Here is a brochure if you want to see how the school looks." Sir C gave me a brochure about the school.
Blue, Red, and White… It's a very wide school extended to several branches in Canada and has also different sections in the school for every single college career track. The main branch in Toronto is where I was recommended to. This is all happening WAY TOO DAMN FAST!
"S-Sir… I… I really don't know what to say… I'm happy but… I made precious memories here in Emerald Houston. I don't know how to feel leaving them all behind…" I pushed the paper back to Sir C.
But surprisingly, he pushes it back to me.
"I had a feeling you were going to say this. I'm going to give you some time to decide. And when the time comes, call me. Your future is not mine to decide, choosing immediately will make you regret everything. So that's why I want you to take your time." Time to decide… I needed that. It's all out of the blue that choosing to refuse now will make me regret spending my efforts in a school I am interested in. At the same time choosing to accept now will make me regret leaving everyone on such a short notice. I'm now
"I just need to do some unfinished business, then I will call you by then." I stood up, in conflict on what to choose for now.
"Whatever answer, I will support you in every step of the way. High hopes for you, Alrose." Sir C gently patted my head.
It felt comforting for teachers like him to show full support towards their students.
I smiled, determined.
"Thank you." I walked out of the faculty room and exited the school.
To leave or to stay…
That's the choice I have to make now. It's really difficult.
I pulled out my phone and contacted someone.
But they weren't answering, so I tried again.
"Renn, you know I have my training this week. This better be important." Vance answered. Thank goodness.
"And it is. Meet me at Greg's Restaurant on lunch break." I don't want to waste too much time. I'm very serious on this.
"Alright… I'll be there at exactly 12:30 pm." I looked at the time, it was 11:50 am. Luckily, the restaurant is running distance from here, so I have no problems.
I quickly ran my way to the restaurant. I even ordered my usual tofu rice bowl and waited.
"There you are."
He arrived 30 minutes later. He proceeded to order the same rice bowl I ordered.
I guess he is a tofu lover as well.
"I had to excuse myself when you called. You could have called me at a better time, right?" He was slightly frustrated. His mentor must have been hard on him.
"There is no better time than this. I wanted to tell you something important. It all happened so fast…" I then explained to him about what happened at the faculty room earlier.
Vance was surprised when he heard the news.
"CANADA?! Renn, this is a VERY BIG OPPORTUNITY! You MUST take it! You've been a hard worker throughout your whole life, this is something YOU CANNOT MISS!" Then he got really excited, and slammed the table. He got everyone's attention for a bit, but then things went back to normal after a bit.
"But I made so many memories here… I don't… Want to regret having to leave them behind…" I looked down, fiddling my fingers from having trouble deciding. Vance calmed down and sighed.
"I don't mind whatever choice you make, but I don't want you to make any regrets. Follow your heart." My heart?
I put my hand on my heart and think about what I wanted.
Making the choices I want is what matters most. But for now, it's not about the choice. It's about the regret afterward. So after a while of thinking, I looked at Vance, decided on what to do from here.
"I… I Wanted to take the opportunity to go to a new school, but I also wanted to stick with the friends I made. It's just so hard to choose..." I was getting stressed having to grasp my head and get my thinking straight.
"Then, I'll give you some advice. Spend your moments here with the people you love. They'll understand and support you in whatever choice you make, so give it your all when you make your choice." Vance smiled with confidence.
"Thank you." After that, the employee served our tofu bowls and we ate in peace.
After that, we both stood up.
"Anywhere you'd like to go? You can use this time to call while I am on lunch break." I already decided on that one.
"The Megaplex Mall." I quickly formed a group call with Syrra and Serra.
"I have to sacrifice one hour of my duty after lunch break. You owe me big time, Mr. Alrose." Vance felt slightly agitated again and is going to get a hearing from his mentor again… I'm sorry, but I have to make sure I don't regret anything.
"I'll make up for it when I get back." I hoped that those two would answer.
"You'd better." Vance quickly went out and prepared his car.
"Renn? Why'd you suddenly call?"
"Sup."
The two answered.
"We're going back to the Megaplex Mall to hang out. Just the three of us. Get over here to Greg's Restaurant now!" I proposed.
"Oh! You mean we're going to have fun there again? Alright, let's do this!"
"Give me 5 minutes."
They both hung up. And now we wait for them.
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*1 hour later...*
We now arrive at the Megaplex. It's my 2nd time being here with Serra and Syrra.
"Good to be here again…" Agreed, Syrra.
"We're not going to go shopping this time, unless you want something from me. We're going to have fun today." Just fun, nothing else.
"What fun are we going to do?" Serra was curious as we entered.
"I was thinking the ice skating ri-"
"YES!"
I got interrupted by Syrra, who was excited about it.
"Should we continue with that one? I don't know how to skate..." Serra doesn't know how to ice skate.
Me too, Serra. Me too.
"We'll have to try it!" She excitedly led the way. We followed her so we didn't lose track of her.
We then spotted the ice skating rink. We took a look inside to see a handful of people having fun skating or learning how to skate.
I looked at how much the tickets costed:
2 hours: $150/person
Unlimited: $375/person
Additional purchases:
Penguin: $15/hr
Instructor: $50/hr
Aside from the tickets, there are additional fake penguins that will assist us in getting used to skating.
"T-posing penguin… Looks cute…" Serra has her eyes set on the penguin. It's the first time I ever seen her focus on an object she interests in.
Meanwhile we all don't know how to skate, so I'm thinking of paying for an instructor.
"How about we spend 2 hours here? How does that sound?" I asked and they both nod.
"Sure! Can we get an instructor as well? Learning to ice skate here will be fun for all of us!" Syrra was getting more and more excited. I hope it will be fun… I might fall from lack of experience, Syrra.
So I went to the cashier and paid for 3 "2-hour tickets", a penguin for Serra, and an instructor so that we won't end up stumbling so much.
We went in and grabbed helmets and ice-skating shoes. Serra chose not to wear any helmets.
"You might want to wear the helmet…" I was concerned seeing Serra without one.
"It stinks." She bluntly responded. That can't be helped, the management probably couldn't think of how to remove the stinky odor from the helmets. Syrra was okay as long as she had head protection.
So I just wore the helmet as well. We wore our skates and I went on the ice, trying my best not to slip. The two followed, with a penguin given to Serra so she went skating to the middle immediately.
"Greetings, valued customer!"
I was immediately greeted by someone, skating backwards towards me.
"Whoa. She's good…" You're wrong, Syrra. She's better than good!
Syrra and I were amazed by how she skated here. She bowed, still keeping her posture straight on the ice.
"Ms. Celestia, at your service. I'll be teaching you the basics of skating! Weird, there should be the three of you here…" She looked for Serra, and she's chilling with her penguin in the middle of the rink. She appeared to be stuck.
Wait… That name… I immediately put my finger on my chin, thinking if this is a coincidence having the same last name as her.
"Wait… Are you… Cassandra Sophia's mother?" I couldn't help but ask the question. She was surprised about what I said.
"Ah, I know you…" I have a feeling she's going to defend her daughter…
I braced for it, with eyes closed.
"You're… The Alrose that popped over the news! I had to disown my daughter because of what she did!" Yep... I'm such a bad bo-
Wait a minute, I opened my eyes and I was surprised to hear how reasonable that sounded.
"You disowned her?!" Syrra was shocked. Ms. Celestia nods with disappointment.
"I'd never thought she'd be found guilty of doing malicious acts to you. As a working single mother, I had to do what's reasonable. She'll be facing 12 years of community discipline and service in exchange for the fine. She'll be strictly guided by the commanding officers in charge." Normally, I'm against mothers disowning their children,
But knowing that Cassandra walked right into that one, there is no denying that she deserved it since she disappointed her mother to this point.
"Anyway, enough of that! Let's get to the basics! Follow my lead!" She began demonstrating a simple "walking on ice" that seemed easy to follow.
Syrra and I took it slow and followed her as we got to Serra. We then continued learning from that point. Slowly but surely, Syrra and I got used to skating on our own. Serra didn't want to let go of the penguin even as the hour passed.
"She seems to have gotten attached to that thing. They'll be taking that penguin back soon." I giggled at Serra.
"Pleasure doing business with you three. I think I can receive payment to extend that penguin of hers." Since we're all having fun here for the rest of our time, I gave her additional payment.
"Oh, and I added a $15 bonus for you for teaching us well." I smiled with gratitude.
"Why thank you, I appreciate that! Now go on and have fun!" She skated away. Then, I went to Syrra, who was talking with Serra and her penguin.
I skated my way towards them.
"Huh? Oh, hey! Thank you so much for taking the both of us here! Skating sure is fun!" She laughed, enjoying her precious time spent here.
"Penguin's now my best friend." That's all that Serra can think about right now. I found that cute.
"It was all my idea, Syrra. Don't mention it!" I posed confidently, arms crossed. also having a blast myself.
"Wanna skate again? Maybe on a holiday, or maybe after a test?" As she asked the question, my confidence became shock. I froze on the spot.
She wanted to skate again… With Serra and… Me… This is problematic.
The two are now looking at me, wondering if I'll be able to skate with them… They don't know that I can't…
"Oh… Sure!" Without second thoughts, I blurted out, trying my best to retain the smile I had earlier.
"Yey! I'll race you!" She started skating ahead.
"I don't think racing is a good idea!" Yet, I went on anyway, trying to catch up with her.
We went on for a while, racing one another.
"You can't ca-"
At that moment, Syrra was careless when it came to her speed. She then began losing balance, and quickly fell over the ice floor.
"Syrra!"
I watched as she slid up to the wall, hitting her head. Luckily, she was protected by the helmet, but I still worry about her other injuries. I made a stop immediately as I was also approaching the wall.
She was crying.
"Hold on! Let me help you!" I helped her up, and noticed her right upper arm had cuts from the ice, bleeding down.
This is bad.
"What the… We need to get her wounds checked." I looked at Serra who quickly made her way here and assisted me carry Serra out the rink.
We all took off our skating shoes and wore our rubber shoes. Serra assisted Syrra on putting on hers. We then quickly assisted Syrra in the clinic.
And thank goodness, the nurse was on duty.
"Goodness me, your wounds! Come here!" The nurse immediately began to treat her wounds.
Serra tugged my shoulder sleeve.
"Yes?" I asked her, and she pointed towards the door as if she wanted me and her to be alone outside the clinic. I stood up and went out with her.
What's on her mind this time…
"Serra, what is it?" I asked.
"Did you bring us here to hang out, or were there other reasons?" She was upset with me. She saw right through me earlier.
"I…" I couldn't speak any further. I honestly don't know what to tell her now other than "I can't skate with them anymore."
"If you can't tell me, I'll leave and never get involved with you ever again." I was honestly frightened by her response.
I ended up sitting down on the floor, looking down with disappointment.
"I've been recommended to study in Canada… I wanted to spend a lot of time with you two..." I told her my real reason.
"That's it?" I nodded at her, hoping she won't leave.
I then heard her footsteps and she sat down behind me.
"So… Based on what you planned for today… Your choice is clear." Upon hearing that, I let out a sigh.
"I wanted to make this a fun day with no regrets, only to suddenly create more…" It's really disappointing how stupid I am sometimes.
"Fun day with no regrets… You're… Really not clear on that choice? Then I'll be blunt with you. You should have just told us from the start. Now look at you, regretting your choices now. I thought you were smarter than this." And the thing is… She's right.
"Smarter than this? I don't even consider myself as someone smart… I only got here from working hard. There is a lot I don't know. People say I'm all that, when in reality I'm only just decent. Right now, you know more there is to life… More than what I know…" I shamefully looked down. Being studious doesn't define me as someone intelligent. It means I only know what's written more than what's unwritten. I don't understand everything...
Serra let out a sigh, then stood up.
"Give me your choice at the end of the day. Once you make your choice, you will stick to that choice. And once you do…" She stood up and held out her hand.
"We'll support you."
I looked up at her, feeling enlightened by her words. I grabbed her hand and got up.
"Thank you." Honestly, she's been quite enlightening ever since back then. She's grown so much since we first met. I couldn't have been happier to see her like this.
"At the end of the day, you're still a weakling pest who can't decide for himself. You still need to grow up, brother." She punched my shoulder.
"Ow… I definitely will…" As we were done conversing, Syrra exited the clinic.
"Sorry for initiating that race…" She felt bad for us, fiddling her bandage.
"As long as you're okay, that's all that matters to us." I smile at her.
"You should be careful next time." Rare for Serra to say that.
"Aww… I will, Serra! It was still a fun time, where should we go next?" Even after her injury, she is still excited to have fun.
Classic Syrra.
"Sports Center? I was interested at the Archery and thought I should try it." As I suggested that, Serra pulled my sleeve. She's also suddenly interested.
"Let's go then?" She went on ahead and we both followed her. Serra doesn't want to let go of my sleeve. She was dead set on archery.
And so, we went to have fun at the sports center. Archery was fun, Serra performed better than us by getting 3 bullseyes. She went on to join us in bowling, and this time I ended up getting a lucky turkey. I managed to outscore the two. There was also tennis, where Syrra outscored us for having high stamina, and spent the rest of our time and almost all my money in the arcade where Syrra couldn't help but keep asking me for tokens.
We were having so much fun, but wasted so much money… Rest in peace, my wallet...
After hours, we finally decided to go back home, on the train. The two ended up tired and slept on my shoulders. They have used all their energy today.
"(These two… Honestly… What am I going to do without them…)" I looked out at the sky, deep in thought.
What am I really going to do without them? My joy is right here, just being here with them. I'm happy to see them by my side. But I do realize one thing:
"(I need room to grow…)"
I ended up relying on them more than them relying on me. I have been the same character in their eyes. People kept telling me to be myself, but can I really be satisfied this way?
That's where my thoughts currently lie.
And then more time passed and we made it back to Syrra's house.
"Most fun day I had in a while… Thanks a lot, Renn! To think this is how you'd celebrate the last day of your remedial period…" Syrra opened the gate to her home.
"I had to go out with a bang. Inviting the both of you is the least I could do." I smiled at her, happy that she enjoyed this day.
"Alright, see you tomorrow!" She waved at us, and we waved back to her as she went inside her door.
As she went to rest, both Serra and I walked to the park. We both sat down on a bench.
"So… I gave you a whole day to choose." And that whole day was over. I sighed.
"It was quite difficult to make the choice. I had to think about it so much on the way back." I looked up the sky, really serious about the choice given to me. As Vance said:
"*(To see a friend go is just tragic…)*"
It's always tragic to see someone you cherish leave… It's heartbreaking whenever someone leaves. But the opportunity... It's so big...
"And… Have you made your decision?" The choice I end up taking…
Staying here, making so many memories with my best friends and staying happy…
Or…
Moving to another place and bringing myself to experience something new…
A difficult choice.
I took a deep breath, thought about it for a while, then smiled confidently as I finalized my choice.
"Yes."
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