she chose to stay | 2015

Year 4 - Present

11th Grade:

Returning to school after summer vacation was somewhat fun yet challenging. I didn't want to get up early all over again, I didn't want to study, but what I most definitely wanted to do was see my friends.

This drive within me to see my friends was what motivated me to get up and go to school in the first place.

As soon as my brother and I hopped onto the bus, we both grinned at everyone on it in greeting, both nervous and excited for the approaching school year.

After reaching school, we waited by the doors of one of the outer buildings of the school. A sign (more of a sheet of paper) instructed us to go into the building and head upstairs to meet our new homeroom teachers.

And so, we walked in.

We waited for our friends in patience.

One by one, our friends entered the building from one of its three entrances.

We stood or sat at the far end of the building so that we could have privacy.

Me, being hyper around my closest friends, was hopping around like a child who was just provided with money for a gumball machine.

Suddenly, I heard my Japanese based nickname being yelled out from across the building on the other end.

I peeled my eyes away from my friends and turned around, beaming with pride when I saw who called me.

We immediately ran over to each other and embraced ourselves into a hug, laughing when we saw how people parted like the Red Sea for us. (Most likely because they didn't want their heads to be kicked by us.)

How sweet of them.

-

During Christmas break, I read the Harry Potter series.

Curious to know which Hogwarts House I was in, I logged onto Pottermore and did the Sorting Quiz.

Her love for HP is so much more than mine, but I was surprised by one thing, though. "I despise Hufflepuffs, they suck." She'd told me the other day.

Hufflepuffs are known as the house of kindness, the house of the fair and the just.

I've always believed I was a Hufflepuff since I didn't really have the qualities of the other three houses. I wasn't brave, ambitious, or smart for that matter.

"Congratulations!" I'd read aloud on the screen, "You've been sorted into Hufflepuff House!"

I was laughing like a hyena after I'd read it.

I immediately texted my best friend, who happens to be in Slytherin, and told her.

"Of all the stupid houses, WHY HUFFLEPUFF!?" She'd texted me in frustration.

"You know," I typed with an idiotic grin on my face, "I read somewhere on Tumblr that every Slytherin needs a Hufflepuff buddy, so.. Should that make up for it?"

"My BFF is a Hufflepuff. A Hufflepuff."

-

Boys. That's all I have to say about that.

I'd somehow become an ambassador in the timespan of a month into school.

The people in our grade came to understand that the two of us were inseparable, whether they liked it or not.

Because I was known for listening to many, but speaking to few, the ones who did speak to me and vice versa were my friends.

This guy friend in particular stood out from the rest.