The Jealousy Plot

29) The End of A Chapter, The Start of A New One

"And we are officially moved out!" Belle yells next to me as she dumps her last piece of crumbled paper into the trashcan beside her.

I smile next to her as I drop the last piece of trash out of my locker, an empty pack of gum. I feel amazing.

It is the last day of school and Belle and I are cleaning out our locker at the last minute, which is 2 minutes before our last class of the year.

"It feels good doesn't it?" Belle asks me as we slam our now empty lockers shut and she wraps an arm around my neck. We walk towards our last class with Mr. Solender.

"It feels weird, but in a good way" I admit. "Well all I feel is relief" Belle confesses. "This place always smells like mothballs".

"Well we'll be back here in three months" I remind her. Belle makes a face. "Do you always have to ruin the nice vibe? You're already upsetting me and we haven't even had our end of the year party at Brandon's place".

"I'm just trying to bring you back to reality Belle" I remind her. She dismisses my words with a wave. "I have no time for your common sense crap".

I laugh as we enter the room. I take my seat beside Belle and turn to my right to see Zack smiling contently at me.

I smile back at him. "Any reason you look so happy today?" I ask him. He shrugs. "With it being the last day and me having the best view in the class I have nothing to be upset about".

My smile grows as we stare, content to just look at each other, not having to speak for the other to know our thoughts. Ever sense the baseball game where Zack told me he loved me, Zack and I had gotten closer and closer.

I still haven't told him that I love him but I know I'm pretty close. Every chance I get, I make a way to see him and every time somebody makes me laugh the first thing I think is man, Zack would love that joke. I was developing serious, honest to god feelings for Zack Woods.

My attention turns to the front when Mr. Solender walks in and writes a word on the board. Goodbyes. Danny immediately starts booing him.

"Booo Mr. Solender. You are the one teacher trying to actually teach on the last day. Give us a break".

"Mr. Warren, at the beginning of the semester I promised you something. I promised that I would teach you something every day and I'm keeping that promise. So in other words, cry a river and get over it. You're learning something" Mr. Solender says. Danny shrugs and sinks down into a comfortable position.

"Goodbyes" Mr. Solender starts. "Every story has one. Whether it's sentimental or sudden or even scary, every story has to end at some point. Luckily for you, your stories aren't over but you are ending a chapter in the book of your life".

The class stays dead silent as Mr. Solender continues. "Whether this was a good chapter or the worst one yet is your opinion but I think everyone agrees that the thing we remember the most about a story is the ending. How do you want to end this chapter? Do you want a perfect ending with the sun setting beautifully or do you want a surprising ending where you dive headfirst into a sudden idea?"

"Whether you want a memorable ending or a subtle ending every ending has a goodbye. There are many goodbyes you say throughout life. Some goodbyes can be relieving and some can be almost unbearable. Some goodbyes you don't want to happen and some you don't mean".

I turn towards Luke but he doesn't look at me. Since the game he has been doing exactly what I asked. He hasn't talked to me once. In fact, he never even looks at me. I turn back around towards Mr. Solender wondering for the first time if Luke and I's goodbye was one I was relieved about or one I didn't mean.