Iris and the List

10k Celebration one-shot

SENIOR YEAR

It was October of our senior year of high school. This year was much quieter than our junior year had been, and to my worry, we seemed to be growing apart. I couldn't figure out where it went wrong. At the end of the school last year we had all been on great terms, after Colton and I made up and stuff. Ginger and Rory had been going strong, Colton and I remained friends, and Bradley and Bee had been on the path to romance. It was the dawning of a new era.

And then we all got separated for the summer, which was probably for the best because we all had amazing experiences but in hindsight probably wasn't the best for the rebirth of a squad. I had gone off to London with my aunt, (it had been amazing, in case you were wondering), Rory went to his summer program, Ginger to California, and Colton to Maine. Bradley and Bee had stayed home but Bee had been grounded and had barely seen the light of day so it almost was like she was gone. We were growing distant, sort of.

It was just hard to explain. I was as good of friends with everyone as ever but it was like their bonds with each other were crumbling. I had tried asking the prime offenders (Bee, Rory, and Bradley) about it but they all denied everything and just cited various responsibilities that were taking their attention. Their excuses were quite reasonable, college applications, musicals, essays, scholarships, etc. But Ginger, Colton, and I were dealing with the same things and had managed to stay friendly friends.

Maybe I was just overthinking it. Nothing lasts forever, especially not high school friendships. People grow apart, they change their minds about the people they were once close to. I knew it would happen eventually, I just never thought it would happen now.

I sighed, leaning my chin on my palm. Right now I was sitting on my sanctuary, the roof. The school had attempted to restrict access to it, but everyone's parents (most of them alumni with fond memories of the rooftop themselves) complained, and it had been reopened to student use. My friends and I were really the only ones who ever went up here, anyway so it was still peaceful.

"What's on your mind, Iris?" Rory asked.

"Look who left the library for once." I said.

He sat down next to me and breathed in the fall air.

"That's not fair. I have colleges to apply too, and lots of essays to write. My dreams are important; I'm not going to sacrifice them to hang out with my friends." Rory said.

"Of course they are. Nobody wants you to achieve your dreams more then I do. I just wish you had more time for your old friend, that's all."

"It's just stressful and time consuming. There's hundreds of decisions to make, and I keep doubting I'm making the right ones. Being a senior is more stressful than it looks." he sighed.

"Rehearsal break! I mean I can't talk, because I'm saving my vocals, but I'm here." Bee said.

She collapsed onto the ground, which had to have been painful because it was like cement or whatever.

"What are we even doing here? Schools over. It's 6:00 on a Friday night. How have we not been kicked out?" Rory asked.

I shrugged. Our school tended to be pretty lax on security, which would probably backfire eventually.

"Well I'm here for rehearsal, a school sanctioned event, and you're using the library which is open until eight. The only one who really shouldn't be here is Iris." Bee said.

That was probably true. I just hadn't felt like going home. Netflix wasn't always enough company for me. Mom was always working, now that she was full time at the hospital again. Percy rarely came home, busy (and apparently hard at work) finishing up school.