The Absurdity of Fairy Tales

seventeen

..

I have swam too far to shore

To let my past pull me underwater;

Weeks ago I hit rock bottom, and

I bounced back twice as strong.

Now my future is mine and only mine

And no one can take it away from me.

..

You can tell that school's ending soon because suddenly, the entire graduating class dissolves into a puddle of emotions. Yearbooks are carried around underneath arms, ready to be whipped out and signed at any given moment. Girls are crying openly and with little provocation. Teenage boys are expressing emotion in the only way they seem to know how—by punching their friends on the arm and saying, "hey, man, you're cool."

I'm not one of the feral kids who attack their unsuspecting prey in the halls for a signature, but I still ask my friends to sign. Cal writes I SHIP YOU AND NICK (AKA NIRIELLE) FOREVER. PLEASE STAY IN TOUCH ALWAYS BECAUSE YOU'RE ONE OF MY FAVORITE PEOPLE EVER (I wrote you're an idiot, but you're one of my best friends and you're very, very fabulous and I love you a lot. Don't forget to invite me to your fancy-shmancy Broadway shows when you're famous, okay? P.S. just this once: yes, you are awesome). Del writes you're one of the best friends I've ever had. You're so brave, Arielle. Don't let anyone ever get you down. Eli adds, thank you for being my friend. You're the least weird out of all of them. Stay cool, or whatever it is that you're supposed to write in yearbooks. Nolan says, You make fun of me a lot, but you're not half-bad. Thanks for being here. Nick, strangely cryptic, said he'd sign it on the day we graduate and not a minute before.

Today, however, is a yearbook-free day, mostly because it's prom day and I'm at home, planning on sleeping until two. Unfortunately, I don't count on Lexi poking me awake at eleven.

"Get up," she demands, plopping herself down in my desk chair.

I make some weird half-groan, half-whimper noise and turn my face into my pillows, hoping she'll leave me alone. Not likely. Lexi just rips the covers off and starts poking me again.

"Why?" I finally snap, shoving her hands away and sitting up. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Because you have prom," she reminds me, rolling her eyes. "And I'm sure as hell not sitting around and listening to my brother freak out all day."

"You could've given me some notice," I tell her, fighting the urge to lie back down.

"Nick said he'd tell you!"

I reach over to grab my phone off my desk. Sure enough:

From: Nicholas the Nerd

So apparently my sister is breaking into your house to make you "super-duper hot"

(for the record, I already think you're super-duper hot)

"So it seems," I say, sighing. "What's on the menu first?"

"Well, first is you brushing your teeth because holy Jesus, does your breath smell," Lexi answers immediately.

I huff, but get out of bed and start toward the bathroom obediently. "You see, this is why you're not my favorite Rigas sibling."