˗ˏˋOur Differences Sequelˊˎ˗

-1-

Life is pretty exciting once you leave high school to start a new journey.

I got accepted into Stanford, my dream school, which is unbelievably crazy.

My last two years in high school went by fast. We won the women's soccer state championship twice, and I got valedictorian.

My graduation ceremony was long and slow, but I tried my best to relish in the moment and enjoy my last few moments of being in highschool.

As soon as it was over, though, Josh and Anna planned for us to go Waffle House. And honestly, that's all I could think about for most of the ceremony.

Dylan flew out from New Jersey for my graduation, as well as his girlfriend, Julia.

They met at Princeton from taking a few of the same classes and being in the same study groups. Julia's so different than any of the girls that Dylan's been into in the past, but she was beautiful nonetheless.

Dylan looked different after two years. He had facial hair now, and he was a lot calmer and down to earth. He's matured a lot, which I was proud of him for.

We still aren't on good terms by any means, but I was hoping to change that soon.

When the ceremony ended, I met back up with my family. Dylan gave me a tight hug, despite our major lack of communication over the years. It was nice.

Everyone thought that him and Alexis would end up staying together since they had a baby, but they struggled with the long distance. Dylan broke things off with her not long after moving to New Jersey, and they don't speak much anymore unless Dylan's in town to pick up and drop off Nick.

Dad flipped his iPad around and revealed Devin's face on the screen. My face lit up instantly. We don't FaceTime much at all because of how busy he is in school.

He moved away at a weird time too. Some people assume that we're dating now, but we aren't. In fact, we've probably reverted back to being just friends because of the 2 years and the thousands of miles in distance.

Not to mention, Devin hasn't come back home since he moved away. And it's been 2 years.

We talked for a while, and then I hugged all of my relatives and people who came to see me in person. Dad had my camera around his neck, and he did the honors of taking thousands of pictures of me.

I was talking to Devin on the iPad as we walked back to the car.

"You should come visit me in California sometime." he suggested casually. "There's a lot of cool stuff out here."

I tried my hardest not to grin contagiously. I never told him that I got accepted into Stanford and would be moving to California in a few months. He might piss himself.

"Definitely! California sounds so cool."

I was over the moon about getting accepted into Stanford. I had my doubts halfway through senior year and started worrying about my credits. My application to Stanford wasn't as serious as I wanted it to be — partly because I didn't think they'd accept me at all.

By some fucking miracle, they did.

I went home after graduation and changed out of my dress and into a tshirt and shorts. Anna picked me up from my house, and we went straight to Waffle House for old time's sake.

~~~

My summer flew by in a flash.

I went on a few beach trips with Josh and Anna once we grew attached to a certain area in Florida. My parents took me to Italy for my graduation trip, and I took lots of pictures there. We also went to New York for a week because Dad had a few business meetings, and we visited Hannah while we were up there.

I felt incredibly unprepared once it was time to actually move to California. The day snuck up on me, and I wanted to throw up when I woke up that morning.

I rolled out of bed, staring in disbelief at the
packed boxes of stuff all over my bedroom. My suitcases were on the floor, full to capacity.

My family was sad to see me go. I'm the youngest child, so it's just been me and my parents for the last two years. Now I'm leaving the nest.

We hauled all of my shit out to the car, minus the moving boxes and a few suitcases. My parents hired someone to drive my car out to California along with the rest of my stuff. So I should be getting all of that within a week or so.

Dad drove me to the airport, and we listened to Elton John the whole way there. Pinball Wizard, specifically, was blasting while we drove down the interstate, doing ridiculous dance moves.

I was definitely going to miss Tennessee. Knoxville's been my home since I was born, and having to adjust to a brand new city was going to be weird and interesting. Leaving the south, in general, was bittersweet.

Dad gave me a big hug before I went into the security line.

"Just come with me." I offered with a cheeky grin. "You and Mom should pack up and move."

He scoffed. "Not a chance."

"They don't bite in California — I don't think."

"They do bite in Tennessee. And I'm keeping my ass there." he countered, making me laugh.

"That's fair."

I dreaded the idea of getting on the plane by myself and leaving. There were so many good things that I was leaving behind — my family, my friends, my house, the Merriton Taco Bell.

Stanford's Taco Bell might suck ass.

I felt pretty confident that Devin wouldn't be living there if the Taco Bell was shitty. So that put me at peace, at least a little bit.

"I'm proud of you, sweetie." Dad hugged me. "As much as I'll miss having you around all the time, you're gonna be awesome. Trust me."

"I hope so." I replied, holding back a few childish tears as the realization hit me — I was leaving my Dad. I love my Dad. So much.

He rubbed my shoulder soothingly. "You'll be just fine. Devin's out there — I told him to take good care of you."

My eyes widened. "You told him?"

"Course I did. Who else was gonna pick you up from the airport?" he chuckled at my stupidity.

He had a point, but I still hated that Devin knew. I really wanted to surprise him.

It was time for me to go through security, even though I had been stalling for a really long time. Dad hugged me again, before pestering me to make sure I had everything and didn't forget something very important.

He's a worrier.

"I have everything. I triple checked." I assured him, before grabbing my carry on suitcase. "Bye, Dad. I love you."

"Love you, sweetie." he gave me a quick peck on the cheek. "Call me if you need anything."

I made my way to the security line confidently, before it quickly dawned on me that I forgot my phone in Dad's car.

~~~