The Tapes; A 13 Reasons Why Fanfiction

Acceptance/Rejection

Y/n's POV

"Any word from Stanford yet?" my mother asked me as I sat down to eat breakfast. 

"Uh, no. Not yet," I answer and spread grape jelly on my toast. 

"Well, I'm sure you'll get the news soon. Besides, you're a shoo in," my father declared. I gave them both a small smile and started eating, not wanting to continue the conversation any more. Don't get me wrong, I love my parents. However, I still didn't know if I wanted to go to Stanford or not. Going would make my parents really happy. On the other hand, is it really what I wanted? At school, Ani was finally back, and she met up with me by my locker.

"Hey," Ani greeted. "I got my Stanford acceptance letter this morning. Did you get one too?"

"I actually haven't gotten a letter yet," I tell her and shove some books in my locker. "But congrats, you deserve it."

"Thanks. I'm sure your letter will be coming in any day now. And you're gonna get in too," Ani assured me.

"Yeah," I murmur. "I'll uh, I'll see you later." A few minutes after I left my locker, I passed by the dean's office. It was apart of my daily routine. Today though, something was off, and that was because Zach had just exited the doors. "Hey. You were just in Dean Foundry's office. Everything okay? What was that all about?"

"Nothing," Zach lied.

"Zach," I say. 

"If I don't get my grades up, I'm going to have to repeat senior year," Zach revealed. 

I frowned. "What? Zach, if you needed help studying, or if you needed a tutor, you could have come to me. I would have helped. You know I would've." 

"It's not that I needed help," Zach spoke. 

"Then what is it about?" I inquire.

"I just don't give a fuck about my education anymore, okay?" Zach responded.

"Hey!" I exclaim and grab his arm to stop him from walking away. "What's going on with you this year? I mean, this was supposed to be the best year of our lives, but you've been acting completely different. This isn't like you." 

"Maybe I'm acting different because life is so fucked up, and I don't give a shit about anything anymore," Zach proposed. "I was never going to be anything important anyways." 

"Come on. Don't say that," I lecture. "You can still get your grades up and graduate with the rest of us, and you can still get into an amazing college. You used to talk about becoming a marine biologist. You can still do that." 

"When are you going to understand that I'm not like you, Y/n? You can come back from some fucked up shit and pretend like everything is normal. I can't. Hannah Baker killed herself because of me. I beat up Bryce, and now he's dead. Monty was blamed for a crime he didn't commit and was killed in prison. That shit was partially my fault, and I don't think I'll ever get over it," Zach told me.

"Zach I-"

Zach cut me off. "No, it's okay. You should uh, you should get to class. I don't want to hold you back anymore than I already have."

"I just saw what happened between you and Zach," Diego notified me as he joined me in my walk to class. "Everything okay?"

"As if you even care, Diego," I spit at him. "Why are you so invested in my business? More importantly, why are you so invested in Zach? Beating him up the other night? Really? What, does that make you feel more like a man or something?"

"He beat up Bryce. He got what he deserved," Diego defended.

"Bryce was a rapist," I remind him. "And you don't know what the fuck you're talking about. Stay out of our business."

"Y/n," Diego started.

"Fuck off, Diego!" I seethe and begin to walk away, only to turn around for a split second. "And his dick is actually larger than average. It's definitely larger than yours from what I can tell."

................................

The next morning, I didn't want to go to school. I didn't even want to get out of bed. All I could think about was Zach. I mean, our relationship had been strong for the longest time. And then senior year came around and messed everything up. Finally, after what felt like forever, I climbed out of bed and pulled on some clothes. Downstairs, I met my parents at the breakfast table, and both of them had huge smiles on their faces.

"Good morning. What's up with you guys?" I implore.

"Look what came for you in the mail this morning," my mother instructed and handed me a large envelope. I took it from her hands and flipped it around, and at the sight of the Stanford logo, my heart skipped a beat. This was it. The moment of truth. Either I would get accepted or rejected. And honestly, I didn't know which one I would get, or which one I was hoping for. I took a deep breath before opening the envelope, pulling out the first letter. My eyes scanned over the paper, all while a huge grin spread across my face.

"I got in," I announce. "Holy shit. I actually got in."

"We're so proud of you!" my father cheered as him and my mother each gave me a hug. "And what did we tell you before? You were a shoo in."

"Why don't we call you in sick from school?" my mother suggested. "Your father and I both have the shift off, and we can celebrate if you want." 

"Yeah. That sounds fun," I agree.

"Why don't you call Zach? Tell him you got in," my father instructed.

"Um, he's probably busy getting ready for school. I'll talk to him later," I say, not wanting to reveal that the two of us actually got into a small argument the other day.

That night, I found out that there was a riot at the school. An actual riot. The students were pissed off about the advanced security measures and how they made them uncomfortable. Everyone wanted a change, and when Bolan wouldn't listen, they walked out. Eventually, Bolan called in SWAT, and the students fought back. Out of all the days of the school year, I had to miss the one that I would probably remember for the rest of my life. But right now, all I was focused on was the end of the year looming closer. Some important events were coming up, and all I could do was hope that I made the right decisions concerning some of them.