You Must Remember This

Chapter 39: Trimalchio

Over time, most of everyone had abandoned Frank's side: Alan grew disappointed he was not always the center of attention, and thus wandered about the other leadership students until he found kindred souls who believed in wholesome values like loyalty and blind obedience; Behrooz had after one too many conflicts grown introverted, almost to the degree of reclusion; and even Ms. Foster, who had the patience of a saint, became convinced her advice was beyond them—she counted the days until they'd graduate and she'd be able to go back to running her own school. That left Juliet, who sat across from Frank like she always did, and tried her hardest to recall the good times they had had the previous year when it was just them.

"Do you remember, Frank, when Mrs. Huang suggested we go to prom together? Wasn't that funny of her?" Juliet smiled, looking around to make sure nobody was listening in.

"Yeah, it was quite funny. What about it?"

"Well, I was just thinking, you know, what do seniors usually do before prom, their last main social event of the year—what should we do as leaders, you know, to celebrate everything we've done? Do you get what I'm saying?"

"Enlighten me."

"How about we go together? Like as an actual couple, not just as coworkers." She reached out her hand, and Frank hesitantly shook it.

"Life's short. Shall we rent a limo? You know I can't drive."

"Fine," she huffed.

"Just the two of us will be a waste of money—how about we get John and Beth, and dare I say, Tom and Regina? Time heals all wounds, and I think it's time I give people credit where credit is due."

"Go with Frank? What are you, nuts?" Tom shouted at Regina, who was too scared to react. "He's going to murder me—he'll push me out of the limo and I'll roll down the hill and fall into the reservoir. You've got to be kidding me."

"As much as I hate to play this card, I'm a Gamma; I outrank you. If I say we're taking a limo, we're taking a limo, unless you'd rather walk instead. This is a special night, and if you ruin my last shot at the high school experience, Frank won't be the one murdering you." Regina had come to the realization one day while tutoring some particularly incorrigible children that in all senses of the world, she was better than them: she wanted to go to medical school, what did they want to do? Shoot hoops all day? This attitude served her well, and enabled her ascension to the respectable level of society, all while Tom staunchly refused to do anything noble and thus remained a lowly Epsilon.

"OK, fine, fine, fine! We'll go, just please, shut up."

"Tom!"

"Whatever—'please be quiet, my dear friend.'"

The six of them met at Heller and waited for the promised limo. Springtime was in the air—it wafted from every fragile bloom and radiated from every door. Juliet insisted on a group photo to commemorate the then-infrequent occasion when all six of them could be in the same place with the illusion of civility.

"Who's going to take the photo?" John asked. "Someone needs to hold the camera, right? We can't all fit in a selfie. Who wishes to be erased from the annals of history?"

"Don't be so dramatic, John. I will," Frank declared, and he directed them all to the entrance to the student parking lot, in front of the wooden "Heller High School" sign that had greeted all of them on their first day. John put his arm around Beth's shoulder, Tom and Regina embraced more tightly, and Juliet did not want to be excluded and stood next to John, flanking him. After taking a few photos, Frank watched the five of them silently, weighing his phone in his hand like it were a lump of gold. Photos contained power, John was certainly right about that—how else would people understand the recent past? The distant past was a lost cause altogether, just dusty tomes and steles one needed a PhD to read. But photos, those had some merit. Anyone with two eyes could see the lavender hue of the lilac trees behind them, the orange and black banner in the far-off distance, or the shaded emerald hall of bamboo. There was some texture there.