Just for This Year

Chapter Six

Hi everyone! Sorry for taking a bit to update. I graduated college and moved out of my apartment, so it was a really busy couple of weeks!! To make up for it, here's a double update! Chapter 6 and 7 are up, so make sure to read Chapter 7 too while you're here.

Just wanted to let people know that if they're reading as I update, I'm sort of bouncing around a bit and changing things as I go. The plot twist finally came to me, and I realized that I need to adjust a tiny bit. So bear with me because I might change things as I go. But I think I officially have things sorted out, so there shouldn't be anymore switching!

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

September 5th
Friday

56 Days Before

Sam and Charlie sat in their usual desks as they waited for their class to begin. The sandy haired boy was reviewing his notes from the previous class while Sam was trying to memorize his lines for the play. He had no idea that he would have so much responsibility with learning the dialogue. It didn't occur to him that the supporting role would play such a big part. Charlie had been doing what he could to help, but Sam's mind seemed to be a thousand miles away.

"Remind me one more time, what time are rehearsals today?" Sam asked, spinning his pen around his fingers nervously.

"Official start is three," Charlie informed him in a distracted voice, "but get there at two forty-five if you can so that we actually start on time."

"So, why not just say two forty-five? I don't get you people," Sam stressed as he flipped through the pages. "I've been freaking cramming this material all day."

"Hey, don't you have that quiz today in astronomy?" Charlie asked, eyes narrowed slightly. The two had most of their classes together, but their electives were ones that they never shared. Sam chose more science-based electives while Charlie wanted anything to do with art.

"Oh, please. Once you know how Ms. Ladmer tests, you never need to study again," Sam said as he focused on his lines. "It's never A, typically will be C, she'll throw a B in there around halfway in, and if there's a D 'all of the above', it's always 'all of the above'. The key is to just not freak out when almost every answer is C."

Sam, despite what it may appear as, was actually very smart. He honestly didn't really need to try, either. He was just good at testing, which allowed him to take things less seriously than his sister. Sam and his dad had only ever talked about him attending Oakside University, which was about two hours from their town. It was where his dad went to school, and from what his dad had told him, it sounded like a dream. It had good programs, sure. But it also had a pretty damn good night life. He and his dad would do a day trip up to the University and walk around for the day. Oakside was the only place that they had ever talked about, and Sam didn't plan to go anywhere else.

Lila would probably go to some prestigious ivy league on a full ride considering her perfect GPA and extracurriculars. She never seemed to fussed about whether or not she'd get in, it seemed she was more stressed about how to choose which top school she inevitably would get into. Unlike Sam, though, Lila worked harder than anyone he had ever met. She dedicated her life to studying and doing well in her classes. It was why she was in higher level classes and Sam wasn't. He was good at school, but he just didn't care to try all that much.

He wasn't stressing about college. He was, however, stressing about this stupid play.

Noticing the boy's nerves, Charlie told him, "You don't need to be off book today, just have some familiarity with the lines, okay?"