Okay, I am excited for this one.

I'm not gonna say much except I'm grinning already.

Enjoy! :)

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Tony had immediately told them about what he had found about the auditions for the new movie, over the moon with excitement. They have agreed that they will talk about it later. For now, they have something else they need to complete.

And here it is.

This is it. The day they've all been waiting for. The last day of school.

Charlie's not sure this is how a typical ninth grade school year works. A lot has happened to him this year. And now he has three more years ahead of him. He's going to miss Nick and Louis when they leave for sure. He's excited for what's to come in future years. And, now that he has the stress of settling into a new school out of the way, as well as figuring out all he can about his past life, and now they won't have their GSA taken away again, he can focus on what really matters in school. Of course, that's after this day ends, and after they get through summer.

Tony wakes up excited. He's always loved the last day of school. And they just watched the last episode of Heartstopper in GSA. So now that that's complete, he's ready for the last day of school. But there really isn't much point to going; they don't do anything anyway. But, Louis and Nick are leaving this year, and it's always fun to stick around for one last morning and sign yearbooks and whatnot. So he'll make the most of today.

Sean grins as his alarm goes off. He was waiting for it; now he can turn that darn thing off for two months. While everyone likes to claim that summer is three months, summer in a school year will be lucky to call itself two months sometimes. So. He's had two years of high school now. He has two years to go. Those two years won't get any easier. But things are making sense now. And he has Tony. He'll always have Tony. And together, they can get through anything and everything life throws at them.

David is actually satisfied with this year. This school is a lot better than his other school, even including all the crazy things that have happened this year. In the end, it's all been worth it. And unlike many who like to talk about skipping the last day of school, he would never dare. He needs things to come to a perfect ending. And with Jack? With all his friends? With an actually successful junior year after everything that happened before and after coming here? This is the best ending he can ask for.

Sarah loves the last day of school. Everyone is so happy. It's just good vibes wherever you go. It doesn't matter what school she's talking about; this has been her experience everywhere she's gone to school. And she has to give Kathryn the notebook back; can't forget that. Their story ... it was the best thing that Sarah has ever read. She needs Kathryn to publish it. And if Kathryn says no, she'll respect that. But now's the time to consider if she really is above sending Kathryn's story to a publisher without them knowing, when she knows for a fact it would get published.

Kathryn's just glad that now they only have one more year left in their father's school. Then they can move out and be done with him forever, and good riddance. Sarah's been texting her constantly, saying how much she loves her story. It makes Kathryn happy with every text she receives. True, school is fun. But she can't wait for school to end and summer to begin, where they're free from everything that could ever hold them back. And what better way to celebrate today being the last day of school than going on an ice cream + library date once school ends?

Jack can't wait to get today over with. Of course, he has conflicting ideas. Does he want this year to end? Yes. Does that mean that he wants to be a senior yet? No. He does not want to be a senior. Because whatever feelings he has towards school, he hates what comes after graduating even more. He's not ready to be an adult yet. So he'll cherish this last summer he has when he knows he's going back for one last year. And really soon, he's going to have to get used to the idea of being the oldest of the school. Luckily he has most of his friends always with him.

Louis still can't wrap his brain around the idea that this is his last day of being a senior in high school. That the chapter of school in his life is ending, and that the chapter of adult in the big world is just beginning. It's frightening. But it also sounds like an adventure. True, he's going to miss all of his friends that he's leaving behind. But they'll always have summers, where no one will judge them. And no matter what, he'll have Nick. They're staying together, throughout it all. And that is never going to change. 

Nick wakes up  in the morning and cries. School's been fun, been stressful, been crazy, been awesome, it's been everything. And today is his last day. This is his last last day of school. He's not ready for that yet. He is not ready for that yet. True, Louis and Nick are taking a gap year together, but he's going to miss school. A lot of people complain about how much they hate school. Not him. He can't believe that he's leaving. He can't believe that this is actually happening. Not too much he can do. Now's the best time if there ever was one to seize the day.

And so they all will. They'll all seize this day.

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They literally do nothing in their extremely shortened classes except hang out and show up for attendance. After attendance is taken, they're really free to do whatever they want until they have to go to their next extremely short class. Again, mostly pointless, but kinda fun while it lasts anyway.

Besides, everyone is happy on the last day of school.

And finally, the moment they've all been waiting for: 12:15 pm. The school year is officially over.

Jack is so ready to leave. If this were a cartoon, he'd have already dashed out through the wall leaving a hole in the wall of his silhouette, never to be seen again. Not only does he stay because of the lack of real life logic in that, but all his friends are staying too, just lingering one extra moment in Mr. Denton's classroom. So he holds on a little longer.

They all huddle around one table, looking at their photos in the yearbook, all different colored pens/sharpies/flair pens for signing yearbooks cast aside.

"Thank you, Mr. Denton, for everything," they all tell him gratefully. They all mean it. He smiles fondly at them. Out of all the students that he's ever taught, that he's ever made connections with, it's this group that he'll eternally have a soft spot for. Nick and Louis are sad that this is their last day in his class as his students.

They all thanked Ms. Medda too the last time they saw her. For a lot of them, the theatre is a big part of their lives.

It's teachers like them that make everything about school just that much more bearable.

Tony points to a picture on one of the pages. "Aw, look at Jack!"

"Very photogenic," Sean smirks.

Jack rolls his eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

It's a picture of Jack completely unaware that the camera is on him, while several others saw the camera and are posing.

"What are the odds that Kathryn specifically asked for that photo to be included?" Sean adds jokingly.

"What are the odds that Kathryn took that photo and thought it would be a good edition to the yearbook to demonstrate the feel of a regular day at school?" Kathryn contributes to the conversation behind them, catching a lot of them by surprise. Almost all of them forgot momentarily that she, just like Mr. Denton, helped put the yearbook together.

"What was it like for them?" Louis murmurs as he runs his fingers over the page. "For all the newsies? When they saw themselves in the papers in 1899?"

"I used to wonder that too," Nick says, placing his hand on top of Louis's.

"Used to?"

Tony lightly slaps Louis's shoulder. "Because you should know now, don't you? I mean, you were there"

And it's true.

They were there.

...In a sense. But still.

And they do remember exactly how they felt back then.

They remember what it was like to be the King of New York.

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Aaaaaand I think y'all know what's gonna happen next!! :)

I am totally Jack in this situation when it comes to the school year ending. I know my school days are numbered (but not necessarily entirely like his), and as much as I have forever growing animosity towards school and the school system, leaving it all behind and going into The Real World is scarier. So yeah, I'm enjoying my carefree escapism-filled summers while I still can, thank you very much.

And the last day of school always has this certain vibe to it, you know? Where it's like nothing can go wrong.

I can only hope that this year I get a complete last day of school for the first time in a long time.

So now they're done with school!

Things are wrapping up soon...

But we have something very, very important to do first.

Cue the music! :)

Please, no homophobia or transphobia, profanities, hate etc in the comment section.

Best,

~Your Beloved Author (who is having both on-going existentialism and a happy feeling while writing right now, and is kinda just feeling everything right now haha)