Chp. 18 "Last Day"

I glanced warily at the clock, knowing our time was running short in my last math class of my senior year. The final had nearly kicked my butt but Avery, Max and I had studied relentlessly for it and I knew I had passed. I ran over my answers one last time as I knew I shouldn’t second guess myself. That was always the worst. I jotted my name at the top of the paper and suddenly I felt as if I was coming to a realization…

High school math was finally over.

I smiled, leaning back in my desk knowing we only had a couple of minutes left till I would be released and never have to look back. I knew tomorrow I would still have to come to school for my science final but I had that in the bag, besides, if I failed I would still pass the class with a B.

The bell rang and I stood, setting my test onto the teacher’s desk and smiling, “See yah!” Then I was out the class, heading towards the parking lot to meet Avery and Max. The entire school would get out after third period because it was finals week and tomorrow we would return for our last two classes.

And my last two finals in High school.

Soon I was stepping foot on the gravel concrete of the parking lot and looking for Max’s towering head over everyone’s, locating him quickly. I saw the familiar petite figure of Avery next to him as they seemed to be arguing, which made me worry.

What the hell could they be fighting about now?

I walked up to them, “Is there a problem?”

Max looked at me then at Avery, seeming to be fed up with something. He whined further, “I want to ride shotgun, I haven’t in over a month Andy, and it’s not fair. My long legs are always cramped in the back and I swear I’m getting arthritis or something! I just want to-“

“Ok! You can ride shotgun, jeez you’re a baby!” Avery interrupted as she looked at me and smiled sarcastically as she made her way around me to get into the back seat.

I looked at Max, squinting as I felt a little bit of annoyance build up. Was he really doing this because he missed riding next to me?

I got into the driver’s seat and Max responded quickly, “Gage is meeting up with us at the den; he claims we need to plan.”

I looked in my rearview, backing out slowly, “Max, we need to study for the Science final.”

He nodded, “Yes, but we also need to plan, graduation is Saturday. Two days away Andy… you do realize that don’t you?”

I nodded, pressing forward, “Yes I just… ok fine. We’ll plan for this weekend.”

I began driving towards the usual spot as I began getting lost inside my thoughts. Max was right, we needed to plan for this weekend because school would end for us tomorrow, and then we would have graduation rehearsal later that day. Then Saturday morning we would have graduation, and then the plan was to leave almost as soon as that.

But we needed to plan for it tonight.

I glanced at Avery in the back seat and she smiled slightly, wishing she was next to me holding my hand. She always seemed to make my thoughts calm down even in the worst, most nerve wracking scenarios, and I would need her when I would meet my real parents.

Which was something I was extremely nervous about.

I pulled up into the familiar space, allowing Max to jump out and type the passcode in, unlocking the door. I drove in and out of sight, allowing the door to close behind us as I realized there was a large black Tahoe in the dirt parking lot. My heart sped up as Avery whispered, “Who is that car for?”

I became suspicious, wondering if we weren’t alone. I shook my head, “I don’t know…”

Then as we exited the car and made our way around I realized Gage was already here, but I still felt suspicion. He turned his head at the sound of Max’s voice and stood, “Hey guys, look what I got us for the trip to Louisiana.”

He walked over to the car and I felt my heart beat return to normal as I realized we weren’t in any danger. I smiled, “How did you get this?”

He shrugged, “Well I have a lot of pull at the police station here in Jacksonville and they’re allowing me to use it for whatever we need.”

Avery opened the back doors and chirped up, “Does that include whatever we need? Like more trips other than just to Louisiana?”

He nodded, seeming to be excited and proud of himself all at the same time. I smiled, I had to admit, Gage was super useful when it came to resources. We made our ways over to the couch once more, Gage plopping down first and swinging his arm over the head of the couch. He started, “Ok so the trip from here to Monroe, Louisiana is going to take about 11 hours, just depending on how bad traffic is or not. I researched the address and it is real, just to make sure so when are we planning on leaving?”

I looked at Gage while I thought, “Well, graduation is at 8:00 am and won’t end till at least 9:30 we can leave around 10:30. This will at least guarantee we will be in Louisiana by 9:30 that night.” I sighed, “Have you booked a hotel room?”

Gage nodded, “Yea, your parents sent me the money for you and Avery’s room this morning, Max and I are in a separate room. Is that ok with you? I figured it was necessary…”

I smiled, “Of course that’s fine with me,” my leg found Avery’s knee in the process and I felt her smile into my neck.

Max sighed, “Ok no need for that right now, you’ll get your privacy this weekend!”

Gage smiled, clapping his hands in excitement, “Ok, so we’ll leave at 10:30?”

I looked at Avery, who nodded in full agreement, “Its fine with my dad, he isn’t in town anyway.”

I nodded, “Well, looks like we have a plan. We’ll leave an hour after graduation, make sure you pack the night before though, I don’t want to be late.”

I let my eyes lock with Max’s as he threw his hands up, “Are you accusing me of making you late?”

I rolled my eyes, laughing, “Yes Max, more than once.”

He shook his head, leaning forward and putting his elbows on his knees, “Andy Brock, I swear I will be late to my own funeral, but I’m your best friend anyway.”

I laughed once more, along with Avery and Gage knowing that Max was completely right. He really would be late to his own funeral. That boy had no sense of being on time at all in his body or luck, and we all knew that.

Avery squeezed my knee, getting my attention immediately, “Are we still studying for the Science final?”

I nodded, “Of course.”

Then Gage stood, catching all three of our eyes, “And on that note, I’m out. I’ve got some prep to get done down at the station anyway. I’ll see you kids bright and early Saturday morning, and don’t forget to pack the night before.”

Then he was in the black Tahoe and driving out of the lot, leaving the three of us to study and prepare for our last day of high school.

~ ~ ~ ~

The science final had been a piece of cake, although studying with Avery and Max had helped me significantly. The bell rang, dismissing us from my last science class of high school as Max, Avery and I walked out of the emptying classroom. My hand found Avery’s as Max waved us off, “See you guys after second, and DON’T leave without me.”

I laughed, “How could we forget you Max?”

She gave me a stern look and disappeared around the corner, allowing Avery and I to walk to her second hour alone. I gripped her hand in mine as we walked through the halls, ignoring all the stares and the comments that were made under people’s breaths. We didn’t care what people thought, and if they cared that Avery and I were simply holding hands then fuck them.

They’re just jealous.

We stopped next to Avery’s door, allowing me to take in her beautiful face that I never got used to seeing. Her green blue eye captivating my gaze as I studied the perfect contours of her face and the hint of freckles showing from under her light makeup. Her lips moved making me realize she was speaking, pulling me out of my trance, “See you after second?”

I nodded, blushing a little from embarrassment, “Yea, after second.”

She pulled me into a hug and I wrapped my arms around her neck like I usually did. Her familiar smell of perfume and mint gum wrapped around me like her arms. When we had moments like this I never wanted to let go of her, I never wanted the ecstasy to end.

She pulled away and sighed heavily, “I hate to be one of those couples that swear they haven’t seen their girlfriends in a year but… I love you.”

I couldn’t contain my smile as I felt it spread from ear to ear. Hearing those words come out of Avery’s mouth made my heart hammer and my cheeks redden. She never failed to capture me completely when she said that, mostly because it didn’t happen often. I responded quickly, wanting her to feel the same way I was right now, “I love you too.”

She squeezed my hand and turned away, heading into her classroom and leaving me alone in the hallway. I began making my way to English knowing in would be taking my final and then I would be done with high school forever.

I smiled at that thought, knowing we would have the entire summer to go out and do something amazing. First was meeting my parents, then after that we would start searching for the Protection Bureau to help them find a cure.

Which was something I had completely forgotten about until now, realizing that this was real.

This situation was real, the disease was real, and the deaths it caused was just as real. There was nothing to be excited about, this was life or death we were dealing with, and I don’t think we realized that yet. Over time I had just been excited to meet my real parents but we all knew the real reason we were going.

We were going for answers; answers that would help us find the people we needed to get in touch with.

And as I sat in my usual desk for English I couldn’t help but think of all the negative things that could go wrong doing this. Blaine had warned us that searching for the P.B.S.B. was dangerous, and there were people out there searching for people like me to kidnap.

And up until now I hadn’t realized the seriousness of this situation, and how millions of lives were at stake if we made the wrong move.