Mumbo's Perspective-

The end of the year had arrived, and Mumbo was more than happy with everything that had happened.

It seemed like a dream, and he was more than ready to jump into senior-

Mumbo froze as he saw a camera bag on his desk in journalism. He stopped by the class one last time to say goodbye to Mr. Raymond before seeing him next year but...almost everything was boxed up.

He walked up to Mr. Raymond, holding the bag.

"Is this for me?" He asked and Mr. Raymond smiled and nodded.

Mumbo opened the bag and saw a Polaroid camera with boxes of mini film and clips that lit up so you could hang the pictures.

"Mr. Ray, I- " Mumbo got choked up and he felt tears form in his eyes.

"I wanted to tell you earlier, but..." Mr. Ramond sighed, "I'm not gonna be here next year."

Mumbo's eyes widened.

"What?" He whispered.

"We're moving so we can go to a better town to raise my girls; I didn't wanna leave without giving you a present, though." Mr. Raymond ruffled Mumbo's hair and Mumbo hugged him tightly.

The room felt heavy with the unspoken weight of that moment. Mumbo stood there, feeling like the floor had dropped out from under him.

He had been so focused on his senior year, new opportunities, his future...

he hadn't even considered that there might be goodbyes in store.

Not like this.

Not with Mr. Raymond.

He held the Polaroid camera tightly, almost as if it was a lifeline.

It was something tangible that would forever remind him of the man who had believed in him when he didn't believe in himself.

"You've been such an incredible mentor, Mr. Ray." Mumbo finally managed to say, his voice shaking. "I don't even know how to thank you for everything."

Mr. Raymond chuckled softly, though it was clear the goodbye weighed on him too.

"You don't have to thank me, Mumbo. You've done the hard work. Just keep pushing forward, alright? Don't let anything hold you back."

Mumbo nodded, not trusting himself to speak without completely losing control. His heart felt a little shattered, but it was the kind that meant something had truly mattered.

"I'll miss you..." Mumbo whispered.

"I'll miss you too, kid. But you're going to do great things. You've got this." Mr. Raymond said, his smile warm and encouraging. "Don't forget to take a picture of the memories you wanna keep, okay?"

Mumbo held up the Polaroid camera, a small, bittersweet smile tugging at his lips.

"I'll make sure to."

"Take care of yourself, alright?" Mr. Raymond said with a final ruffle of Mumbo's hair. "And remember, the world's a lot bigger than this town; you've got more than enough potential to find your place in it."

Mumbo nodded, unable to stop the tears from welling in his eyes again.

With one last, lingering look at his mentor, he turned to leave the classroom.

The door clicked shut behind him, and as he walked through the hallways, the quiet emptiness of the school year winding down felt almost surreal.