lol have a good day at school Cadence.
Flirting. Now, we’re flirting. I toss my phone on the bed, needing to distance myself from whatever the hell that was just now. Casual texting, sure. But flirting with someone I swore to stay away from? This is not good.Dammit. What am I fucking thinking?
7
Cadence
“Persephone!” The smoothie barista shouts as she sets two smoothies down on the bar counter.
“You did not.” I point a stern glare at Ryen who smirks at me with feigned innocence. Everyone in the lobby turns and looks at me, about sixty percent of them likely know that my real name is Persephone and I hear Ryen giggle next to me.
“I did,” she replies before she waves me over to go grab our order. I lower my eyes at her as I stand, making the most awkward walk of my life to get out smoothies.
Berry Nice Milk is kind of an after school buzz. Usually, on Fridays when school lets out, students wander down the streetand hang out here for a bit before heading home to get ready for the Varsity football game. Ryen and I are no exception, though sometimes we do stay at school to do homework in the library or to watch the boys practice. But soon, Ryen is going to be busy with working after school and student council meetings will start the first week of September, throwing me right into prep for homecoming next month and our time together will be fairly limited.
“I’m gonna get you back for that,” I warn her as I hand her her smoothie, and a look of satisfaction curls on her face.
“I’ll be waiting,” she quips as she stands and we head out onto the sidewalk to find a table to sit at.
The sun is still shining rather brightly in the sky as it starts its descent toward the horizon. Other Harper High students walk in and out of the smoothie shop, chatting around us as Ryen is gushing over my potential college career.
“Okay so wait. You were telling me you got early acceptance into four colleges and that three of them are Ivy Leagues?”
I nod my head at her as I pull a chair out and take a seat.
“Okay, how are you not freaking out about that, Cadie?”
“It’s notthatimpressive,” I counter as nonchalantly as I can. “I heard Mona got accepted to every Ivy except Princeton,” I tell her before bringing my straw up to my mouth.
“Yeah, andyougot accepted into freaking Princeton, girl!” she shouts enthusiastically as she pulls out a chair.
“Okay, okay. Chill. I guess it’s just not that big of a deal to me because I’m not attending an Ivy.”
Ryen stops herself, freezing mid-sitting and drops her jaw in a display of dramatics.
“What? Why not? Are you insane?” Ryen stares at me for a beat before she decides to fully take her seat.
I scoff. “You sound like my guidance counselor.”
She shrugs. “Miss Peetri has always been a smart lady. Just sayin’.” We both chuckle as she holds up her hands in mock surrender. “But it’s your decision, Cadie. And you know I will never not support you no matter what, babe.”
I give Ry an appreciative smile. I’m not going to lie, I am kind of freaking out inside. Getting early acceptance is kind of a big deal and I’ve been holding onto this news for a while now. But the truth is I haven’t been quite sure what I want to do after high school and I didn’t want the news to seem like something I was trying to flaunt. Most kids would kill to have choices like I do, and most of them have an idea of what they want to do. That’s typically why they apply to certain schools and I know there are kids who wanted to shoot for an Ivy because it’s their dream and have been shot down. I applied on a whim. I don’t really know why. And I do feel a bit guilty for it which is why I haven't really talked about it and why I don't really seem excited. But I am proud and I love how supportive and excited Ryen seems to be for me. But I don’t want to disappoint anyone by admitting that I don’t really want to go to a big college and waste years upon years and thousands of dollars on a career that I might not love but be stuck with for the rest of my life.
“How are the parentals taking it?” she asks and I sigh.
“I haven’t told them yet,” I admit to her, feeling slight worry in my words when I think about what they might say. My parents have also always been supportive of the things Bray and I want to pursue, but I'm a little nervous about telling them that I got into some really good schools, but I don't want to go to any of them.
“You think they’ll be upset with you?” Ry asks with her straw in her mouth. She sits back in her chair; her fishnet clad thigh draped over her other knee as she analyzes the look on my face. I’m sure she recognizes the slight worry that swims in my eyes.
“Yes and no,” I start, placing my smoothie down on the table. “I think they’ll be confused and maybe even a little disappointed, but I truly think they’ll understand that I just really want to do something that I’ll be happy with.”
Or at least, I hope.
“Photography,” Ryen states with a proud tone laced in her voice. She knows me so well. “You know you’ve always had an eye for shit like that. You’re really good at it too and I know your parents will understand. Hell, at least you have somewhat of a plan.”
She’s not wrong. At the end of the day, I might not really have any crazy, big aspirations after high school but there are some students who still have no idea what they want to do. One of them is sitting right in front of me. And with three Ivy League acceptances and a weighted 5.0 GPA, I can see how some might be confused as to why I want to settle for taking pictures for a living. I just want to do what I know I’m going to love doing.
Though, for a minute, I thought about doing sports analytics. Syracuse has a great program there and I know football like the back of my hand. It’s something else I’ve grown up with and have gained a deep respect for. But at the same time, I really just likewatchingit and one time, Lyra, Coach Shaw’s daughter, went into a conversation with a group of us about sports medicine and analysis and I feel like I lost my brain trying to understand what she was talking about. So I decided I’d just leave that career path up to her.
