One

    "These violent delights have violent ends," Mrs. Dotes asked the bored-out-of-their-minds senior English students, "You learned this freshman year. Anyone care to tell me where this quote is from and what it means?"

    Nora Watson raised her hand. This caused the collective eye-roll as she was the only one in the class who made her voice heard as often as she did. This, however, never bothered her. No point in keeping her mouth shut if she knew she was right. As the teacher pointed to her, she answered with the words she planned in her mind, "Romeo and Juliet. It foreshadows the macabre ending of the play. What does this have to do with Lord of the Flies?"

    "That's your job to tell me, Miss Watson. At the beginning of the semester, I warned you that there would be no final. Instead, you must write me an essay. Now, we're reaching April, and I'm giving you two months to write me your final essay. No. Excuses. I want you to relate something you learned from your freshman year to something you learned now. Just as that line relates to the end of the play, however, your lesson can be much less depressing. In fact, I would like something that will open my eyes to some optimism in your futures. Nothing about your essay has to be academic. Well, except give it to me in MLA format. Really, just prove to me these four years weren't a complete waste dedicated to ruining the mental health of the next generation. The copy machine's broken, as per usual, but you will get your in-depth prompt tomorrow, everyone understands what I'm asking?"

    The class collectively nodded their heads, Nora included, but she was absolutely lost. Freshman year was a blur, along with most of high school. Why couldn't they just take some 150 question final where she could at least guess? Just before Mrs. Dotes was about to carry on with the lesson, another hand shot up. One much less seen than Nora's that belonged to someone in the back of the classroom. Edison. Well, she did have a first name, but anyone who called her anything other than a variation of her surname would be murdered by the daggers she glared. That was the general aura that surrounded Edison; intimidating and vaguely dangerous. It didn't help that there wasn't a single bright color in her wardrobe, so she didn't exactly appear friendly. No one dared call her anything other than what she preferred. Nora smiled when she thought of it as she never thought it suited the dark-haired girl who had come to school in ripped jeans and other punk variations since freshman year.

    Four years of classes together, Nora doesn't think she's ever seen the girl raise her hand, not even once. As Mrs. Dotes calls on her, she says in a bored, challenging voice, "What if we haven't learned shit? All I remember is that when learning Spanish freshman year, vosotros doesn't matter."

    "Very funny, Ms. Edison. If you all weren't nearly or already adults I'd scorn you for the language, but alas, what's the point? Since you've got an attitude, why don't you write me an essay on your analysis of the Spanish language then? Now, on with the lesson."

    Nora chuckled with the rest of the class at how unbothered the teacher seemed to be. She couldn't imagine having that much gall to speak to an authority figure like that. Careless or reckless were not good terms to describe Nora. She couldn't do anything without thinking long enough to write a 5,000 word analysis on the situation. If consequences had the slightest possibility of being disastrous, she avoided the situation. For just a moment, she turned to look back at Edison, who always sat leaning back with her arms crossed. At this moment, however, the girl sat up straight and was looking around the classroom. Dark eyes met hers for the briefest second before she turned back around. Edison was all kinds of trouble and Nora found herself quite happy at the front of the classroom.

    The rest of the class dragged on, but by the time it was over Nora found herself relieved as though she had been holding her breath. Shaking the feeling off, she walked to her locker where her favorite person was waiting for her. Nora was going to miss the part of high school where everything being about your boyfriend was viewed as normal. Something about the boy with a charming smile leaning against her locker felt not ready for the real world. Which was horribly unfair considering the real world was two short months away.

    "Hey, Nor, our sub let us out early so I figured I would just pick you up here," Mason explained with that perfect smile of his. Greeting her with a kiss on the cheek, he took her bag and tossed it on his own shoulder, "Come on, let me take you out for lunch."

    "Totally unnecessary. I'm my own woman with my own money," Nora jokes, following him down the hall regardless.

    "Yeah, because twelve dollars an hour will get you to Harvard," Mason laughed, grabbing her hand and pulling her along towards the parking lot, "A burger at Diane's is three dollars and two minutes away."

    "I don't need Harvard, I already got the school of my dreams. Besides, I'm watching my weight."

    "For what? Next year's cheer season?" the boy teased, laughing slightly as she jabbed him in the side in an attempt to tickle him, "I already texted everyone so stop being a buzzkill or sit alone."

    "You're so lame!"

    "No, I'm the winner!" He laughed, sounding proud of himself. Being around him tended to lift her mood if it was ever down, which is rarely was. The two fed off of each other's positive energy and any time they were together, one of their friends just had to comment how utterly perfect they were. Nora found it to be unbelievable how she had managed to be so lucky, often times she found herself nervously waiting for the other shoe to drop with him. She wondered if he liked being with her or if she was too much for him. Of course, she would never tell him this, she couldn't risk ruining one of the good things she had. Nora was simply grateful for him. Always.

    Lunch with Mason was mainly the routine since they started dating junior year. Sometimes it was a burger and milkshake at Diane's, sometimes it was sitting in his car listening to their favorite songs, or sometimes in the quad with their friends. Regardless, Mason was a constant. Reliable. Just someone who was always there. Nora appreciated that the most about him. Well, she also appreciated that he loved her, but stuff like that felt so trivial with their futures hanging so closely overhead. It was hard to love someone when there was a ticking time bomb hanging over your head. All they really had was a few months before everything seemed to be up in the air. You're not supposed to go to college with a boyfriend, Nora had heard many times, but part of her was hoping that wouldn't have to be the case.

    Once they got to Diane's Diner, a small town staple and the only one of its kind, their friends were waiting for them in a booth. As always, Amarie and Kristen had their arms around each other while Will sat with his newest girl who Nora had yet to remember the name of. It didn't matter all that much considering Will was already growing bored with her. No big loss considering she definitely didn't seem willing to get along with the rest of them. Nora wasn't bugged by this, Will had always been more Mason's friend than hers, so she didn't feel the need to seek approval from his rotating girlfriends. Nora wished she could have gotten closer to Will for Mason's sake, but the two never seemed to click. Not the way Nora did with her other two best friends, anyway. She always felt she fell short to Will's expectations for a girlfriend a guy like Mason should have.

    Her mind was still stuck on the events of English and how Edison had spoken in class. Something about her voice and the words she spoke were stuck on a loop inside of Nora's mind. Her voice was calming as it had carried across the classroom, even though her words were biting. As if the universe was reading her thoughts, there was Edison sitting at the bar with one other girl with dark red hair. She must not go to North Ridgepoint High, but she seemed to be friends with Edison. Of course, the moment Nora acknowledges her existence once, the girl has to show up everywhere she is. Nora couldn't tell if this was luck or lack thereof. Maybe some sort of trick of fate from the universe, but Nora never believed in such a thing.

    "Earth to Nora?" Kristen asked, waving her hand in front of the blonde's face as she sat down in the booth, "What's up, princess? Worried about the calorie count?"

    Nora scoffed, tossing her hair over her shoulder, "When have I ever given a shit about calories? Like Mason so politely reminded me earlier, cheer season is over. For good."

    "Isn't that weird?" Amarie, Kristen's longtime girlfriend and childhood best friend of Nora's, interjected, "Like, Nor, you and I have been cheering together since we were like nine and now we're just done."

    "Don't remind me," the girl laughed, stealing a fry from her friend's platter as she spoke. "I'm trying not to think about it." Which was absolutely true, if she didn't think about everyone leaving she could almost pretend it wasn't happening.

    "That makes all of us," Will cut into the conversation while the girl next to him looked bored. After he spoke, Nora heard him whisper, "Dani, can you at least act like you like these people?" The girl held back her laughter as his "girlfriend" continued to scroll through her phone, unbothered.

    Nora watched as Edison stood up from the bar and walked out, tossing her hair over her shoulder and not even looking back at the redhead at the bar. Everything felt in slow motion as she observed the girl walking out, her eyes shifting from her to the redhead looking distraught, sitting at the bar still. Part of her wanted to know what just went down between the two, but she also was incredibly aware of how it was none of her business.

    "Hey," Mason nudged her gently, "Where are you today?"

    She snapped back to reality as she looked at her boyfriend in the eyes softly, shrugging and saying, "Not quite sure. Just, a lot going on I suppose. Let's just eat, okay?"

    He smiled and everything was simple again.