Well, what do you even say? There's no real //right// thing to say when we're talking about the //love of your life//. But perhaps, we can think about first semester [[freshman year->freshman year]], during [[spanish<-sixth period Spanish...]]Oh my god, sixth period Spanish. Probably the worst and best class freshman year. For [[varying reasons->reasons]], of course. But he was definitely the most important part, despite being pretty mediocre. But yes, it was the class where you met him. Forced together by a random seating assignment, sure, but you can't //force// chemistry, and good vibes and //being soul mates//, right? And then [[stuff happened->stuff]]. You had //just// moved to a new school, and even though technically everyone else also had //just// moved to a new school campus, you were the only one who hadn't been in a public school. Which might not seem that bad, but you also had no idea how to talk to people, because you were 14. And //everyone// knows that being 14 and friendless is like, the worst possible state of existence. [[Anyways. ->intro]] This is it! Today's your last real day of high school, your final 7 hours of dealing with every awful person here. You'll be getting far, far away from here, and you know for a fact that no one else will be following you to your new college (across the country //was// far enough!). Knowing that you won't have to see anyone here again makes today so much more enjoyable. [[And yet...->intro]]One reason it was the worst was that you were very bad at the Spanish language. A bigger reason was that it was a small class and through some trick of fate, there was absolutely no one present who you knew from other classes. The biggest reason was that he was there, but this is difficult to count as making spanish the //worst//, since this was also the reason spanish was one of the best classes. At very different points in time, of course. But I [[digress->spanish]].But you're not willing to think about that [[at this moment->this moment]]. Okay, stay focused. You have a mission, and only 7 hours to complete it. This is your last chance. ''YOUR MISSION'' - Fix the past. Or the future. Doesn't matter. But basically: try to get him to be your significant other. Or your friend. The specifics aren't important yet. [[But how, you ask?->how]]You actually don't know how at all. But getting him to talk to you is probably a good start. This is more difficult than you'd think, since he has literally none of your classes. But thanks to your incredible logicking skills and conscientiousness, you still figured out his schedule! And since you have nothing to do today (what, they're going to give you detention for not being in class on your last real day of school? unlikely), you can devote your entire day to searching for him! What a great way to end your high school career. { (live: 3s)+(t8n-arrive: "flicker")[ (stop:) [<p>//Brrrrnngg!// Ten minutes until class starts.</p>] { (live: 2s) [ (stop:) [<p>→ So? Are you [[up for it?->phase 1]]</p>] [<p>→ Or are you [[going to class like the pussy you are?->english]]</p>] ] } ] } He has Econ first period. You are generally on good terms with this teacher, but she will most definitely have her class doing something 'productive' right now, unfortunately. But it doesn't hurt to show up randomly and hope for the best!God, you're pathetic. You trudge to your first class of the day, [[ap lit,<-English]], in building 4. This is very far from his class right now, AP Econ (which is in building 1), but that doesn't really matter because you have mastered the art of traversing between any two points on campus within three minutes and thirty seconds. You are late to class anyways. Your [[teacher->eng. teacher]] is sitting at his desk staring at his laptop intently. You have friends in this class but it's been a while since you've talked to them, so they're more like casual acquaintances. You don't have any work to do right now and decide to stare at your phone. This is too sad for you to handle, and you decide to talk to someone, since it's the last day of school anyways and you can just forget about this if it's too awkward. → Talk to [[kid who likes to spend time by himself->kid with minor anxiety issues]] (he's really nice and super patient but also actually hates talking to you). → Talk to your [[english teacher]] (it's worth a try? but getting shot down for almost an hour has never really been your thing).Actually, this is AP English Literature. You call it English instead of AP Lit because 1) saying AP Lit makes you feel like you're being condescending when you're talking to your friends who are taking Honors English 4 and 2) the class is definitely NOT lit. At all. [[english<-Anyways.]]You liked your English teacher first semester, but then he got divorced and now it's basically just a study hall. Which is fine usually, but you actually //like// English, so it kind of sucks. [[english<- So yeah.]] He's staring at his phone. "Hey," you start, and he visibly flinches, but responds, so it's still a win. You ask him basic boring small talk questions about himself to make him more comfortable, and it works, so you feel comfortable transitioning to an actual conversation. → [["Thoughts on his mental health and wellbeing?"]], you ask, gesturing towards your English teacher, who is trying to spread cream cheese on the saddest bagel you've seen in your life. → [["Do you ever think that we've done nothing but screw up? Like, we just keep making mistakes, over and over again, and we're trapped in this loop of disaster that we'll literally never escape for the rest of our lives? That we're graduating high school just to make even bigger mistakes with worse consequences?"]]You walk up to his (css: "color: maroon")[desk]<1|, trying to look assertive. You are very bad at this. "Hey," you begin. He says nothing. (css: "color: lightcoral")+(click-replace: ?1)[desk, which is super messy but has an interesting [[charm?]] on it] → [["Look, can you at least //try// to pretend to be a teacher?"->sigh]] → [[sigh<-"I know this past year has been shitty for you, but like, this is still your job, man."]]"I mean, something's definitely //wrong// with him, but I think that's just his usual now, you know?" He looks like he's about to say something else, but stops, looking unsure. →[["Huh."->cont]] →[["No, I don't know."->cont]]He stares at you for a second, and then sighs, in a really disappointed way. "Is this about that guy? Jesus Christ, how are you still hung up on that? You're about to graduate high school. I can't believe this. Is this why you're talking to me right now? I can't help you." →[["I'm sorry."->explanation]] →[["It's just one day, man, just let me talk about him for one more day."->alright]]He doesn't say anything for a moment, but he definitely wants to. It mostly just looks like he feels bad for you, but that's okay. You feel bad for him sometimes, too, since he's definitely overly shy. This pity goes both ways. "Look, it's fine, but just...chill. For five seconds. That's all, man." This seems like an acceptable proposition, and you think you can do this, considering the [[circumstances]]. [["Okay."->nextsteps]]"Fine." He's still kind of irritated, though, and you don't know what to say to make it better. "Look, I know I'm being kind of dumb about this, but it's still my life, okay? I know you don't want to hear about it, though, and that I should try harder to respect that, but it's hard to not talk about when I think about it so much." You sigh, and wow, this really killed your mood. Which wasn't that great to begin with. He still doesn't look like he understands. "I don't hate hearing about it," he says, "I just want you to focus on literally anything else. You're going to regret wasting all this time so much, and I just don't want you to deal with that." You nod, feeling kind of bad now, because - well, because you could have tried a lot harder to be his friend instead of only talking to him about your over-the-top crush. → [["Stay in touch?"]]He looks torn, but talks anyway. <p>"I heard he was in a cult. Like after the divorce, he joined a cult. Or something like it. No one really knows the details. Except for a few teachers.</p> <p>"I know you guys used to be friends or whatever, but like. Just be careful, I guess is what I'm trying to say."</p> → [["And //how// did no one tell me about this?"->explain now]]He glances up, and looks a little guilty, but you can't really tell. He sighs, and looks down again. "Please just sit back down. I don't want to do this today." [[You continue to stand there.]]He shrugs, and looks down at his phone again. That's probably all the conversation you're getting out of him. What a way to end the year. You look at your (soon to be //former//) English teacher, and wonder what secrets he's probably hiding. Unfortunately, you have no time to figure out what those secrets are. First period is over, and you need to go to [[Physics.]] Or maybe. [[Look for your true love?]]Um, no. You hate this class more than pretty much any other. Everyone there is pretty trash and the teacher is probably the least engaging person you've ever interacted with, //including// yourself. There's absolutely no reason for you to show up. So yeah, you're definitely going to his [[Look for your true love?<-Orchestra]] class. And that's that.Orchestra happens to be in the Fine Arts building, which is your favorite place to be in on this campus, and perhaps the only area not totally forsaken by God. As soon He looks at you with genuine pity, but you've already gone this far. "Do you even have my number?" This is a trick question, because he knows for a fact that you don't, so you just give him your phone so he can type it in. The bell is about to ring, and you should probably go. You have [[Physics.]] Or you can try to [[Look for your true love?<-find your man.]]More of a pendant, on second glance. Looks //very// interesting. Steel, letters embossed onto it that you can't quite make out, and its placement on the very edge of his desk puts it within grabbing reach and makes it all the more alluring. This can't possibly belong to your [[English teacher->english teacher]], it has way too much potential.Double-click this passage to edit it.The circumstances are mostly just the fact that it is the last real day of school and you've been a bad friend to [[explanation<-this guy]].Looks like he didn't actually want to talk to you. Figures. He's staring at his phone again. And it's almost time for you to go. The bell is about to ring. You have [[Physics.]] Or you can [[Look for your true love?<-hunt your man down.]]