Chapter 40: To Graduate or Not to Graduate | Final Chapter

       I didn't know why, but the school was waiting until graduation day to let all of us know what we got on our final exams, meaning I wasn't sure if I was going to graduate or not. I mean, I was confidant I passed but I was also confidant that I was straight a few years ago and we all know how that turned out.

       I still didn't get why they were making us wait until right before the graduation to see if we passed or not. Surely, I wasn't the only one in this situation.

       All of us seniors got to the school early to prepare for the graduation and to wait for our test scores. I only had to worry about my math exam, so I was pacing outside of my math classroom, waiting for the scores to be posted. I really needed to pass otherwise I wouldn't be able to go on tour.

       Not too many people were in this hallway. In fact, most people were gathered in the cafeteria so I guess I was one of the very few people waiting for test results.

       Kitty soon walked over to me, already wearing her graduate gown, like some of the students had already done. Mainly because they wanted to take pictures and stuff like that. "So are the test results posted?" she asked.

       "If the test results were posted, I wouldn't be pacing the hallway," I said. "I don't get why they're making us wait until today to figure out if we passed or not. Why not email us the results? Or do basically anything that doesn't involve waiting until the last minute."

       "Yeah, I never got that," Kitty said. "They've been doing it for years and they never thought about changing it. It's stupid, isn't it? Waiting until right before you graduate to find out if you're actually graduating. Like, imagine getting into your cap and gown, taking a bunch of pictures, seeing that your exam results are posted, and then you find out you fail."

       Hearing Kitty say that only made me start to think everything. My mind immediately went to the worst case scenario, where not only do I fail and not go on tour, but Sawyer and I start having communication problems because he would be so busy on tour. And then he ends up failing for a cute horseback rider all because I couldn't send him nudes.

       Kitty must have seen the worried look on my face because she said, "Jamie, don't worry about it. I'm sure you passed. I mean, you did do well on the practice test I gave you. Though you probably would have done better if you didn't take the test in a room that gave you clear view of the farmland. I lost count at how many times I caught you checking out Sawyer."

       "He was doing it on purpose," I said.

       "Doing what on purpose? His chores?" Kitty asked.

       "Yes. He knew that I would check him out so he just had to do his chores shirtless."

       "Jamie," Kitty said. "He ended up going shirtless because you took a 'bathroom break' and 'accidentally' spilled water on his shirt."

       "Genius, right?" I asked.

       "Not when you were supposed to be doing your practice test," Kitty said. "Do you always do that when you're supposed to be focusing on something important?"

       "Not always," I said. "I haven't done it at all when he was helping me practice for the cross-country competition." No matter how much I wanted to... "Homework and studying is another story." I then sighed. "How long is it going to take for the results to be posted? I can't handle this anymore."

       "Why don't we go get your graduation cap and gown?" Kitty offered.

       "Am I even allowed to get it if I didn't pass?" I asked. "Because, let's say I didn't pass, wouldn't that be a messed up system? Letting anyone get a cap and gown when they didn't actually pass?"

       "Yeah, pretty much," Kitty said. "So want to get your cap and gown?"

       "I do, but I also don't want to leave here," I said. "I want to be here as soon as the exam results are posted. That way, I don't have to shove anyone out of the way."

       "If it does get crowded as soon as the results are posted, I'll shove everyone out of the way for you," Kitty said.

       "Does this mean I'm off your murder list?"

       "You've been off for a while. Just don't make any mistakes."

       "Okay, but just in advance, what counts as a mistake?"

       "If you have to ask if it's a mistake, chances are it's a mistake."

       Even though Kitty and I got along great now and I would even consider her a, shiver, friend, I was still quite scared of her. In fact, I was more scared of her now than before considering it was quite terrifying that she was actually my friend.

       The two of us waited by my math classroom for the results to be posted, and in the meantime, we were talking about the tour. I knew she was talking about it to try to get my mind off of the results, but I did feel a bit more worried. I was excited to go on tour, and I wouldn't be able to go if I failed.

       When the math teacher finally posted the results, I quickly hurried over to see my mark before it could get too crowded since some students had already piled in the hallway. I scanned the list, looking for my student number to see what the exam results were.

       My student number was halfway through the list and when I finally got to it, I couldn't believe the mark I got.

       I backed away from the list since some people were starting to crowd around it.

       I looked over at Kitty, who had a hopefully look on her face. "So...?"

       "I passed!" I said happily. "With a B!"

       "I knew you could do it!" Kitty said, pulling me into a hug.

       "Well, this isn't something I see everyday," Lulu suddenly said, so Kitty and I pulled away from the hug to see an ever-so confused Lulu and Beau. "Did I enter a parallel universe? Am I in a dream? Seriously, someone tell me what's going on."

       "Oh, we finally put our differences behind us," Kitty said.

       "And by that, she means that she owes me her life because I technically got her a spot on the horse competition touring team thingy," I said.

       "That is not true," Kitty said. "Well, about me owing him my life. He did get me a spot on the team."

       "Why would you do that?" Lulu asked me.

       "Because I am an honourable person," I said. 

       "And because Steph is a backstabbing bitch," Kitty said.

       "Yeah, that too," I said.

       "I am so lost," Beau said.

       "Don't worry, I am too," I said.

       Now that I knew for sure that I was graduating, I went to go pick up my cap and gown since us graduates were going to have to start preparing for the ceremony. I couldn't wait until I graduated from high school, meaning I could spend more time at home checking out Sawyer.

       Since this was a small town, the ceremony didn't take too long and before I knew it, I had officially graduated from high school. After the ceremony ended, I went to where my mom, Dorothy, and Sawyer was. Mom immediately pulled me into a hug. "Congratulations, Jamie," she said.

       "Thank you," I said. "And to think, I almost didn't graduate."

       Mom pulled away from me. "I'm sorry, you what?"

       "Nothing," I said. "Nothing at all. It's not like I was three marks away from failing math."

       "You what?"

       "Don't worry. I got a B on the final exam."

       "That still doesn't explain why you didn't tell me you were close to failing."

       "My teacher didn't tell you either," I said. "So technically, it's his fault you were kept out of the loop." Mom crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Okay, okay. I was worried you would get mad at me because I was an irresponsible math student. I was constantly neglecting my homework because I was training for the cross-country competition so I could get a spot on the team. You're not... You're not going to stop me from going on tour, are you?"

       Mom sighed. "Of course not, Jamie. You're really passionate about horseback riding, and you're on your way to make it an official career. It won't be fair for me to stop you from going on tour. That, and you're turning eighteen next week before tour starts so I won't be able to stop you anyway. Besides, you did turn your grade around and you got a B on your final exam. At least you didn't give up completely."

       "And that would be thanks to Kitty," I said. "She's an amazing tutor. Except for that fact that she wouldn't let Sawyer be in the same room as me when she was tutoring me."

       "Kitty?" Mom asked

       "Yeah, she's a math genius so I asked if she could tutor Jamie," Sawyer said. "And surprisingly, I think they're actually friends now. She did turn over a new leaf so I'm not too mad about it. The only part I'm mad about is all the ideas Kitty keeps giving him."

       "That's not something I expected to hear," Mom said. "But it's great that she changed. Now, let's say we go to the diner to celebrate Jamie's graduation and the two of you going on tour for the summer."

       "Sounds great," I said, knowing that this was going to be one awesome summer.

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and this book is officially over! thank you all for reading it and for putting up with jamie's sexual comments.

book two will probably come tomorrow. i would have at least tried to get the first part (the character list) posted before i got to bed, but i'm feeling a bit sick and just want to lie down lol.

keep an eye out for the second book of this series! i'll update this book with a note when it's posted!