Senior Year: The Survival Guide

“Lauren!”

I grunted and shoved the covers over my face.

“Lauren! Your alarm has gone off three times already. Stop pressing snooze and get your butt out of bed!”

It was 8:00 in the morning. Four hours earlier than I had woken up all summer.

“Laur-”

“Mom, I’m awake. Stop yelling” I got out of bed and got ready to go up to the high school.

Every year, a week before school starts, the students have to go to the school and get their book, schedule and what ever else they want to make us stand in line for. They call it Hawk Camp.

When I was done getting ready, I grabbed my keys, made sure my younger sister, Hannah, was still asleep, said goodbye to my mom, and then left to pick up Mason. Mason and I met in sophomore and we were pretty much best friends right from the start. Honestly, I have no idea what I would do without him.

“Heyyy!” I yelled as Mason got in the car. He absolutely hates when I talk like that.

“You have no idea how much I hate you having to drive me around everywhere.” He pouted. And, not to mentions, was very annoyed.

I laughed. “When do you get the truck back?”

“Never,” he replied, “One little dent and my dad flips.”

“One little dent? Mason you ran into a tree. And you were drunk” I reminded him.

Last month he had gone to a party, expecting not to drink, but he did. Then he drove home and crashed the front end of his truck into a tree. Luckily, he wasn’t going fast enough to do any real damage.

“We are done talking about this. Let‘s just go.” And with that Mason turned up the radio and we drove the rest of the way in silence.

You know that smell schools have? A horrible mix of bleach, pencil shavings, body odor, and nasty perfume. It hit me like a strong tidal wave the second I walked in to Kennedy High, There were posters everywhere telling you what line to stand in for what, where to get a locker, persuading you to buy a senior fun pack. Every year it’s complete chaos, but this year was extreme.

I walked over to the line for people with the last name N-T to pick up my schedule, while Mason went to the U-Z line. At the other end of the hall there was a giant banner hanging from the ceiling that read “WHAT ARE YOU DOING AFTER GRADUATION?” and under it were several tables set up with representatives from various colleges. I watched as the other students stopped by the tables and talked to their dream schools. Everyone seemed to have their lives all figured out and I had no idea what I wanted to do or what college I wanted to go to.

“Last name?” The counselor asked. She was a plump, middle aged woman with light brown hair. She was way too cheerful for someone who was stuck saying the same two words all day long but she didn’t seem bothered by it at all.

“Smith” I replied. She handed me my schedule for senior year and told me to look it over for any mistakes. There was nothing wrong so I made my way over to the book room.

As I passed familiar faces and said hello to people I’ve known since kindergarten, I realized that this was the beginning of a series of lasts. My last first day of school. My last homecoming. My last school pictures. The last year I have with to be with friends I’ve known most of my life. The last year before I have to be an adult. It was all so surreal.

When I was done getting my books and talking to colleges I told Mason to meet me by my car. “You didn’t grab any pamphlets?” I asked him as he walked to my car and he had nothing in his hands.

“Don’t need ‘em.” he mumbled.

“Why not? You need to go to college if you’re gonna be a doctor like you always say.”

He sighed, “Laur, I’m going to join the navy.”

I got a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. What did he mean he was joining the navy? We were gonna go to college together and share an apartment. We had a plan and him joining the navy wasn’t part of it.

“When did you decide this?”

“About a month ago. I was talking to Jeremy about it and I think it would be best.” He smiled but I just stared at him in shock. “Can you unlock the car now? It’s hot out here.”

“No, I can’t unlock the car!” I shouted, “When were you planning on telling me!?”

“You’ve been in such a good mood lately. I didn’t want to ruin it.”

“Well it’s definitely ruined now.” I stated. I unlocked the car and we both got in. “What else are you not telling me?”

“Nothing. That was it.” He claimed.

I knew I was overreacting. We still had a whole year ahead of us. It was just, the one thing that’s been constant in my life the past two years was Mason. Now it was all starting to come to an end.

Ever since I was little I imagined going off to college and being an adult. I hated depending on other people. I always wanted to get out. But with the time for that getting closer and closer, I wanted it less and less. Senior year always seemed so far away and then, all of the sudden, it crept up on me and became reality. I had to make the most of the next eight months.