45 The Heir Of Apollo

"I know, Ethan. The words I said isn't going to change anything," she added, "but there's no harm in letting the ship sail once again."

"True, that's exactly what I've been trying to tell him. He's just not open to it and we can't, nor won't force him about it." Kody remarked, crossing his arms.

"We understand. You still have lots of years left to figure things out." she advised, pulling me into a hug. "Take care of yourself, Ethan. I—We love you so much."

Wendy adjusted her bag draped around her shoulders, gazing directly into my eyes as she gave me a warm smile before leaving us, and disappearing into the crowd surrounding Franco. Kody then sat down, taking a deep breath. I turned to him, seeing him cold and pale. He could never stand near a girl for so long, especially when it's Wendy.

"What's the matter with you?" I inquired, sitting right next to him. "It seems you're out of breath. It's one of those 'Wendy's Immaculate' moments again, right?"

He turned to me, fear and feelings flashed in his eyes, "That gal came out of the blue, and as usual, I always find her attractive in that uniform."

"Here we are in another segment of you hopelessly simping over your crush, Wendy." I quipped, as I handed him water. "Make the first move already. Just do it. Take the risk."

"Hey, if you weren't cold-hearted, we would be fighting over her," he responded, "and would lose a wonderful and precious friendship that took a lot of years to build which is sad and bad."

"Pftt, I'd never steal a girl you've been devoted to, and I only view her as a friend anyways."

"Friends? Sure, but she doesn't," he asserted, "did you see the way she stared into your eyes as she gave you a smile? Friends don't look at friends in such way."

"Don't play the deaf game with me on this one." he added, pointing at me. "Right before she left, I heard she was about to utter 'I love you' while hugging you, but switched to 'We love you'."

"Kody, have you ever heard of platonic love? Do some research, and you'll know."

"No, what's that? Is it some kind of spell used for hopeless romantics? If it is, I need that one, asap."

"It's not a spell, dummy. It's more of a love based on friendships, and is not sexual."

"First of all, I am certain that Wendy is in love with you. Second of all, I never said anything about it being sexual. All I said was that she clearly likes, or loves you a lot. Understood?"

"Fine, you win this round. I ran out of words to counter your points." I accepted my defeat, hovering onto my phone. "Wendy's all yours, man. Don't you worry about it."

"As if she wants me such as how she wants you, and even if she does, how certain am I that she isn't thinking of you when I'm with her?"

"It's a question I'll never be able to answer. I'm not the exact person for that, but you'll know it if the stars finally align for you."

"The chances of it not aligning is high, so I'm not gonna have high hopes about it."

"They will, Kody. It's something you should trust and hope for, and you said that yourself."

"Hey, I did say that. It's hard to swallow, but I'm glad you still remember it."

"Why wouldn't I? I was crying over my guitar I lost in the train, and you being that one kid filled with so much with wisdom, you said that line."

"I had no idea, alright? Words of affirmation were all I got at that time."

"Honestly, it did cheer me up, but it never brought my guitar back, so it's still kind of a bummer."

"True, but at least I made you smile. I don't say this often, but what would I do without you?"

"You're wrong, it's my place to say that. You've made a great impact on my life and perception, and I might've not taken it into action, but it's a little reminder that I always look back on."

He smiled, hugging me. "Thank you, Ethan. Now, let's prepare and get over this emotional talk."

"Right, I can see Mr. Mcnuggle from a far, making his way to the crowd."

"Do you think he'll scold Franco for being this irresponsible? I doubt it, not because he's lenient, but because it wouldn't make a change at this moment."

"I doubt it as well, and there's no point of scolding him since he's three sheets to the wind."

Our headmaster made his way to the crowd, breaking it apart. From afar, he seemed irritated cause of the incident, and aggressively talked out the current members of the student councils. This is the reason why I do not take part of any student council agenda cause it requires a lot of responsibility that pressures you a lot along with education itself. Mr. Mcnuggle might seem carefree and genteel when he's actually strict and frank. Almost everyday, I'd pass by his office while seeing him lecturing three or more students through his window. I'd wave at him as he waves back, and I bashfully smile at the students, receiving a glare in return.

Thirty minutes later, a crowd of students walked through the doors as they choose and sit with their friends, or colleagues. Kody and I were waiting for nobody, so we didn't mind if numerous strangers decided to take the vacant seats in our row. To my surprise, Emily, Wendy took all of the vacant seats in our row along with two unfamiliar girls.

"Hey, Ethan and Kody! Do you mind if we take take up the vacant seats?" Wendy inquired, turning to her girls and smiled.

"No, it's totally fine. It's not a problem, here have take a seat." I responded, noticing Emily from behind. "Why, hello there, Emily. Our paths have crossed 2 times in a day, that's a record."

"Hey there, dork. No, it's not a record, it is definitely a curse you bring around with you."

"Or it could be fate, you know, destiny." Kody joined as he smiles. Sometimes, his corny jokes are just out of hand.

"Kody, shut it will you? Guys, pick a seat." Wendy scoffed, furrowing her brows. "The program's about to start."

"Apologies, Wendy. I didn't mean to trigger your hiding jealousy."

Wendy lifted her bag, letting her friends pass through, and picked a seat. Emily sat right next to me while the others sat next to Kody, I could feel him panicking as of now.

"Anyways, now that we've sat together," Wendy stated, "I'll be introducing you to some of our friends.

"Ethan and Kody, this is Alexis and Jessica. They are our friends for the past few years now, and are indeed loyal and genuine."

"I'm Ethan Kinsly and this is Kody Williams, my friend I grew up with." I introduced, reaching my hand out. "It's our pleasure to meet you."

They smiled, shaking our hands. "Thank you, and we appreciate it. Nice to meet you as well!"

After that small introduction, our headmaster, walked up the stage, toward the podium. Prior to uttering, he tapped the microphone and cleared his throat.

"A pleasant morning, everyone! We are gathered here for our annual program every start of the school year. In this program, we get to do all sorts of activites, and social interactions, or some appreciation for you, our students.

"Let us all stand up, and have our opening prayer. May the heavens above pave the way to the right path, and hands. Offer us inspiration and motivation in our daily life of learning and failing. Enlighten us teachers, and students that we'll never fail to show each other the appreciation of our works, no matter the quantity is.

"McKinley Medians! I've officially opened the program, let me hear all of you cheer! That's the spirit! As usual, we start off the program with our President, but he is currently ill, so we're skipping that part along with the introduction of the student council members. I'm very certain that you can see the banners next to you, and it's enough for you to recognize our officers.

"Now let us proceed to the next part which is the hall of appreciation. At this juncture, I would like to name this kid who had done great deeds for the university, it's own band and to the younger musicians. He had been gifted with a meticulous talent that shed light to those musicians who had lost hope and inspiration.

"Because of his great works and voicing out the name of our University through music, we will award him a title, "The Heir Of Apollo". Some of you might not know, but Apollo is actually the god of music. The student who deserves this had proven his talent, and skill.

"You know this kid and he might be sitting right next to you. Give it up for Ethan Josiah Kinsly, The Heir Of Apollo! A round of applause!"

It made me anxious and all, but I had to toughen a bit for my friends, my band, and the university. This is a huge milestone for me, but I still feel empty. A lot of people had their eyes on me, and I just kept clapping as I smiled bashfully.

"Wait, Ethan. You're Josiah? That name..it sounds so familiar.." Emily inquired, struggling to recall a certain incident.

Is it her? Have the stars aligned once again?