Stuck With You Guys, Again

-Noon, Seaside High-

The students are sitting on their own seats while paying attention to Mr. Brown, their teacher.

”So… lets talk about dreams! What is a dream for you? ” Mr. Brown speaks while writing on the board.

”What is a dream to you… Ms. Park? ” He picks Joanne to answer.

Joanne answers confidently, ”A dream is a goal that you want to achieve.

”Now, what about you, Mr. Farrell? ” He asks Caleb who sits next to Joanne.

Caleb who doesn know the answer just stares at the others awkwardly. He leans closer to Joanne to get a hint, but unfortunately gets caught up by Mr. Brown.

”This question is not something that has a wrong answer, guys… Its something that you need to search for yourself. My definition of dream and Johannas definition can be different and thats fine. Now… some homework for you, ” He explains and starts to give them homework to do which leads them to whine at the same time.

”Now, come on… This isn math, so you can chill! I want you to write down what is a dream to you and what your dreams are. This may sound easy, but I want you to take this assignment seriously, ” He explains to the class.

Joanne, Caleb, and Kai are coming out of the classroom to meet up with the others for lunch. They chat with each other as they walk across the hallway.

”So, do you guys know what your dream is? ” Kai asks them.

”No… ” Joanne answers with a sulky expression.

”Yeah… me too, ” Kai says while looking down.

They look at Caleb to wait for his answer.

”What? Don look at me! I got nothin at all! I can even decide what Im having for lunch, let alone a big word like dream! ” Caleb complains.

They just breathe the air out to express their frustration.

”Oh, there they are! ” Kai shouts cheerfully while pointing at Beca, Felix, and Val who are sitting at the cafeteria.

”Aye… ” Val greets them. ”You guys are late… ” Felix says calmly.

”Mr. Brown was late! ” Caleb whines.

”Wow, somebodys gettin cranky today, ” Val says sarcastically which leads to Caleb pouting to her.

”Well, he gave us the assignment to figure out about… dreams… ” Joanne says awkwardly, especially on the word dream.

”Well, thats hard… ” Felix responds.

”I think its easy though… ” Val says calmly while eating her mashed potato.

”Me too. My dream is straight up to find true love! ” Beca explains with sparkles in her eyes.

”Is that also a dream…? ” Caleb asks skeptically.

”I think so… Well, mine is to be a songwriter… ” Val says confidently.

”Yeah, I can so see that in you… ” Kai says while pouting.

”Its okay, there are a few days before the assignment, right? Just… think it through. Take your time… ” Felix comforts them.

”Urgh, this is harder than math! ” Caleb complains while leaning to Joanne.

”Hey, should we just search it on the internet? ” Caleb jokes nonchalantly.

The rest of them immediately stare at him in the same surprised manner and Beca suddenly shouts ”Thats preposterous! ” which makes them all stare at her.

”You know that word??? ” Joanne asks her with bewilderment in her eyes that makes them all crack up.

They just laugh even though they have no idea what a dream means. Maybe, they just want to forget about the idea of wondering about the future for a second.

Although the assignment is just for Joanne, Caleb, and Kai, it has made the rest of them question it too. All this time they haven been really paying attention to the word dream. All they know is they will just eat together, joke around, and have a sleepover at Kais.

Little did they know that the future is not going to be as easy as eating ice cream at their favorite place. The urgency to wonder about ones dream hadn bothered them up until know.

Since it has been brought into the discussion, they start to seek the meaning of a dream.

Will they be able to finish this assignment genuinely or will they just write half-heartedly made up stories that they can find on the internet? Will they be able to find the meaning of a dream? Will they find dreams that they will hold dearly to their hearts?

-After the basketball teams practice-

Felix stares at the ball for a while and says, ”its alright, Ill clean up. I think Ill stay here a bit longer… ” He says while smiling to hide his thoughts.

Kai and Caleb just stare at each other and nod.

They walk toward the door and stop for a moment, ”If you need someone one to talk to, you can always drop to Jenkins… ” Kai says softly.

”Oh, Farrells also open! ” Caleb yells delightfully.

They both get out of the door and leave him to sort his minds out.

Felix sighs and starts to throw the ball into the ring. The ball doesn fly into the ring just as his mind doesn fall into one answer that hes been thinking about this whole afternoon. He doesn simply know what dream means nor that he knows what his is.

All his life, he thought that being a basketball player was his dream. Now, he doesn even know it anymore. It was a dream that his dad has shaped for him. He doesn quite understand yet if it was something that he truly wants to be.

Continuing to live as if its his true dream will just make him blind to other opportunities. It seems like he is already tired to pretend that hes happy with his fathers plan because, apparently, he is not.

For once, he wants to be in charge of his life.

All he knows is that he wants to be forever with his best friends. There is no single moment where Felix wants to be separated from any of them. Although he knows their distance can never stay the same, he still wishes that no changes will disrupt their friendship.

It may not be a fancy dream like being determined to be a president, but its a desire that he has for the moment. That may be the dream that he holds dearly deep down in his heart.

”Does a dream gotta be a job? A situation? A goal? Urgh, I don know any of that! ” Felix shouts to express his confusion and frustration while throwing the ball again.

The ball still doesn listen well to him and fly into another direction when suddenly someone catches it. ”What don you know? ” a girl, wearing a cheerleader uniform, asks with a friendly smile on her face.

”Nothin… None o your business, ” he answers while looking away nervously.

”Sometimes, talking to a stranger can be… fun, you know… Its not embarrassing, cause theyll probably forget about you anyway… ” she says with a calm smile.

Felix stares at her for a second and looks away again to hide his panic.

”I thought the basketball practice already ended, though… Why are you here? ” she asks with a calm tone.

After hearing her words, his legs start to shake. His heart starts to beat fast and he can seem to find the right words to come out of his mouth. That is how he always feels every time some stranger, a person he is not familiar with, talks to him.

Its not a bubbly feeling nor a bunch of butterflies tickling his stomach. Its a feeling of fear and anxiety to interact with that new person.

Making new friends is not an easy task for Felix. He always gets nervous, anxious, and scared.

To avoid getting panicked and any weirder, he tends to push that unfamiliar person away. That is probably why he comes out as a cold and distant person.

That is also why he cherishes the six of them because its not easy to find someone who sticks around without mistaking him as a cold and boring person.

He doesn answer her and starts to clean up the room. He walks away from her toward the cleaning equipment at the corner of the room.

”You gotta pick up the balls first, dude! ” the girl says in a cheerful tone.

Felix stares at her weirdly with confusion in his eyes. ”Why are you still here? ” he mumbles quietly.

The girl, who seems to notice, says ”Im sorry, what? ” Felix, who was staring at her, looks away again to avoid any eye-contact possibly.

He doesn answer her question and picks up a broom.

”So, why are you still here? The practice ended a while ago, right? ” the girl asks him.

Felix who doesn know how to respond just stares at her confusedly. He hesitates for a moment. He wants to respond to her, but he doesn know how to. Panicked, he just continues sweeping the floor and walk further away from her.

The girl, who seems to give up, pick up the last ball on the floor and throw it to him. With Felixs quick intuition, he quickly catches it with perplexion in his eyes.

”If you don like my company, just say it. Ill piss off… ” she says with a slight disappointment in her tone.

She walks toward the door and leaves him alone in the court.

Felix, who didn intend to hurt her feelings, just starts to get frustrated again.

”Why can I be more friendly? Just smile and don get weird, dude! Urgh… easier said than done! ” he whines to himself while grabbing his head.

Felix, who was bewildered on how to act when someone unfamiliar talks to him, screams to release his frustration and lies on the floor.

He looks up at the ceiling and says, ”why is making new friends so hard for me? ”

-Hallway-

Caleb is walking together with Joanne through the hallway.

”Hey Jo, lets go to Lemon and Life! ” Caleb says joyfully.

”Are you craving for ice cream? ” Joanna asks him calmly.

”Yeah! Come on! ” Caleb shouts bubbly while grabbing Joannes shoulder.

As they are walking toward the door, two girls walk toward them and say, ”Hey, Caleb… ” while smiling flirtatiously.

”Aye… ” Caleb greets them with a smile on his face.

Joanne just stares him and says, ”You are such a flirt! Do you even know them? How do they even know you??? You haven showed up in any game before nor that you participate in a class that actively! ”

Caleb just smiles and answers, ”Well, I guess this boy is indeed popular, Jo… ” while pointing at himself.

Joanne just scoffs and giggles at him.

-Lemon and Life Café-

Joanne and Caleb are sitting near the window that has a beach view. They are just chilling while eating their ice cream.

Joanne stares at Caleb and says, ”So, what is it, bro? ”

”What? Nothing! ” Caleb denies while giggling to hide his worries.

”Oh, drop it, Farrell… I know that you wanna talk about something… ” Joanne responds.

Caleb just pouts at her for a second and starts to say while looking away, ”Well… there is something thats been just a lil bit bothering me… ”

”What is it? ” Joanne asks while also looking at the ocean.

”Whats… your dream, Jo? Or… what is it that you like? ” Caleb asks while still looking deeply at the ocean view from the window.

Joanne smiles and answers, ”Dream, huh? I don know… but I know that I want to go to a prestigious college after we graduate… Is that also considered a dream? ”

”Well, don ask me! I have no idea… but, thats the thing Jo! You have something that you want or like! I don have anything like that… ” Caleb whines while leaning on the window.

”What is it that I like? ” Joanne asks him.

”You love studying! You have a hobby! I don have that! I don even have a real hobby, let alone a passion! ” he complains.

”But, you
e good at everything! Thats great, Caleb… ” Joanne compliments him.

Caleb whines again and says, ”But its nothing the same with liking something… ”

Joanne stares at him while smiling and pats his head.

”Its fine, dude! Everybody is as confused as you are… You can search for it slowly! You don have to come up with it in one night… Its a journey of searching! Just take it slowly and youll find what you like in life… ” she comforts him with a warm smile.

Caleb just pouts at her and hit his head to the window softly.

She just smiles at him hoping that those words can comfort him for even just a bit. She understands so much the pain and frustration of not having a clue about the future. Thats why she just smiles and accompanies him there.

The question of a dream is not easy, at least for them. It is not something that they can search down on the internet. Its a journey for them to know themselves better.

Will they be able to find it? Will they tell it to the world with their heads up and be confident?

–

Preview for the next chapter:

Caleb stares at the bright stars in the dark sky.

”So, have you found it? ” Beca asks him.

”Yeah… I think I have… ” Caleb answers while smiling brightly.

Beca looks at him while smiling warmly and asks, ”What is it? ”