[Friday]"Soooooooo…" Claire pestered Simon whilst the two of them walked around the festival on the last day together. "Why did you invite me?"
"No reason. I just thought that it would be like old times."
"Old times? Things certainly have been strange."
Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.
The two of them spent the last day of the festival aimlessly walking around and checking out all the booths they wanted to. From the food and drink booths to the entertainment booths like a mini test of courage. They wanted to experience it all.
"Ethan really did a good job," Claire said.
"Yeah… I should give him more credit."
"Giving credit to your rival in love?"
"Ha!" Simon burst out laughing. "That was the past. Although it was only recently it feels like it was years ago."
Claire walked around the festival intending to listen to whatever Simon had to say. She intended to enjoy the whole festival with Simon whilst confronting herself. Even as her smile never dropped she could always feel the fear of her past coming back out.
"I want to say something," Claire said as Simon stopped walking to look at her, his heart ready to leave his chest from the anxiety of hearing the dreaded words.
"W-what is it?"
"About the time back in year 7. I didn"t actually like that guy… I-"
"I know," Simon said interrupting. "That was clear to anyone."
"Don"t interrupt me again," Claire said smacking Simon. "I was just getting to the actual part."
"Ow… sorry…"
"I wanted to say that I wished that we could have stayed friends back in secondary school. I thought that I could get things to go back to how they were before but it seemed like it was pointless as we were already too far apart."
"Why does that matter?" Simon said. "We are back together now, aren"t we?"
Claire held back her rage from Simon once again interrupting her. Although, she felt a calmness in his words as if she had wanted to hear them years ago.
"Yeah… You"re right… Let"s not talk about the past… Forget I ever mentioned it."
"Alright."
They continued to walk around the festival with a foggy air above them. Neither of them was able to move on from the sudden announcement of their past. The two sides that they both knew of their past and the path they both took to end up where they are today were two lines that have suddenly crashed together in an unexpected meeting. Even if it took to their death, these two lines were guaranteed to crash at some point
"I like you!" Claire confessed suddenly to Simon who didn"t look back at her.
"I know…" He said only to die of embarra.s.sment from trying to be cool.
"Haha…" Claire slightly laughed to fill the awkward air and hoping to ignore what she just heard but her red face was unable to hide anything.
"So…?" she said creeping round him and smiling brightly at his apple face since hers died down "What do you say to dating?"
"S-sure…" Simon quickly dashed his head away and turned around each time Claire tried to see his face. Eventually, Claire gave up and gently rested her head on his back, covering her smile and tears of joy.
"What are you doing?" Simon said trying to turn around only for Claire to block him like a concrete wall.
"Don"t move." She said, "Let"s just stay like this…"
Ding Dong Ding
"The festival will close in 2 hours," An announcement with a familiar voice said. "A speech by the head of the festival committee will begin shortly."
"Seems like they got Owen to do the announcement," Claire said releasing Simon.
"Come on…" he said holding out his hand. "Let"s go."
The two of them took the long way to the stage where the speech was being made, as they walked the halls of the festival for one last time, looking at those that experienced such enjoyment as they both did at this moment. The atmosphere they experienced over these three days of the festival created a community that won"t be forgotten.
# # #
"W-welcome everyone…" Ethan said as he stood atop the stage gently tapping the mic to test it only to receive an unnecessary amount of feedback.
"This can"t go well…" Owen said watching from behind the stage and looking into the audience to find his usual group of friends all sitting with their eyes latched onto Ethan, ready to make fun of him afterwards.
"My name is Ethan and I was the person in charge of this festival… I know that it was a bit of a strange and sudden change to make this festival three days long compared to the others which were only 1. I would first like to explain this. I wanted this festival to be something that we could all achieve together. I know that it was a lot of work and I am thankful and amazed at how we all somehow managed to put it together in time. I wanted this festival to be something that people could remember, not just the students. I wanted people from outside the school to come into this wonderful place and spent each and every day full of smiles and laughter. I think, looking at everyone here… I can say I accomplished that.
Secondly, I want to thank everyone. All the people behind the scenes that kept everything running smoothly and all the people that ran the booths or put on performances. Thank you.
And to keep this speech short, finally, I want to say that this festival has been an experience I will never forget. I was stressed out about it all, worried that it wouldn"t end how I wanted it to or that something would go wrong. But I think I can speak for all the current year 13s, who will graduate in only a few months, that you have all given us wonderful memories that will last us a lifetime. When we look back on these three days, we can see what we all achieved together, even if we aren"t physically together, we will always cherish them.
Once again, thank you all for coming. Thank you for making this the best festival we have ever put on. I apologise for pa.s.sing the baton with such a high and mighty task, but seeing everyone here today and how pa.s.sionate they were, I"m sure they will be able to create a festival better than the last.
Thank you."
Ethan"s speech ended with a room of clapping that drowned out the tears of some of the students and adults. The year 13s hadn"t thought about it much. With little time left, and no one knowing what will happen in the future. With those that will go to university, those that will go into work, or even those that go to study abroad. This was an event that could be the last for them. An event like this was one that couldn"t be erased from their memories for a long time.