there once was this group of kids. some would have called them the outcasts of the school. they preferred the "misfits" or, even better, the geeks. they lived in their own little worlds, so separate, but at the same time they were the closest that friends could possibly be.

there was this school. it was ratty and falling down. every day it seemed that something new needed to be fixed. every day it became more and more apparent that there was no money with which to fix it.

there was this class, too. their class. the class that pulled together so nicely on spirit week, but still couldn't manage to raise enough money to hold a decent prom.

all of their lives were entertwined. they felt secure in this safe haven of theirs, a haven that they themselves had helped create. they were nearing the end of their junior year of high school. that year when everything, for the first time, begins to feel more quickly paced. they were at that stage in their lives when their little worlds were all they knew.

at the senior graduation all of their friends had tears in their eyes. promises of phonecalls and letters were made, but no one really took any of that seriously. they were moving on, to a new life that those new seniors would not be part of. they cried, moreso because they were growing up so quickly than because their friends were leaving them.

they began to think now. about colleges, scholarships, extra curricular activities. things that may determine the fate of their lives. things that were important to their futures. all of that growing up happened so fast. where did the years of childhood go? the innocent laughter, now gone forever. the cliche--their young minds tainted forever with a taste of the outside world. they grew futher apart.

they left too, and there were tears. more half-hearted promises. it all slipped away in an instant.