"What have you planned for your future?"
"Huh?"
My classmate, Chanse Lee, caught me off guard with his question as I stared out the classroom window in a daze.
We'd been assigned to clean up after class, and we were just about to pack our things and leave.
"I—uh…"
It was a week before junior high graduation. In the three years we'd shared a classroom, we'd never had a proper conversation. I was surprised he would start one now—especially over something like this.
"A lot of them have already decided," he continued, "but we're just about to be first-years in high school. I wonder… how can they do that?"
That had been the talk of the class for the past month—everyone choosing which schools to attend, which clubs to join, or which extracurricular activities to take to prepare for their dream college.
"Yeah… I guess they're very passionate about the future they want," I said.
"In my eyes, they're being too careless for their own good."
I could understand his reasoning. For the past three years, Chanse had done nothing but study. I'd seen him in the library constantly, buried in thick books, and he always went to prep school after class. He was smart, athletic, and always near the top of our class. I didn't think he'd ever taken a day off from studying.
"--I think you need to get over yourself."
The words slipped out before I realized it. My hand shot up to cover my mouth, as if that could stop me from saying something else.
His eyes widened, his mouth falling open in shock. He quickly looked down, lips trembling ever so slightly.
"…You never said what you wanted for your future."
I lowered my hand, hesitating before answering. "I… don't know."
He nodded once. "Very well."
Chanse didn't say much after that. He just picked up his bag, and before stepping out the door, he said, "I hope I never see you again after graduation."
"Chanse, I'm—"
But he didn't give me the chance to apologize. By the time I turned toward the window, he was already walking toward the school gate.
It was the first time I'd ever heard him speak outside of class.
"Why me?" I wondered aloud.
He was an odd kid.
High school was barely starting for us, and yet some people were already thinking about life beyond it. Why were they so serious about their future all of a sudden?
…Was that what he wanted to hear from me?
I took a deep breath. "My future…"
And so graduation came. That day was the last time I ever saw my studious classmate, Chanse Lee.
Or so I thought.