“But you could come with me!” I pleaded, desperation pouring out my eyes.

I stood before my childhood friend in the meadow. We would always meet up after school. This was our routine for years. Even now, at our high school graduation.

Though today, it seemed more like a confrontation than a mere meeting.

Or perhaps, a proposal.

And its rejection.

—

We had been walking in the local meadow. Nothing out of the ordinary. We usually took a stroll here anyways, whether is was to sit by the river or lie in the grass. We were always together.

The day was beautiful. The setting Sun was retiring for the day, leaving a picturesque blending of various colours in the sky. Majestic combinations of pink, orange and purple swirled above us, and even the clouds had left the scene.

“It’s brilliant weather, right?” He called out to me, as we strolled through the long grasses, swaying gently in the wind. “It’s almost surreal!”

I hummed in response, keeping my eyes fixed on the landscape.

“I can’t believe this is our last week of high school,” he continued. “It’s weird. What is this feeling? Nostalgia?”

I hummed again.

“Hey, you feel it too, right? This feeling…” he said, suddenly stopping turning to face me. “Why… why aren’t you saying anything?”

Slowly, I turned myself towards him, my eyes feeling as hollow as my heart.

“I know what you did.”

My words cut him like a shard of unexpected glass.

“Wh- what?”

“Why? Why did you do it?” I said again, a little louder, though my anger was being barely contained.

He was speechless for a few moments, his eyes avoiding mine.

He finally muttered, “You couldn’t do it. You wouldn’t.”

“Exactly. And that’s how it should have been. You shouldn’t have meddled with my university applications!” I cried, the cracks of emotional containment widening.

“It was for your benefit! It was your dream… your dream university,” he retorted, faltering slightly towards the end. “You… you wouldn’t apply because you knew I wasn’t going. And I couldn’t bear that.”

“You shouldn’t have changed my university choices…” I said, though my anger was also dissipating slightly. “It’s my choice…”

“No, I know how you’ve wanted to go there for years. I know you more than anyone. Just because I can’t go there didn’t mean that you should give your dream up too. I can’t live with that guilt,” he said, his voice cracking slightly.

“You could have applied there too…” I murmured, the confidence I had from minutes ago suddenly fleeting. “Your grades could definitely win a scholarship.”

“And?” He laughed, slightly cynical. “It’s an elite institution. I’m poor. You know that. And even if I did get a scholarship and bursary, I wouldn’t be able to stand being there.”

“Why?”

He knelt down on the grass with his back turned to me. I watched as he carefully picked a flower from the grass, inspecting it slightly before tossing it away.

“I don’t want to stick out like a weed in a field of wildflowers.” He answered me slowly. “I don’t belong in that society.”

“You could,” I tried to say reassuringly, but it clearly made no difference.

“Hah,” he sighed, looking to the skies slightly. “You’ve lived in riches all your life. You could never understand what poverty feels like. What starving feels like…”

I was silenced.

I could not deny the truth in what he was saying.

I could not understand.

“And I’m sorry,” he added, suddenly walking again, leaving me behind. “I’m sorry that I changed your university application list.”

“I just couldn’t see you staying here in this run down hometown of ours. You’re built for bigger luxuries. You and I are different.” He sighed. “You belong to different world, while I will forever stay here.”

—

(I kind of went on a tangent with this story, sorry 🥲, again bad quality )

*yikes I just realised it was a poem starter 😭 I saw the prompt say “poem or short scene” and instantly started writing without seeing the actual writing category