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I remember being told that life would be tough, with physical, mental, and spiritual stress that would show up in their forces upon one's mind. It was hard to believe at first. Primary school really did a good job masking some of the more harsh realities that my peers had faced back then.

I suppose that the purpose was not only to develop an academic foundation, but also a foundation of friends, to help and support one another when the veil was removed later on. It got easier to believe, especially during the various Reflection days that our high school had. I had a number of friends that I held close, and though some decreased through moving and other circumstances, I tried to keep in contact with as many as I could.

With Einar, I'm pretty unsure as to what could happen. Anything could happen, from cheers and congratulations to the Earth imploding on itself all at once. Well, maybe not that extreme, but there's still plenty of things that could happen, I'm sure.

---

Simon awoke momentarily before the buzzer on his clock went off. No longer the weekend, but a start to another week at school. 4:30 AM. Perfect. The warm night made it easy for him to pull himself out of the bed, and had a quick cold shower. He headed downstairs to find his father in the kitchen who was making lunch for him.

"Your mother was really tired," smiled his dad as he rolled his eyes. "Could barely keep herself upright when she got home."

"Well, that doesn't mean you have to make my lunch!" Simon exclaimed. "I've done it plenty of times before, you don't have to do it for me."

"I do so because I don't spend enough time with you, and it's the least I could do."

"Maybe you could quit your job and stick around more?"

His father laughed at the suggestion, "haha, that I'd like! But we can't do that it seems! Unless your mother handles work and I keep the house tidy..."

"Well, I can only imagine how that'll turn out," Simon smiled. "Thanks for making lunch for me."

He headed back upstairs to his room, and changed into his uniform. As he checked the clock, he realised he set a new record. Just under two minutes. Simon headed back downstairs with his bag, and his father handed him his food for the day. "Thanks again, dad."

"No problem Simon. Keep doing your best, and don't disappoint your mother!"

"I won't!" He yelled as he packed his lunch into his bag, stopping before he exited the front door. "Dad?"

"Yeah son?"

"You taking any more big jobs?"

"Oh?" His father thought quickly before realising what his son had meant. "There aren't any large scale projects right now for the moment unless you count the primary school. If there is though, I'll make sure to tell you."

"Cool. See you later, dad." With that, Simon hauled his bag over his shoulders, and set out on his way to school. Though it was remarkably early, the wolf had only set his alarm so early so that he could casually walk about to and from the school, and to stop and look at the island that he often passed by, to see if the wolf would be there. He had spotted Einar from time to time, but never had they conversed before to one another, until that previous day. Simon let that moment linger in his mind as the rays of the sun began to glisten over the hills, which casted light over the land and river. The warmth washed over him, and Simon smiled, before he continued onward on his way to school.

The morning traffic as he passed into the town of Wattlebrook was very minimal, which was typical when most of the population were in fact living in the town. Simon remembered asking his parents why they lived closer to the edge of town compared to everyone else, and he remembered that it was simply because they didn't want to disrupt the lives of the other locals living there. Having to walk a longer distance to school was a small sacrifice that Simon grew to accept, and one he didn't mind at all. He had however minded it in the past, but as in most cases, it was the past, and though he did like to linger on it, it was not something that troubled him often.

Central sqaure was like what could be expected if a total stranger was told that they had one. It was green, it had trees, and a statue at the very centre of it. People would often come here for picnics or sporting events for the local primary school, but it wasn't used by the high school due to the fact it really wasn't meant for sports that required large spaces. The footpath surrounding the square was wider than on the other side, taking the safety of pedestrians into account. None of the big brands had set up shop here just yet, though Simon knew he would be finding that out over the next decade.

Wattlebrook College wasn't a large one due to the nature of its placement, but it had named itself as such if only because the headmaster rather liked the name of it, and most had to agree that 'Wattlebrook College' had a certain feel compared to 'Wattlebrook High'. Perhaps it was to remove the typical stereotype of being semi-rural, the expectancy of a strong accent and offensive mannerisms to name a few.

It was all one building, extending up two floors with a red clay gabled roof and multipurpose field. There were plans to make minor renovations to account for the change in times, and Simon could guess who the job would be going to. He supposed it was about the right timing as well, what with the recent resource review outlining that certain cracks in the walls, worn out floorboards and the fact they had not yet upgraded their computers since the Pentium II era.

There were a select few individuals who chose to wait outside for classmates and friends, and it worked well enough since the sun hadn't come high enough to start what was considered typical weather. He had seen these faces often throughout his time at Wattlebrook College, and a part of him wondered whether he would see them again after he departed from the place.

Simon recognised a face among those waiting. A grin which suggested something mischievous, but nothing harmful or with malicious intent, worn by the ferret. Joseph obviously had found himself a date in time for the upcoming graduation formal, though Simon suspected that there was more that he would probably find out in only a moment.

"Hey Simon!"

"Joseph." They had grown friends well enough to warrant the greeting which would have been considered odd by anyone else trying to listen in, not that there were. "How goes you?"

"Oh? Cool, cool. Taking me a bit of time to throw all those summary notes for maths though."

"Told you should've been doing them all year," responded Simon, the wolf smiling slightly. "Don't worry, I'll show you my notes at lunch, and you can get a quick look at what needs doing," he quickly added when Joseph's face scrunched up into one that was clearly fake hurt. "Not that you'll copy them..."

"I know, I know! I'm not going to copy!" Exclaimed Joseph. "Anyway... You'll never guess what happened to me on Sunday!"

"Has something happened last Sunday, or is something happening this Sunday?" Simon asked, partially joking around. He knew when his friend was referring to, but he did it to just set his friend off.

"Yesterday, duh," was the response, as well as a roll of the eyes. "You wanna hear about it or should we just head into class now?"

Simon shook his head. "Of course I want to hear about it! Just joking around."

"Of course. Anyway, you know Janice?"

"Janice? I thought she was going with Zack to the formal," answered Simon, slightly confused. "Did something happen to them?"

"Oh no, oh no!" smiled the ferret. "I just asked her on Friday about whether she knew of anyone I could go with, and on Sunday, she got back to me with an offer from Sarah!"

"Sarah? You mean the one who did that major project of the town model?" Simon couldn't see his friend with that Sarah. They seemed too different to even consider that they would be a match, if only for the formal.

"Nah. She's from Branston. Tiger, Year 11, but she's already done with her exams."

"Ah, cool. So what else is there?" Simon asked.

"There isn't. I dunno who you're going with, you don't seem interested in the whole have fun thing. You should loosen up and relax. After all, we're gonna get slugged with the exams soon enough anyway."

"I know that, but there's just a lot of things to deal with beyond those exams. Plenty of open doors ride on this," shrugged Simon. "What I want to do isn't concrete, so I want to be able to keep those options available."

"Oh, you and your serious tone..." Joseph rummaged through his messenger bag for a moment, before pulling out his smartphone. "This ought to take your mind off things."

"Joseph," said Simon, a stern tone in his voice. "What are you doing?"

"You've not been in many photos, and I thought it would be good to make a memory of all this," said Joseph innocently. "As far as I know, you've only ever been in the yearly photos of our school. You should have a photo that isn't so strict and formal, you know?"

"Maybe, but I've never really had a fondness of being photographed. You can thank dad for that." Simon's father had once been a fanatic over it, wanting every moment of his son's life documented for their relatives living in the city. It didn't go well to say the least, and Simon's mother had to make his father promise to never do that again, unless the situation had worth to actually warrant it. With digital photography though, it was plenty easier to pick moments.

"Aw, come on!" whinged Joseph. "If you don't get a good friendly photo, how are you gonna get a mate mate when you get into state college or uni?"

"I'm not too sure, but I'd be sure they would judge on personality and actions, not a photo," mumbled Simon.

"Well, refusing photography is an action, and it gives the wrong impression on your personality!" threw back Joseph. "Come on, please?"

"Well, you do have a point," grinned Simon. "Okay, we can have a photo."

The ferret sided next to the wolf and placed an arm around his shoulder, then with his left arm held the smartphone in front of them. "Okay, smile!"

Simon smiled, though he wasn't the sort to show teeth. He didn't understand how those models in those advertisements could pull it off and still look appropriate. He had tried it in the mirror at home a number of times, but decided such an appearance wasn't for him.

A beep of the fake shutter, and the memory was taken, a single moment which would be preserved for as long as the owner would keep it. The image came back on screen, and it showed the dark brown wolf with blue eyes, alongside the ferret which was his best friend, slightly shorter and slimmer than the wolf. Simon was brought back to reality when Joseph spoke once again. "I'll e-mail it to you when recess rolls around, yeah?"

Simon found himself nodding. "Sure thing." With that, they headed in, as the first bell would soon be setting in and he preferred to be ready rather than late.

---

The day rolled on in its typical manner up until lunch, when he found himself called to one of the empty classrooms for a meeting about the end of the year events. Suggestions were made, and though Simon listened, he didn't make any suggestions of his own.

The school day soon drew to a close, and he found himself on the walk home, alongside with Joseph. "So, still looking at that island?"

The change of topic was abrupt. He thought after giving up on it that the ferret would've forgotten about the subject or at least think it trivial. But he had been confronted on it, and so he had to answer. "You know what? Not really."

"Does that mean you'll be seeing that place less?" pushed Joseph, not bothering to ask about details.

"Hmm, different perspective," responded the wolf. He didn't want to reveal too much of the event which had transpired the Friday before. To himself, it had been and still felt so surreal, so foreign to him, and he couldn't be sure that it would be best to tell someone else. He had made a small implication to his father, but little else.

The subject was dropped, and they departed just before the bridge near the island of which he knew the other wolf resided. Remembering how his pants had gotten wet as result of crossing the river before, he rolled up his pants, removed his shoes and socks, and began his crossing towards the island once more.