#hssaw

Prompt Details

Day 1 (January 21): Meet our MCs (and OCs)

HSS has given us three highly memorable MCs over its many years! The monumental HSS Prime MC, the wildcard OG HSS Choices MC, and the adorkable HSS:CA MC. This day is for any works centric around any of these MCs, whether it’s about the general MC or any of your own versions. Feel free to even introduce us to your HSS MCs with a profile or profiles too!

If you also have any OCs or fancharacters that aren’t meant to be versions of the MC characters, including any students you enroll in Prime, feel free to post about those too!

Day 2 (January 22): Fresh Starts and Growth

“That’s the great thing about a fresh start. You can be anybody you want to be”, said by Principal Hughs in OG HSS Book 1 Chapter 1.

As such, many of the characters we know get to have a fresh start at Berry High, and grow into better, stronger people from it. What might the fresh start mean for any particular character(s)— whether canon characters, or MCs/OCs? Do they go through any personal growth? How so? What are some of your favorite growth arcs in the games? This is the prompt to explore that!

Day 3 (January 23): Favorite Characters

The HSS Saga has given us a multitude of vibrant and compelling characters. From the shy wallflowers to the ever-confident cheerleaders, from the supportive jocks to the clever nerds, from the party-loving preps to the creative musicians, from the logistical gamers to the expressive theatre club. The uniqueness is further captured in the faculty and parents of Berry High, as well as even the rival Hearst kids. Let us hear about your favorites from these characters and why they are compelling to you!

Day 4 (January 24): Relationships

Since the foundation of Berry High, a lot of strong relationships have been formed among its characters, including our main characters as well as outside their friend group and even outside of Berry! HSS gives our characters all kinds of opportunites for relationships… so tell us about your favorites! Romantic, familial, friendship, antagonistic/rival. Whether from canon or from headcanon. Whether centered around MCs, OCs, canon characters, or a mix. Whether they're monogamous, polyamourous, strictly romantic, queerplatonic, long-lasting, short fling. This day is to highlight and celebrate all these relationships which were compelling to you, as well as any you want to see more of!

Day 5 (January 25): Activities, Cliques, Clubs

Berry High is known for its inclusion of multitudes of extracurricular activities, clubs, cliques, etc! HSS Prime lets you choose your MC’s clique and enroll students of all kinds of cliques. OG Choices HSS lets you choose your MC’s extracurricular and actively participate in it. And HSS Class Act gives us a peek into Berry High’s theatre department. And of course, we meet various other wonderful characters in each of these activities.

This is the prompt to explore stuff like that! How do the HSS Iterations explore and integrate these different clubs? What are your favorite clubs/activities and why? What are different characters’ experiences in different clubs like? Are there any clubs/activities you wanted to see more of, or any new clubs that HSS could have covered?

Day 6 (January 26): Antagonists

Nothing comes without difficulties. Berry High has always had its fair share of challenges from the beginning. Endless numbers of bullies, sabotages from rival schools, takeovers by corrupt principals, threats to shut the school down, and more. Show us who is your favourite antagonist and spill their beans!

Day 7 (January 27): Favorite Scenes/Moments

From the beginning of the Prime game in 2013 to the end of Class Act in 2020, HSS has given us nearly 7 years of compelling stories. What are those moments in any of those games that really stuck with you? Made you laugh, made you cry, had you on the edge of your seat, or were just overall really powerful or memorable? Tell us about them here!

Day 8 (January 28): Welcoming, Acceptance, and Berry High Unity

“This school began as a bunch of empty plots of land and a promise to be open to everyone. A promise that ensured no matter who you were or what you liked, you'd always be included and together we can accomplish anything”, said by the HSS Prime MC in HSS Prime Friendsgiving and as shown on the statue of Ollie the Tiger.

From the very beginning of HSS Prime, Berry High was built with this promise. Hence, a core theme of HSS has always been how students of all different kinds can come together. And how, from there, the students are able to uplift each other and get stuff done together. This is the prompt to celebrate and explore that! What are the different instances of this sort of unity in HSS? What may this acceptance mean for certain characters?

Day 9 (January 29): Pride and Diversity

In a school designed to accept everyone no matter who they are, it goes without saying that diversity is a very critical element in HSS. Whether cultural/ethnic, queer/gender, disability and neurodivergence, etc. How does HSS incorporate this? How is the promise of Berry meaningful to any particular character(s)? How does it influence their identity? What are certain characters' experiences with Pride and identity? Are there any groups/identities you wish to have seen more of?

Day 10 (January 30): AU, Crossover, What-If

What if certain things happened differently for our favorite characters? What if HSS crossed over with another franchise, whether PB or non-PB? Which ones would you like to see? HSS also loves to have Easter Eggs to other Choices stories, like Martin and TJ and ClickIt in OG HSS Book 2– there any Choices crossovers, canon or headcanon, that you particularly like?

The potential doesn’t just exist outside of canon. The HSS stories in general (most especially Choices OG HSS) have various different routes and outcomes based on choices that you can make. What if you made different Choices than usual for a particular MC? What if you chose a different LI or a different activity/clique for them? What if your MC performed differently in their activities? How might their character and narrative differ? Or what about any possible events not covered by canon routes/options?

HSS Prime has also had quite a few side quests that explore different AUs, from a Wild West AU to a “What if MC never built the school” AU. What are some of your favorites? What are some you would have liked to see explored, for any of the casts?

This is the day to different possibilities, both within the games’ routes and outside of it!

Day 11 (January 31): Free Day/Wildcard Prompt

This one goes without saying. Are there any HSS themes we didn’t cover? Anything more you love about HSS? This is the day for that! Go wild! Be creative!

General Guidelines for Submission:

TO SUBMIT: A) mention this blog (or at least one of the hosts) and B) specify which prompt or prompts you’re submitting for.

Submissions should lean into being HSS-appreciative/positive.

The tags #HSSAppreciationWeek, #HSSAW, #HSSAW2026, are highly recommended, but not necessary.

If your post is very long in length (eg. if it’s a long fic, has images that take up a lot of length), we highly recommend putting a “Read More” button in your post.

Any submissions that lean into NSFW or suggestive territory, and/or feature sensitive topics should be tagged accordingly.

You don’t have to create for each prompt or each day. Create for as many prompts and days as you like.

You don’t have to create for a prompt on its respective assigned day. Eg. You can create for a Day 1 prompt on Day 4. Some creations may fit into more than just one prompt!

You don’t have to create only one piece per prompt. If you have multiple pieces you want to create for a certain prompt, then by all means, go for it.

You don’t have to use only a specific day’s prompts together Eg. You can have a piece that uses a Day 1 prompt and a Day 4 prompt together.

We will still accept submissions even after the event dates have passed. You will have until the HSS Appreciation Week 2026 announcement to submit posts/creations for the current prompts!

What IS welcome:

Any medium of human creation. Art, fanfic, poetry, edits, animation, picrews/meikers* moodboards/stimboards/gifboards, icons, memes/shitposts, gifs, AMVs, playlists, headcanons, character recreation in another game (eg. The Sims), etc!

Meta posts. Eg. screenshots of favorite scenes/moments from the games themselves, essay/analytical writing, even just simply gushing/rambling over any of the games nonstop!

Pieces or posts that you made prior to this event and/or initially not for this event, but you've decided you want to submit them!

WIP/unfinished pieces.

Submissions can be works that you have made yourself, or works that you have commissioned from someone else.

*If you’re submitting a picrew or meiker piece or anything similar, please link to the template in your post!

What is NOT welcome:

Bigotry of any kind. Posts of a nature that is sexist, racist, queerphobic, ableist, xenophobic, etc. are obviously not allowed.

AI-generated material of any kind. This includes images or writing made by genAI, ChatGPT/character.AI screenshots, etc. Feel free to let us know if we accidentally promote AI generated material. We support human creators here!

Just don’t be a dick!

Previous Years’ Masterlists

Aiden Zhou remained fixed on the steady ticking beat of the clock across from him. The dull, flavorless, droning beat. “Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick”. That was the only damn thing going on in the doctor’s office.

Perhaps, when played as the backing beat for a harmony of other instruments, he might have cared for it more. But on its own, it had about as much appeal as that one kid who spends long car rides kicking the back of the seat while chanting “Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” over and over and over and over and over.

Funnily enough, though… the matter of having kids was the reason he was here waiting in the first place.

Aiden gazed down at his lower stomach, and his hand drew towards it— but then paused, his heart now pounding like a rock. What if… there wasn’t a baby… in there…? Oh God, what if there wasn’t? What if the results said negative?

He took a deep breath. It’s okay, one part of him thought. Even if there isn’t, we can try again. This isn’t some one-and-only chance.

But what if it isn’t as easy to just keep trying again? thought the other part of him. What if there were actually some complications for him or Evie with the reproductive transplant operations? What if it would never be possible for him to become pregnant?

His throat and stomach stirred with nausea, the bile of the past five years seeming to rise up. The recurring woeful spirals of processing that pregnancy was (at that time) completely impossible for him. The agonizing wait for full genitalia and reproductive transplants to be made feasible. The fact that he and Evie had to go through this entire arduous wait and elaborate process before pregnancy could be possible for him.

Aiden’s stomach turned, and he frowned. God, how he’d much rather this nausea was coming from morning sickness.

Well, who knows? Maybe morning sickness was contributing too. He just wished it was the only contributor…

Um, not that he actually wanted to experience morning sickness, just that—

Aiden felt his cheeks searing slightly, face turning from green to red. Most people would think he was completely batshit if he were ever to say something like that, never mind think it. Not even just about morning sickness— just declaring his desire to become pregnant would’ve been more than enough to yield that exact outcome.

And the reactions would only be worse once he was pregnant for real. Sure, just about everyone important and trustworthy to him and Evie were more than supportive of their conception preferences. But the possibility of getting strange stares from strangers when he was soon showing was no less uncomfortable to think about. Not to mention the… less progressive-minded of their (mostly Aiden’s) relevant family members that they may or may not inevitably have to tell. He just barely managed a “Why would you want to get pregnant?” talk from his own mother… she was nowhere near as bad as some of his other relatives, but why in the ever loving hell did he need to be interrogated on what he wants???

Though sometimes, even he would question himself on that matter. It was hard not to… what with all that was going against him.

Yet, Aiden still knew that he wanted it. And he knew why he wanted it. He had his reasons, and they were pretty damn good reasons in his opinion. 

Maybe it was just hard to believe for himself sometimes. Most of his life, he barely even entertained the idea of pregnancy for himself— why waste time thinking about something that wasn’t even possible? And even if he’d considered a hypothetical situation, he probably would’ve thought himself lacking in the mental fortitude necessary for it. Only about nine years ago did Aiden start entertaining and liking the idea of being pregnant… and for the past five years, he’s known he really and firmly did want to bear his and Evie’s children.

And with him finally on the verge of achieving that now, what he certainly couldn’t bear was the possibility of having gone through all that past anxiety and frustration and waiting, only for pregnancy to still be unsuccessful for him. For all this effort to just be a trivial, shallow, idealistic waste of time—

He felt a stabbing pang in his heart, and his face started to harden. No, he told himself. Don’t let that mindset get to you again. Especially not now. You’re not wasting your time over this. You are not stupid, shallow, immature, or “sick” to want this. It’s not a useless or selfish or trivial thing to want.

Okay, true. But if this conception did turn out to be unsuccessful… what if that was his fault? What if he (and Evie) rushed into this? Yes, the reproductive transplant process had been deemed feasible, but what if it could’ve been improved? What if he should’ve waited a bit longer until it was? Or, even that aside, what if he should’ve waited until these transplants had been around for longer, and maybe more normalized and accepted by the general public?

But how much longer would he have to wait then, in either of those cases? Thirty-one is a pretty standard age to become pregnant, but what if he was in his forties or older by the time it was “better”? And thus it might’ve been more difficult or risky for him to try and become pregnant? If it turned out he had to wait until reproductive transplants were around for a bit longer, only for his chance for pregnancy to go right out the window—

Ugh. Waiting, waiting, waiting. Ninety percent of this process was just fucking waiting. Waiting for the reproductive transplant process to be made feasible. Waiting to fully heal from their operations. Waiting to know if they actually conceived. He was so sick of having to wait so fucking much. The goddamn ticks of the clock may as well have been just droning “Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait.” at him, as if to deliberately tick him off further.

Aiden sighed. He was partly starting to regret the whole insist-on-going-to-the-appointments-alone-so-he-can-hear-the-results-first-and-then-plan-a-big-event-to-surprise-Evie-and-Luna-with-the-big-news scheme he’d been planning. Or hell, if he really wanted to get quick test results but still do a big surprise set-up announcement, he could’ve just done an at-home pregnancy test.

But perhaps, he supposed, this was the price to pay for wanting the more accurate test results. This agonizing wait in the doctor’s office, that was much less bearable without his wife and daughter.

Of course… he wasn’t necessarily alone right now. At least, there was a possibility he wasn’t alone.

Aiden glanced down at his stomach again, freezing in place momentarily... and then he slipped his hand under his shirt, under the waistband of his jeans, and pressed his palm against his bare lower abdomen. Almost immediately, he felt his heartbeat relax.

Sure, he thought, there might not be a kid… in there… But there also might be. And… he preferred to imagine there was. It soothed his heart from its former frantic pounding to a more gentle, steady beat.

Gently caressing his stomach, Aiden closed his eyes and began softly humming a tune— Mozart’s 16th Sonata in C, one of his favorites. The first song he played to a concert audience, the first song he played for Evie, the first song he played for Luna… and now, perhaps, the first song he plays for this yet-to-be-born child growing inside him.

And, oh, how there were so many more songs he’s been wanting to share with the baby, just as he did with Evie and Luna and his many other audiences. Aiden felt his heart flutter in tune with his singing, feeling both a rush of excitement and an air of peacefulness...

And then right at that moment, his song was cut off by the swing of the opening door, as Dr. Perry finally returned to the room. Aiden felt a spark of extra hope at the sight of the warm grin she was wearing.

“Alright, Mr. Zhou, I have your results…”

Aiden sat up straight and tense, his heartbeat accelerating again. “What do they say?”

Dr. Perry beamed at him. And spoke but three little words. And needed not continue further.

Her alarm had rung minutes ago but Lenny Valentine was still in bed. Not sleeping, just clutching her pillow tight to her chest as she counted down from ten. Today was The Day. The Day was her first day of school at her new school.

Though she’d move in a couple of days ago, her dad had been nice enough to give her buffer between the move-in date and her first day of school.

Now the sun was up and her dad was whistling as he tossed a breakfast together. And she was supposed to be getting ready for The Day.

Dragging herself out of bed Lenny marched towards the bathroom. The more she thought about The Day, the longer it’d take her to get anything done. So, Lenny shut off her brain, grabbed her toothbrush and turned on the faucet.

Thirty minutes later: she was dressed, her hair combed, and picking at her eggs.

“You sure are dressed to impress,” Scott said, pouring himself a cup of coffee, “Ready for your first day?”

“I guess,” Lenny shrugged, taking a slow bite of toast, “Can’t really push it off any longer.”

“Val-bear,” Scott frowned. The sweet scent of his vanilla coffee made Lenny reach for her almond milk.

“Yes?”

“It’ll be alright,” Scott said, “and if it isn’t then the spend the weekend in. Just me, you, and some good old Chip ‘N Dale.”

That did make her feel better, “...I want Rocky Road ice-cream too.”

“Done,” Scott smiled and jingled his keys, “Want me to give you a ride?”

Lenny shook her head. She’d did a little research in the week before school. Most of the kids seemed to walk or ride with their friends. She didn’t need to be the odd on out having her dad drop her off.

“Alright kiddo,” Scott smiled, heading for the door, “Give me a call once you get there, okay?”

“Sure!” Lenny called after him.

But just because her dad wasn’t dropping her off didn’t mean Lenny was walking to school. No, she’d still be arriving on a cool pair of wheels: her scooters. Or, at least, she felt sick as she jetted down the street. Each stranger blurred into the background, flying by her letting Lenny focus on the freeing, crisp, cold wind as she rode.

Her dress fluttered around her, the floral patterns and soft blue cardigan standing out against her autumn audience. Some guy in a green jacket whizzed past her and she could just feel the smirk as tossed her an ironic salute. Well, Lenny couldn’t just take that!

Kicking up a little extra speed, Lenny switched from the sidewalk to the edge of the road. Less people meant it’d be easier for her to pick up speed and keep it. Plus, anything that meant less people could get hurt was definitely a good thing. Catching up to Green Jacket, Lenny returned his ironic salute, taking pleasure in the quick, quizzical look he’d given her.

At least until he’d sped up, did a wall-ride off the corner store, and disappeared from view just as they made it to the front of the school. Which, firstly, was insanely dangerous! But, also, very cool.

Sticking her tongue out at the long-gone green boy, Lenny decided that his disappearance made her the de facto winner –coolness be damned.

So, here she was. Before here was the courtyard, and the big-bold double doors to the school. All the students were standing around, catching up with friends or quickly trying to finish a piece of homework they’d totally forgotten about.

Here was the Oliver M. Berry High, in the… er metal.

It’s first impression was glorious and hers would be terrible. The race hadn’t felt like it was much, but here she was breathing hard. And her hair was probably all mussed by the wind. (If the amount of stray hairs she had to brush back were any indication!) And what if she had pit stains?

Worst still, everyone seemed to have their own groups. There were some other kids with skateboards but (firstly) none of them had scooters and, Lenny looked at her gold locket and dress, she looked nothing like them. They’d probably laugh her out.

Avoiding catching their eye, Lenny scurried off to the bike racks, securing her scooter in place. Still keeping her head down, she rummaged through her backpack, trying to find her schedule that she was sure she’d put in her folder but–

The red folder was empty.– Apparently not.

Lenny bit her lip, trying to remember the words on the page. The paper was white. The lines had alternated between a red background with white text and a white background with black text. The first line listed her homeroom. Her homeroom was… Ms. May?

No. That didn’t sound right. She bit her lip harder. Ms. Maddie? Not that either… Matthew? It started with an ‘M’ for sure…

Nothing more than that resurfaced. Not even the faintest clue of a room number. Instead, Lenny was hyper-aware of the footsteps walking by her as the students headed to their homeroom class. She could feel their stares and the thoughts behind them.

None of them felt kind. Lenny bit her lip harder, trying to stop the needless tears running down her face. She couldn’t break down now! But it was no use. Once the tears started coming, the best she could do was wipe them away as quickly as possible. It wasn’t long before the sleeve of her cardigan was wet with tear-after-tears. The only mercy was the fact she was silent crying.

“Hey,” came a tap and a worried voice, “Are you okay?”

Between the tears, Lenny could make out the stranger’s long and black-white stripped shirt. What luck, someone actually saw her! If the earth could swallow her right where she stood, it still would’ve been too late to save her from embarrassment. Mumbling, Lenny lied, “Um, yeah, I’m sorry. Allergies.”

“Oh!” The girl responded, the worry gone from her voice, “Could I take you to the nurse then?”

“No,” Lenny mumbled again, “I’ll be fine. I just need to get to class…”

“What class do you have?” she asked, fiddling with a piece of her blonde hair, “Maybe I could walk you there?”

The kindness felt weird to Lenny. It was either that or the fact she was still standing there wiping at her eyes while this… angel did nothing but offer her help. One of the two.

“Uh,” came Lenny, trying to stop crying enough to not sniffle between words, “I’m a new student and I forgot my schedule. I don’t know where I’m supposed to go.”

“Oh,” the girl replied, falling silent before continuing, “The front office will probably be able to help!”

Lenny froze. Of course the front office would be able to help. Why hadn’t she thought about that sooner? She could’ve skipped past all the crying and panicking and probably been in class already. Finally, actually turning to the other girl, Lenny said, “...I didn’t think about that.”

“It’s fine,” the girl reassured her, tentatively patting Lenny on her back, “I’m always forgetting stuff, too!”

Lenny nodded along, gently putting her supplies back in her backpack. When the last of her things was packed away (and she’d double-checked that everything was in her bag), in a quiet voice Lenny asked,“You’ll show me the way to the office, right?”

“Of course,” the girl responded, “And then I’ll help you to your first class, if that’s okay with you?”

“Yeah,” Lenny said, “I’d like that a lot.”

“Great,” the girl smiled, her own shyness mirroring Lenny’s. “And my name’s Emma. Emma Hawkins.”

The sun was shining as the first day of the new school year begin at Berry High. Students chattered as they walked into the school, excited to be back after the summer holidays. But Ria's mood was dampened as she walked the school halls, past the door where the morning announcements took place. She still half-expected to run into Maria, shuffling through her papers and adjusting her dress as she prepared for the announcements and give her a quick kiss before heading inside the room. Ria sighed as she headed to her locker to take her books out for the day.

'This year is gonna be really long.' she sighed

Ria was lost in thought when she heard a voice 'Hellooo! Earth to Ria?'

Ria snapped out of her thoughts when she saw Emma waving a hand at her face. 'Huh?'

'Are you okay, Ri? you totally zoned out for a moment.' asked Emma, looking concerned.

'Sorry Ems. Just…spaced out there. I'm good now.' said Ria, composing a smile. Emma didn't look convinced but she let it slide. 'Shall we head to class, the bell just rang.'

'Yeah sure.' said Ria, straightening up. God, she can't let the thoughts of her girlfriend overtake her right now, especially when classes are about to start.

She and Emma settled in their usual seats in front of the class, with Caleb and Myra giving them enthusiastic waves. Ria forced a smile and gave them hi-fis as she settled down on the desk. Everyone were chattering about what they did over the summer, Ria did her best to pay attention but her heart wasn't really into it. She could only recall the last time she saw Maria, the week before summer holidays ended and she went off to college. She had struggled to keep her emotions together only till Maria left and she had a total meltdown for an entire hour. She was only broken out of her trance when the morning announcements started and Rory's energetic voice was heard from the screen

'Good morning Berry High! Welcome to the first Tiger news of the year…'

Ria felt another pang in her chest. 'That was supposed to be Maria's place. She already missed hearing her voice during the morning announcements, and Rory was saying everything wrong…' Ria's face scrunched into a scowl, trying to block out the thoughts, when Caleb nudged her. 'Ri, you still with us?' he whispered.

'What? Yeah I am.' Caleb raised an eyebrow. 'You look like you are going to snap that pencil in half.' Ria looked down and realized that she was pressing on her pencil a little too hard. 'Sorry.' she muttered, 'just didn't realize my own strength.'

Thankfully, none of her friends pressed her about anything for the rest of the class and she breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe she can get through the day without having an emotional breakdown or make herself look like a sappy, lovesick puppy.

During lunch break, Ria's eyes were on the homecoming committee members who were going around, taking surveys. 'Dang, why does she have to think about homecoming right now? It's not like Maria was gonna come running back for the sake of a high school dance now…'

'Boo!' Ria jumped and saw Michael behind her. 'What was that for?' said Ria, scowling. Michael laughed and raised his hands in surrender. 'Just enjoy seeing you riled up.' Ria frowned. 'Very funny. Did you want to say something or was it just to scare me?'

Michael laughed. 'Just letting you know, a bunch of us are going to the Golden Griddle for lunch today. Come on Ri, its senior year, you should enjoy a bit.' Ria thought about it. Lunch off campus and surrounded by friends might just be the thing to keep her mind off of things, even temporarily. 'Okay. I'm in!'

A couple of minutes later at The Golden Griddle:

'Can I have a slice of Red Velvet cake?' asked Ria. The waitress nods as she takes their orders before walking away.

Myra looks at her, preceptive. Ria happened to notice the stare. 'What?'

Myra folds her hands. 'You are pining, aren't you?'

'Pining? I don't know what you're talking about.'

'You sure about that?' asked Michael from across the table.

'Come on Ri, just admit it.' said Emma, looking at her best friend.

'Admit what?' asked Ria, getting a little weary of the stares her friends were giving her.

'That you are pining for a certain someone?' said Caleb, grinning.

Ria feels her face turning hot. 'Who am I pining for? I'm not pining for anyone!'

Michael grins teasingly. 'Really? Not even a certain class president with an obsession for Red Velvet?'

Ria blushes. 'What makes you think I'm pining for her? Just because I ordered her favorite flavor. Come on guys.'

Emma laughs helplessly. 'Ri, we all know that double chocolate is always your go-to flavor. In these 2 years we have never seen you order any other flavor for yourself.'

'So? I just want a change…' Ria knew that argument won't work with her friends. She had always been a terrible liar.

'Really?' asks Myra, trying to get a rise out of Ria. 'Then why have you been super sulky when Rory appeared on Tiger News today? Miss your favorite anchor already?'

Ria stammers 'I..I wasn't sulky…'

Caleb laughed. 'Sure you were. You looked like you were ready to snap.' Ria let out a long exhale. Not that she wasn't a good liar or anything but these were her friends. They could see right through her.

'Okay fine! Maybe I am pining! I just didn't realize how much I was missing Maria till school started and just…everything around school reminds me of her.'

Emma gave her an empathetic glance. 'Ri…its okay. You are missing her, its natural to feel that way.' she says, wrapping an arm around her.

'And you can always call her. It's not like you are communicating through snail mail.' said Michael.

'I know…but we already talked about restricting our calls…you know Maria, she would have a loaded schedule in the first semester itself and I don't want to inconvenience her by calling her up every time I think of her…

'Oh Ria.' said Myra, reaching out and squeezing her hand sympathetically, 'I can only imagine that being really difficult for you.'

'Gods, I am being pathetic ain't I? She is gonna have so many cool adventures at college and I am her loser high school girlfriend who can't go a day without her…' said Ria mournfully, running a hand through her rainbow streaks.

'Hey, woah!' said Caleb 'You are not a loser, Ria. Don't be too hard on yourself. Senior year has just begun and there are gonna be a lot of cool things that can happen. Take it one day at a time. You deserve to have some fun too.'

Ria takes a deep breath 'Thanks guys…I'm happy to have you guys around.'

The orders arrived, and everyone tucked in. As Ria saw the slice of red velvet cake, an idea struck her mind. She grabs a forkful of cake and took a selfie of herself eating it, and sent it to Maria, captioned

'This tastes nice, but not really sweet without you!'

Myra giggled. 'Ooh that was smooth Ri! That shot could get our darling president running here from Terman U!'

Soon enough, Ria's phone pinged with a reply from Maria.

Ria smiled as she shut her phone and went back to her lunch, grinning at her friends 'Mission accomplished.'

Maria: Are you trying to tempt me?

Ria: Is it working😉?

Maria: You are incorrigible!

Ria: I don't know who incorrigible is. I am Ria 😝!

Maria: That was so lame🙄…but I still love you ❤️❤️.

My Art Ish Thing Tag (Choices Edition): @storyofmychoices @aallotarenunelma @twinkleallnight @dutifullynuttywitch @loreofyore @peonierose @trappedinfanfiction