A few days have passed, its finally the week. The cafeteria is full of students, as well as the gymnasium, reviewing final pointers and notes for their upcoming defense. Everyone's busy and taking as much time as they could to prepare. I arrived at school on a pretty early time and went straight for my classroom. I got all the papers from Samuke and reviewed them before our professor arrives. The classroom is almost empty since others decide on meeting up with their groupmates, and good thing they did. It's pretty quiet in the classroom, which benefits me to focus better. Samuke arrived a few minutes later while I was reviewing our work.

"Hey"
"Oh, you're here."
"Everyone's everywhere, so I thought the classroom would be peaceful."
"Right. I was just reviewing the ones you gave me so that we're prepared later."
"Okay."

I kept on reading our papers. Samuke, on the other hand, sat quietly in his chair and almost dozing off. It definitely looks like he's not taking this seriously, which kinda pisses me off. He's either oblivious of the importance of this defense or he just really don't care and is only relying on me. I want to berate him to atleast make some preparations, but something tells me that I shouldn't. 

A couple of minutes later, some professors walked through the corridor and passed our classroom. I got nervous for a second, and suddenly, all of our classmates finally entered the room; its finally time.

Its been an hour, groups are getting on with their defense one after another. I looked at the time, and its half an hour before dismissal. One of the professors called me in for the defense. I stood up nervously and walked to the other room while Samuke followed. Before entering the door, Samuke patted my shoulder. "Calm down", he said to me. His hand felt very cold when it touched my shoulder, but somehow, its almost as if I don't feel nervous anymore. I took a deep breath and entered the door.

It was a week before graduation, and we finally got our marks for all our classes. Our class threw a party to celebrate, and I got invited. I hesitated to come at first, but then, my friends convinced me by dragging me out of my house to shop for clothes. We went to a mall near the campus and looked for clothes to wear. Eventually, we picked out some decent looking shirts. We wore the immediately after paying and went straight for the party. Upon reaching the train station, I suddenly spot someone familiar in the crowd. Turns out, it was Samuke. I was gonna call him and invite him to the party, but he went to the other part of the station to queue for the train heading south. He's probably gonna go home. Besides, I don't think he likes going to parties. 

We boarded the train as soon as it arrived at the station. It was Sunday, there wasn't a lot of commuters so we managed to each have a seat. We talked for a little while as the train goes, then reached our station after a couple of minutes. We walked the rest of the way to the location, and upon arriving, we were immediately welcomed by one of our classmates. I was a little surprised, I never thought that the venue will be this big. Nevertheless, we entered the premise and got on with the party. 

Hours have passed, and its already night. Some of our classmates are already drunk, while others already went home. One of my friends got wasted and was taken home by my other friend. After being alone for a little while, I decided to leave the party as well. I wanted to head home before it gets late, anyway. 

The weekend finally came, everybody's making their preparations for today. Most are having their hair styled or their makeup done for this occasion. Because today is the day that everyone worked for during the past few years. Today, is in fact, our graduation day. I prepared my graduation gown and kept it properly in a bag I was carrying. I took the bus instead of the train so that its less crowded and my bag won't get squished.

I arrived at the campus, and the entire place is so lively. Everybody's excited, as well as me, for the graduation. I walked to our classroom and met some of my classmates inside. I took out the gown from my bag and decided to wear it since the ceremony will start in a couple of minutes. I walked out the classroom with my classmates and headed to the gymnasium. We looked for our class and found them near the right front row. I walked over to our class and took a seat. I looked over to our class, everybody looks nice and happy. Somehow, I feel like there's something missing, or rather, someone.

After a few hours, the ceremony finally ended. Students are celebrating with their parents and friends, while others are eating on the reception and chatting with the professors. Its a nice party after the graduation. However, somewhere at the back of my mind keep troubling me. I looked at my class, and I feel as if someone's missing. RIGHT, it was Samuke. I couldn't see him anywhere, I even asked my classmates and friends. When I asked our professors, they said that he left immediately as soon as the ceremony ended, and no one even noticed that he's gone.

A year after graduation, some of my college classmates contacted me and invited me for a reunion. I thought it was quite soon for that, but since I have a job now and some savings, I decided to come. I arrived at the said location and met some friends and classmates, some of them even came with their partners. I talked to some of my classmates about Samuke, asked them if they managed to invite or contact him. They were confused for a second and asked me who he is. I tried to remind them by telling his name and how he was during first year, but to my surprise, they still don't know who I'm talking about. One of my batchmates came to me, saying she remembers Samuke since she was an admirer of him before. She was told by Samuke's former landlord that he moved out of the region not long after the graduation. She guessed that he flew North or out of the country.

D: "...and that's the last I've heard from that guy."
Y: "Whoa....you seem quite concerned for him."
D: "Well, I guess you could say that."
Y: "You were friends with him, right?"
D: "I think so."
Y: "Even though you know he's a dangerous person?"
D: "Well, he is the one who wanted to be friends with me."
Y: "Wow...you seem to be a cool person too, dad."
D: "Heh, maybe I am."
Y: *smiles and chuckles*
D: "You should go to bed now, alright? You still have school tomorrow"
Y: "Alright, dad. Good night."