All I thought of was the simple fact that the only thing standing between London and me was the distance. At the time it seemed a simple matter to ove...come, a simple jaunt down the road if you will. ‘No father.’ I said respectfully. ‘Don’t answer now, give it a few days with me, I’ll learn you up fine.’ My father said ignoring my refusal of his offer. ‘Give it a few days and you’ll see it’s truly the best thing.’ He said shaking me at the shoulder, trying to get me as excited about his idea. Richie was so astonished at the emerald light that he brought the bike to a shuddering stop. For a brief moment, he thought he had gone insane, that the cold and his horribly aching legs had brought on some sort of strange hallucination. When the realization came to him, however, it struck him like an icy fist to his gut."Holy fuck," he muttered. "She's started the Rite."Richie turned the bike back onto the road. His legs screamed in protest as he pushed himself to pedal the bike just a bit. Grenville High was crowded with kids, as usual, loitering in the halls or starting to wander off to their classes. When the five minute bell rang, they all began to move at last. Yet, running late, one boy slipped in the front doors of the school muttering a few choice words to himself when he heard a familiar voice call out to him.“Derek!” The girl cried, hurrying up and giving him a friendly hug. Her smile beamed proudly, looking as if to return the saddest of people into a man amidst a world. Lissa and Melody were up and dressed by the time the boys had been fed and headed out to the car to take them to school. Wendy still had classes, too, and quietly said she needed to get ready. I offered to drive her, but she said she wanted to walk and catch a bus so she could clear her head before class. She was just three weeks from graduation and didn’t want to blow anything at this stage.That left me alone. I finished my coffee and sent another text message to Kate just to say “I love you.”.