Chapter 32 - It graduates
Chapter 32 – It graduates
“Hah... We’re finally done... School’s over... Freedom awaits..."
“Correct.”
“How do you feel about finally graduating?”
“It does not care.”
“Really? But graduating means the end of, like, the longest term that you’ve made with dad since the beginning, right? Isn’t that kind of a big milestone for you?”
“Incorrect. It’s longest Term with It’s summoner is for It to remain in this world until It’s summoner has departed.”
"...That... Jesus, Thia. That’s heavy.”
“It has no feelings towards the completion or ongoing nature of It’s Terms.”
“Well... if you say so. But even still, there’s some other problems, too, though.”
“It accepts the premise. Continue.”
“Now that we’ve graduated... it means that we won’t be able to see each other at school any more.”
“Understood.”
“So that’s basically... one, two, three, four, uh... seventy percent less time that we’ll have to spend together. Now that we don’t have school any more.”
“Understood.”
“I wanted to know... how you felt about that?”
. “It had not considered this Consequence.”
“Yeah. I feel the same, honestly. I’d gotten so used to taking you to school and back every day. And spending time with you at school. And eating together. And chatting. And goofing around. And just... being together. All the time. It just feels like second nature now. It’s... kind of hard to imagine a world without that.”
“It accepts the premise. Continue.”
“And even on the weekends when we got to hang out together, or work on assignments, or go places... we might not get to keep that, either.”
“It does not understand. Weekends are not school days.”
“But what if you move to a different country? Or what if I go to university somewhere far away? Or get a job? Or what if... anything. Anything could happen, really. Who knows if we can keep being together all the time?”
“. . .”
“How would you feel about that?”
. . . “It does not Want that to happen.”
“Me neither, Thia. Me neither.”
“. . .”
"...Hey, Thia?”
“It listens.”
“You’re so smart. And you seem to have the answers to everything.”
“It accepts the premise. Continue.”
“You always say that ‘forever’ is impossible, right?”
“Correct.”
“What if... what if I wanted to be with you forever. Thia, what if I wanted to be with you forever? What would I have to do? Is it possible? At all? Even just a little?”
“. . .”
“Would you want to be with me Forever? If there was a way?”
“. . .”
“What are you thinking, Thia? Let me into your head.”
. . . “It needs more time to find the answer.”
“As long as you need, Thia. I’ll wait for you for as long as it takes.”
“. . .”