Chapter 78

Everyone listened quietly to Stephen's speech, and after a long pause, the room erupted in thunderous applause. Mindy joined in, clapping along. Stephen's words were far more profound than Ryder's. At this final high school gathering, everyone in the class drank, and most of them got drunk. Stephen was no exception as he got slightly intoxicated. Though usually clear-headed and reluctant to spend energy on unnecessary socializing, even he wasn't immune to the atmosphere and ended up drinking several more glasses than usual. At one point, Joel approached him with a drink and formally apologized, admitting that he had lost his temper at the arcade and asking Stephen not to take it to heart. Joel even spoke to Stephen politely despite being a few months older. Stephen accepted the drink and gave Joel a pat on the shoulder. Stephen could empathize with Joel. Everyone was bound to go through some rough patches. While the intense feelings of youth, like passion, possessiveness, and je