*still friends
Yeah
Thanks
Thanks for thinking of me
And thanks for being my friend
Thanks for being mine
It means a lot to me
It means a lot to me.
I shake my head. It means a lot to me too. But now? After everything?
I don’t know how it can ever mean anything more.
See you at school?
Yeah
See you
24
It’s sleeting the first day back at school, icy drops that cling to Jasmine’s windshield before melting away. The morning is dim and gray. I don’t like the humidity of summer, but I miss the longer days. I hate going to school when it’s still dark, and if we’ve got rehearsals, I’m usually leaving school when it’s dark too.
We pull up into the golden cone of a parking lot light. Jasmine leaves the car running as she turns to me. Her lip is quivering, and tears have pooled in her eyes.
“Jackson...”
I was afraid she was going to ask.
“Can you do the list?”
“Do I have to?”
“Please? What if I run into him?”
“Fine.” I pull it out and read it off as quick as I can.
Jasmine’s spine stiffens and she blinks away her tears. “Thanks. What would I do without you?”
I shrug and stuff the list back into my notebook.
“One more semester to go,” she says.
“Yeah.” I clear my throat. “Are you really gonna move to Denver?”
“I think so. I don’t know. Why does everyone expect me to already have things figured out?”
“Sorry,” I mutter. “I’d miss you is all.”
Jasmine gone in Denver. Liam gone in Texas. Bowie joining him a year later, while I’m up in New York or Chicago.
Everyone’s leaving.
