Bookcases and shelves stretch around the room, dominating the walls. No space is left unfilled, with trinkets and mementos accumulated from a life of travelling furnishing every available spot. Postcards bundled together with elastic bands sit on a low shelf, framed photographs of Priya in front of famous landmarks at various stages of her life are dotted around the room, and there are even a few boxes still sitting on the floor, waiting for a home to be found for their contents.
"It was nice of your parents to invite me to stay for dinner." Rosalya says, taking a seat at Priya's desk. There's a large wooden globe sitting before her and she allows her fingers to run along the equator.
"Don't mention it, they love having guests for dinner," Priya begins, parking herself on the edge of her bed, "And I think they're just happy to see we've made fast friends."
"Do you always make fast friends when you move?" Rosa doesn't so much as look up from the globe.
"Most of the time, not always, and never with everyone." Priya admits, without a even a glimmer of self pity.
Rosalya is silent for moment, allowing the words to leave their weight in the room, before digging further, curious and blunt as ever. "And I bet it gets hard, saying goodbye all the time."
"It can be. I suppose it depends on how well I settled in. There have been times when moving was the easiest thing in the world and times when it was heartbreaking," a slight, sincere smile grows across Priya's face as she continues, "Even though I've only been here two months, Sweet Amoris feels like I place I never want to leave."
Rosa says nothing in reply, but she takes the words to heart. It's somewhat soothing to think that Priya has grown attached to the town, her friends, to think that Sweet Amoris wouldn't be just another place on a long list of former homes. Still captivated by the globe, Rosa spins it, and after allowing it to come to a natural stop she blindly points her index finger downwards, choosing a location at random. "Have you ever been here ?"
Priya rises from the bed and wanders over towards to the desk. She places a finger on the globe, next to Rosa's, and laughs at what she sees. "The middle of the Barents Sea ? I can't say I have."
Rosa brushes the remark off, somewhat defensively. "I was trying to pick a random location, I couldn't look and see if I landed in the water."
"Maybe I'll move there next," Priya says, her sarcastic tone still coming across despite the final giggles of her laughter.
Feeling cheeky, Rosa expands on that idea. "Will you take me with you next time?"
"What to the Barents Sea ? I was jok-" Priya begins only to be cut off by Rosa.
"No not there. I mean, if you ever need a travel companion, I'm your gal," Rosa explains, adding "but I have to warn you, I don't pack light."
It's Priya's turn to examine the globe now as she places her finger on France and prepares to drag it to wherever Rosa might like to go. "What's your dream holiday."
"Anywhere warm with lots of beaches."
"That could be so many places." Priya spins the globe again, and this time her finger lands in South America ,right on Uruguay. "What do you think, it has beaches just like you requested."
Rosa takes the globe in her hands and studies the distance. Uruguay is quite a ways away and she doubts there are any direct flights, but the idea is intriguing all the same and it rouses her sense of adventure. She leaps up from the desk chair with a newfound ambition. "Let's do it."
Priya's first thinks to laugh, to find Rosa's enthusiasm endearing, but one look into her eyes shows she means every word. "You're serious. Do you know anything about where we're going ?"
Rosa shakes her head. "No, but that's what planning is for. And besides, we'd have to wait until we finish school. We could go before college, one last hurrah. It'll be amazing."
Rosa's passion, her gusto, her daring personality - Priya can do nothing but smile. "You're amazing."
It's impossible to tell who takes the first step, who inches closer first, but all of a sudden they're so near to each other that they can feel one another's body heat. One of them must have crouched down, or the other must have stood on the tips of their toes because their lips are at an even height. Arms wrap around a waist, chests press together and foreheads meet as they both silently smile into each other.
When the inevitable kiss finally comes it is not the hot, passionate vision that Hollywood would have you come to expect. The best kisses are the ones broken by unintentional smiles that naturally creep into the corners of your lips.