September 5, 2015

Airplane

9:36 A.M.

Finally at rest in his small, economy-class plane seat, Ralphie let his body sink into the stiff leather contentedly. "Why did we have to get the earliest flight ever?" he complained, his eyes struggling to stay open, despite the surrounding bustle of strangers searching for their own seats.

"So that we have time to check out the whole campus, I guess," Keesha suggested, equally exhausted by the hectic morning. Getting herself up and to the airport by 9:30 a.m. on a Saturday would be a big enough hassle for the girl; making sure Ralphie was there on time was another matter entirely. Still, the two had found their gate with time to spare, and now she was more than ready to leave her nerves behind. "Grams was nice enough to buy us tickets – I wasn't going to complain about the time."

"No one goes to NYU to admire the school at sunrise. Nothing worth checking out is going to be happening until nighttime," Ralphie rebutted.

Keesha shook her head at his single-minded approach to college. "There's more to higher education than parties, you know."

"I've seen enough movies to know that's not true."

"Besides," Keesha continued, ignoring the interruption. "You're forgetting about time zones. It's already mid-afternoon in New York. You just have to entertain yourself for a few hours, then you can visit all the college parties you want."

Ralphie settled at the reminder, a soft grin stretching across his face. "We're gonna have such an awesome night, Keesh, just you wait." When only silence responded, Ralphie opened his eyes and turned to the girl with concern. "You're not excited?"

"Ugh…" Keesha rubbed her temples. "I don't know. This is all such a waste of time."

"But… College parties. Wild hijinks. General mayhem-"

"Not really my scene," Keesha reminded sternly. She sunk back into her seat and crossed her arms. "None of it is. I don't really want to go to school on the opposite side of the country: my grandma's here, and you guys. I'd much prefer visiting something closer to home."

Ralphie pursed his lips, struggling to think of a good response to his sullen girlfriend. "The distance is kind of fun though, isn't it? No more mom's yelling at us for cursing, no more annoying curfews or asking permission to go out-"

"Those seem like personal victories, Ralphie," Keesha pointedly retorted. She chuckled to herself. "I've never really felt trapped at home, I suppose. I like Walkerville. I wouldn't even be visiting NYU if my aunt didn't work there."

Seeing that Keesha was at last in higher spirits, Ralphie felt at peace once again. "Well, it's not like you have to enroll or anything. Just think of this as you and me having a weekend away, and afterwards, you never have to come back if you don't want to."

Keesha smiled. "True. Maybe this won't be so bad." She pecked the boy gently on the lips. "Thanks, Ralphie."

"Anytime, Keesh." With the girl's concerns lifted, Ralphie contented himself by exploring every inch of his stiff airplane seat. Unfortunately, aside from a few magazines about the airline service and a newspaper with an already filled-in crossword, there wasn't much to take in. He frowned. "Don't we get peanuts or something? I was really looking forward to the peanuts."

Keesha chuckled. Ralphie always had his priorities straight, that much was for sure.

September 5, 2015

Arnold's Basement

10:31 A.M.

"It's so quiet down here," Arnold mused, unexpectedly somber at the absence of Ralphie and Keesha. "I never thought I'd miss Ralphie raiding my fridge for breakfast leftovers."

"Right?" Sighing, Wanda put down the fireworks she was holding and trotted to a seat on the couch. "I can still cause mayhem, but it's not the same without Keesha screaming at me for being an idiot. No one even commented when I threw that brick at Tim's head."

Holding a bag of ice on his forehead, Tim shot a glare at his friend. "No, I'm pretty sure I said something about that one."

"I'm so lonely…"

DA clicked her tongue at the sorry display. Since when had her friends become so co-dependent? "Guys, they've been gone for one hour. And you'll see them on Tuesday! You need to relax."

Phoebe wrapped her arms around her knees, comforting herself amid the deadly-quiet basement. "It is strange how much emptier the basement feels without them, though. Don't you think?"

DA shrugged. "Honestly, I'm just proud of Ralphie for taking any steps towards applying for college. I never thought he'd be the responsible one of the group."

"Yes. Responsibility. I'm sure that's why he decided to tag along. Not the chance at a weekend alone with his girlfriend or anything…" Carlos raised a brow, making DA groan.

"Well, whatever his intention, I think we could all learn a lesson from him-"

"Okay." Arnold turned to Phoebe. "Care to join me upstairs?"

DA glared at the boy, garnering a smug shrug from the redhead. She turned back to her other companions. "Not what I meant! Look, since we have a quiet weekend, why don't we all use this time to start putting together our college applications? All of us," she emphasized, eyes glued to Wanda.

Wanda snorted. "Yeah, right. I don't even know if I feel like going to class next week – forget the next four years."

"It's a big step, DA," Carlos agreed passively. "You can't rush us into picking schools and classes and stuff."

Tiredly, DA pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail, clearly prepared for a long day of protests from her friends. "Normally, I would agree. But application deadlines are closer than you think! I'm not suggesting we plan out everything right now, but let's at least get started. I mean, if I'm skipping on Harvard or Yale for the sake of being near my friends, then my friends sure as hell better be getting their own applications in on time!"

"Where do you suggest we start?" Tim compromised, giving his sore head a break from the ice pack. Unlike Wanda and Carlos, he sympathized with DA's point of view and knew how stressed she was about college; still, he hadn't anticipated spending his 3-day weekend in Dorothy Ann's College Application Boot Camp for Dummies. Oh well. There were worse ways to kill time, he supposed.

"Have you considered any potential majors? Ideally, we can find a school that offers decent programs in all of our desired fields." DA scanned the room, only to be met by vacant stares. She smacked her forehead. "Okay, fine. I'm going to help you guys discover the major of your dreams this weekend – no ifs, ands, or buts about it! And Wanda, if you so much as look at another brick or unguarded box of fireworks, I'm going to personally make sure that every college in the country hears you screaming for mercy!"

Wanda froze, her hand outstretched for the box of matches sitting on the coffee table. Suddenly, her 3-day weekend seemed a lot exciting.

September 5, 2015

NYU Campus

3:48 P.M.

With wide eyes, Keesha and Ralphie glanced around the towering buildings of New York University, taken in by the crowded cityscape compared to their suburban Walkerville home. "This is incredible," Keesha murmured, watching as a group of students walked across the quad together, laughing about something one had said. "I mean, you see New York in movies, but this is-"

"Bigger…" Ralphie finished, voice distant. He hadn't expected to feel quite so small amid a horizon of skyscrapers and apartments, but this was a crowded, chaotic city to be sure. Subconsciously, he stepped closer to Keesha. "Man, if you got lost here, you'd never get home."

"Seriously…"

Ralphie glanced down at the rough map Keesha's aunt had drawn the pair when they dropped their belongings off at her apartment. Suddenly, he understood why she'd been so determined to hand this to them before they left to explore the campus. If only he were better at reading maps, the diagram would have been a major help. "It looks like that's one of the academic buildings," he suggested, comparing the map to a large brick building at the far end of the opening. Despite his confident tone, he had absolutely no idea if he was correct.

Keesha peered at the diagram unsurely. "I guess. Let's check it out."

The two made their way to the grand entryway, taking their time to peer through each wide window that they passed. While they had an official tour planned with a guide the next day, both were eager to discover as much of the college that they could on this first visit to the campus.

Just inside the massive building, Keesha and Ralphie stumbled upon a comfortable-looking sitting area, filled with cushioned leather chairs, dark wood tables, and a thick brown carpet that covered the elegant marble floor. In this area, a group of students sat, talking amongst themselves and occasionally laughing together. Of the strangers, one familiar face stood out to the pair.

"Charlie?" Keesha stammered, shocked to see anyone from Walkerville so far away from home.

Sure enough, the laid-back soccer player turned at the sound of his name and grinned. He waved the two over. "Yo, kiddos! Long time, no see!"

"Yeah! You must have graduated, huh?" Ralphie internally smacked himself for the dumb comment – of course Charlie had graduated! Fortunately, the boy seemed unbothered by the ridiculous question.

"Who woulda thought it?" he laughed, receiving a chuckle from a few of the other students sitting with him. "But you're still in the system's grasp, aren't you?"

Keesha grinned at the comment. "Not for much longer," she bragged, standing up tall. "We're seniors now. My aunt just invited us up to check out the campus."

Charlie's eyes lit up. "Your aunt must be Prof. Franklin, yeah?"

"Professor Franklin?" A girl sitting beside Charlie clarified excitedly. "Head of the English Department?"

Keesha rubbed the back of her neck. "Uh… Yeah, I guess so. You know her?"

"Greatest. Professor. Ever." The girl enthused, slamming her hands on the arms of her chair for emphasis. "Seriously, she totally changed how I read Things Fall Apart."

"Hell yeah! Her course on Classical Feminist Literature convinced me to become an English major," another agreed, beaming proudly.

Keesha chuckled at the comment. "That sounds like Aunt Millie," she commented lightly. "She's always pushed me to search for truth from every perspective, even when-"

"-Even when its an uncomfortable truth to find!" Charlie's friend's finished in unison. They burst out in laughter. "She says that all the time!"

"The other day, she got us to have this amazing debate about the implications of 'hustle culture,'" the first girl commented excitedly. "I swear, I never realized how much guilt I felt about not working hard enough until she laid it out for us. Completely changed my life."

As the girls and Charlie continued to discuss their favorite classes with Professor Franklin, Ralphie cleared his throat. "I'm just going to run to the bathroom," he muttered, quietly stepping away from the conversation and walking off down a nearby hallway. While he didn't really need to find a restroom, the boy suddenly felt quite out of his league chatting with Charlie and his friends; he needed a moment to collect his thoughts on his own before returning to the main lounge.

He had seen from the outside that NYU was big. But inside, the monstrous building felt bigger than words could possibly describe.

September 5, 2015

Carlos's Bedroom

2:32 P.M.

"I just come from the farm, the whole country's talking witchcraft! They'll be callin' us witches, Abby! Abby, we've got to tell. Witchery's a hangin' error, a hangin' like they done in Boston two years ago!"

"Stop, stop, stop." DA paced about the makeshift stage she had set up in Carlos's room, a small area that she had cleared of dirty clothes and discarded papers. Carlos stood awkwardly in the center, looking up from his sheet of lines to listen to DA's critique. "I just… I don't believe that you're afraid."

"That sounds like a personal problem," Carlos remarked, but DA only glared in response. His shoulders fell. "I don't know, DA, I'm just not connecting with this character. What's my motivation?"

DA shot Carlos an intense stare. "Your motivation is that you want to get into a good college and unless you show me some genuine fear, you'll never succeed in any acting class! And that accent – what was that?"

"Um… A Boston accent?"

DA rubbed her temples. "This is 1600's Salem, Carlos, no one has a Boston accent."

"Good thing I'm so bad at the dialect, then."

Shaking her head, DA picked up her own discarded script from the bed. "Can we just take it from the top? Without any accents, please?"

Sighing, Carlos fell onto his bed and tossed his lines to the side. "I might be handsome and incredibly talented at it, I don't think I'm supposed to be a Theatre major, DA. I feel silly. Plus, I need to be allowed to add my own accents, you know? Put a bit of myself into the role and all that."

DA sat down beside him. "Okay… Onto the next major, then… Are you any good at nuclear physics?"

September 5, 2015

NYU Campus

4:49 P.M.

Ralphie peered around another corner. To his dismay, he found only another long, pristine hallway stretching as far as his eye could see. He groaned.

Since dismissing himself to go to the bathroom, Ralphie had managed to get himself completely lost inside the complex that was NYU. He'd gone up stairs, out some doors, in other doors, even climbed a fence at one point – still, nothing. Where the hell had that lounge gone?

What's worse, in all his searching, Ralphie hadn't managed to find a single bathroom, and now he wouldn't mind a brief pit stop inside. How did anyone ever learn their way around this place? Sure, Ralphie had been lost in Walkerville before, but the town was small enough that eventually, you always ran into a person or a place that you recognized and all was well. In New York, getting lost might as well be exile.

Ralphie stepped up to a large window on the far side of the hall. Outside of the tall glass, the central quad was still and quiet, presumably the usual for a Saturday afternoon. The stillness was eerie in the midst of such a massive city. In a small town, the quiet was peaceful. In the city, quiet warned that you shouldn't be here.

I shouldn't be here. Ralphie had been looking forward to a long weekend of college parties at NYU, but now that he was here, all he wanted to do was hop back on the plane and return to his home and his friends. The city was an interesting change of pace, but he could never live amid these towering buildings and busy roads. Ralphie loved his friends; he loved walking to the store and seeing strangers he recognized from school; he loved walking into Sure, Bert and ordering the usual and getting his favorite strawberry milkshake every time. He didn't belong in New York City.

Now, if only he could track down Keesha, he might be able to leave this frickin' city once and for all.

September 5, 2015

Tim's Bedroom

3:37 P.M.

"…and as azure tides recede/I watch you float away to sea/Float, forever, away from me."

As DA finished reciting her quick attempt at poetry, Phoebe listened intently with mouth agape. DA looked up from her scrawled words and frowned. "Sorry, it's just a first draft."

"Are you kidding? That was beautiful!" Phoebe glanced back to her own sloppy work and grimaced. "I don't want to share mine."

DA sat beside her friend and wrapped a reassuring arm around her shoulder. "It doesn't have to be amazing, Pheebs. English is about learning how to harness your words to tell powerful stories and share profound emotions; no one starts out an expert."

Reluctantly, Phoebe unfolded her poem and cleared her throat. "Um… Roses are red/Violets are blue/I like dogs/And cats that go mew."

DA was silent for a moment. She then turned to face the boy sitting on the opposite end of the bed. "How goes the studying, Tim? Parlez-vous francais?"

Tim peeked at his notes. "If you're asking for the bathroom, it's down the hall to the left. If you're asking if I want to major in French – or actually, any language that isn't English – that answer would be a resounding, non."

"Noted." DA stood up and walked to the door. "I think we're done here."

The door slammed as DA left Tim and Phoebe to reflect on their work. Tim smiled. "I liked your poem, Pheebs."

"Thanks." Phoebe winced. "You're really bad at French."

"I know."

September 5, 2015

NYU Campus

5:39 P.M.

Turning the corner, Keesha nearly walked straight into the moping, exhausted form of Ralphie Tenelli wandering aimlessly down the halls and perked up. "There you are! What happened to you?"

Ralphie shrugged weakly. "I hate this school, Keesha. A kid goes to find the bathroom and ends up alone, trapped in an endless labyrinth of halls and locked doors until he starts to question whether it's all a metaphor for his life. I can't think about metaphors in my spare time!" Ralphie sobbed. "I can't do it, Keesh!"

"I know, I know." Keesha pulled Ralphie into a tight embrace, patting him on the back as he let out all his anguish. "You're going to be okay."

"I thought college was meant to be exciting," Ralphie sniffed, stepping away and dabbing at his eyes. "But I just want to go home. New York's not what I expected."

Keesha frowned at the comment. Despite her initial reservations, she'd be lying if she said her conversation with Charlie and his friends hadn't intrigued her. The people on this campus were thoughtful, inquisitive, and on a search for truth with their studies, not to mention that they already adored her aunt. Honestly, it was exactly the kind of environment she could love exploring for the next four years. But now wasn't the time to discuss that with her boyfriend; for now, she knew how to cheer Ralphie up. "Charlie's going to show us a really neat pizza place, Ralphie. Are you up for that?"

"Pizza?" Ralphie considered the invitation. "I- I suppose I could manage some pizza."

As Keesha led Ralphie back to the lounge – which was just around the corner, much to Ralphie's chagrin – she reflected on her experience at NYU. Would she really be willing to leave behind her friends and her grandmother for the chance to come to school here? She'd still have family nearby, and thanks to her aunt's role at the school, admission should be a breeze. But what about the people she'd be leaving behind? What of Grams, and Arnold, and DA and Tim? Or Carlos, and Phoebe and Wanda?

And perhaps worst of all, what about Ralphie? Would she be willing to say goodbye to Ralphie for four years? Keesha wasn't sure she was ready to make that decision. For now, she would just appreciate the chance to eat some greasy fast food with some cool people and appreciate what time she and Ralphie had with one another, however long that time might end up being.

September 5, 2015

Arnold's Bedroom

5:51 P.M.

Arnold had heard from his friend's that DA was taking her mission to help everyone pick a major quite seriously. Still, he hadn't expected to swing open his bedroom door and find the blonde standing before him, uncomfortably holding a small, teacup pig in her arms, a forced grin plastered across her face. Arnold raised a brow. "Okay, what major is that supposed to be?"

"Pharmacology?" DA let her shoulder's fall as she stepped into the bedroom. "Yeah, I'm running out of inspiration here."

"You don't say…" Arnold gently took the pig from his friend, allowing the girl to collapse onto his comfortable double bed. "You look… Not great, honestly."

She groaned and sat up. "I didn't think it would be so hard to find a major for everyone," she confessed sullenly. "Then again, I knew what I wanted to study since I was 6…"

With a laugh, Arnold sat beside DA, carefully cradling the piglet as he did so. "I know you're here to help me, DA, but maybe I can offer you some advice?"

"Go for it."

Arnold scratched the piglet under the chin. "Applying to college is stressful for everyone. Applying to college for 8 different people is just unmanageable." He returned his attention to her. "You have to let us go through this process, each at our own pace. I know you don't like being out of control, but I think you have to trust that everything will work out in the end."

"I know…" DA conceded tiredly. "But it's hard to put my trust in Wanda."

Arnold laughed. "Understandable. But do you remember when we were trying to decide what to do with that empty lot in 3rd grade?"

DA nodded.

"In the end, we chose to let nature run its course, and guess what? Everything worked out. Wanda's tree grew big and strong, and all we had to do was let it grow on its own. I think people are a lot like Wanda's tree."

Brushing her hair behind her ear, DA finally returned Arnold's gaze. "That's a lovely thought, Arn." She thought for a moment. "It definitely sounds less stressful than trying to be Wanda's therapist."

Arnold cocked his head to the side. "Dare I ask?"

"I thought she might find something interesting in Psychology. Needless to say, I learned more about the inner workings of Wanda than any person should ever be forced to hear."

"You're a strong person, DA," Arnold exclaimed, impressed.

DA smiled. "Sure. Scarred forever, but strong nevertheless." She pat Arnold on the shoulder. "I'll butt out of everyone's application process. Thanks for talking me down."

"No problem. Thanks for bringing this little guy over," Arnold cooed, pulling the teacup big close to his chest. "He's the perfect substitute for Ralphie."

Happily, the two friends went about their evenings, both feeling better than they had all day.

September 5, 2015

Aunt Millie's House

7:06 P.M.

"That really was some good pizza," Ralphie enthused, all signs of his previous distress now erased. "New Yorker's weren't kidding about having the best in the world."

"Don't let Chicago hear you say that," Keesha joked, settling down on her bed. Though it was still early, Keesha and Ralphie, both exhausted from a long day, had agreed it best to stay in for the rest of the evening and relax.

Ralphie rolled over from his own bed, now facing Keesha. "Sorry I got a little freaked out before. I… Don't always do well under pressure."

"No worries." Keesha's eyes drifted to the floor thoughtfully. "Did you mean what you said, though?"

"About hating metaphors?"

"About hating New York."

"Oh…" Ralphie's face scrunched up as he considered the question. "Well, maybe hate is a strong word. But it's too big. I don't think I'd ever feel at home here, you know? Give me a small, suburban town any day."

"Ah…"

Ralphie frowned. "I take it you feel differently?"

"Maybe a little," Keesha confessed, her usually confident voice falling faint. "I'm not sure."

"Huh…" Ralphie shifted uncomfortably in his bed. "Well, you don't have to make any decisions today. We got time, right?"

Keesha nodded. "Right…" She peeked at Ralphie's face again, now blank as his mind drifted over the past few hours. "Hey, Ralphie?"

"Mm-hmm?"

"Thanks for coming with me. These things are always more fun with you."

Ralphie looked away, hoping the red on his face wasn't too obvious to the girl. "Yeah, well… I mean, it's a trip to New York, right? I wouldn't miss it. So… No worries."

"No worries."