January 16, 2016

Franklin House

4:28 P.M.

Keesha slowly walked the final few faces to her front door, enjoying the clear weather and surprisingly warm sun for Walkerville in January. With the cold breeze at a minimum and the sun still overhead, she could almost imagine that it was the beginning of Spring. Of course, the nice weather wasn't scheduled to last more than a few days at the most, but it was nice to think that the worst of the cold was behind her.

Before climbing the few steps up to the front porch, Keesha tugged open the small, metal mailbox to her left. The Franklin's never got too much mail – just a few advertisements from local businesses, and now and again a bill that she'd pass onto her grandmother – but she was in the habit of lazily running her hand along the bottom of the container when she arrived home each day. Occasionally, an important piece of mail would surprise her.

And today was one of those days. In the mailbox, a single envelope sat, waiting for her attention. Keesha removed the letter and turned it over curiously in her hand. On the front, neat calligraphy spelled out her name and the familiar logo for NYU.

Her stomach dropped. She knew that she'd hear back from the school eventually, but so soon? And the envelope was thin – that was always a bad sign. Whatever was inside of this small, white envelope would dictate the path her next four years would take, and mentally, she didn't know if she could handle rejection.

But then again, could she handle acceptance either?

So much was riding on this single letter, and there was nothing else to do but to tear it open and face the reality inside. She took a deep breath, trying to ready herself for whatever came next, but it did nothing to calm her pounding heart or sweaty palms. She couldn't delay it any longer.

Keesha ripped open the envelope and pulled a sheet of paper from inside. Her eyes danced over the first few words of the letter.

Dear Keesha Franklin,

Congratulations on your recent acceptance…

That has all she needed to see. A wide grin crossed her face, and Keesha raced up the porch steps into the house. She couldn't wait to tell her grandmother the good news! And her friends would be thrilled for her, she knew it. And Ralphie-

She froze. What was she supposed to say to her boyfriend? A guy dead-set on travelling no further than the California border for college? Who would be more than 3000 miles away from her in only a matter of months? What would happen with him?

For the past few weeks, Keesha had been able to push away the questions about she and Ralphie's future together, blissful in the absence of an acceptance letter. But now the reality was sinking in that, very soon, they'd be separated by an entire country. She couldn't ignore those pressing questions any longer.

She glanced back at the letter in her hand. One thing at a time, she told herself, unable to suppress the smile once more. She'd tell her grandmother, and the two of them would spend the weekend celebrating. Everything else, she would deal with in time.

For today, she would rejoice in the excitement of being accepted to NYU.

January 18, 2016

World History

8:07 A.M.

The weekend was over all too soon for Keesha's taste, and before she knew it, she was seated in World History on Monday morning tiredly waiting for the bell to begin class. 1st period on a Monday was always difficult, and Keesha was hopeful that her apprehension about confronting Ralphie would be lost behind the bags beneath her eyes and muted yawns. Tim had always had an eye for detail, though, and apparently her stiff muscles weren't as subtle as she had hoped.

"What's with you?" the boy asked, slinging his notebooks onto the desk beside her own. For the first time that year, Keesha cursed the opportunity for the students to pick their own seats.

There was no point in beating around the bush now, though. Tim had seen right through her. "Stressful weekend," she murmured back, stretching her sore, sleepy body.

"Yeah?"

"Mm-hmm." She rested her head on the palm of her hand and peered in Tim's direction. "I heard back from NYU. I'm officially a bobcat."

Tim's eyes lit up at the news. "That's awesome, Keesh! And a way better mascot than a butterfly."

"Don't say that around Phoebe," Keesha chuckled, at last beginning to relax. At least Tim was supportive of her big upcoming move. "I haven't told Ralphie yet, though."

"Oh…" He was beginning to understand her tension. He scratched the back of his neck. "Well, I'm sure he'll be happy for you. That's exciting news."

"I know he will. I just… I'm not sure what it means for us, you know?" She sighed. "It sucks, we danced around our feelings for so long and now, the past year has been so great. But if I moved to New York…"

Tim nodded along sympathetically. "It could ruin everything," he finished, tone solemn.

"Exactly."

Tim turned back to his notebooks and began to lay out his supplies for World History. "That's a tough position. But you'll work it out, I'm sure."

Keesha snorted at the comment. "I kind of have to, don't I?"

The shrill tone of the bell sounded, officially marking the start of class and the end of the pair's conversation, much to Keesha's relief. For once, she was eager for the distraction from her thoughts, even in the form of a monotonous lecture on the end of the Roman empire.

January 18, 2016

Walkerville High Hallway

8:55 A.M.

As soon as the bell rang to end class, students piled out of their classrooms and filled the wide main hallway of Walkerville High, racing to reach their next class before the next chime. Tim waved goodbye and good luck to Keesha as the two parted ways, each now focused on navigating the crowds independently. Fortunately for him, Tim's next class wasn't too far away – the World History classroom was pretty central in the building, and Art was just around the corner and up a set of stairs.

Per usual, during his short transition between classes, Tim bumped in a familiar face and grinned. He and DA didn't share many classes this year, but both enjoyed the opportunity to catch up in their brief breaks in the hall. Pleased to see her friend, DA maneuvered around a particularly slow-moving group of 10th graders and stepped beside the boy. "Morning," she chirped, more perky than most of her peers given the early hour.

Tim was used to the upbeat greeting. Always an early bird, DA seemed to thrive on the exhaustion of her classmates. "What's up?" he shot back, not feeling nearly so awake.

"Not much," DA shrugged. "Usual Monday morning, I guess. You?"

"Have you talked to Keesha today?" While Tim didn't have much going on in his own life, his concern for his friend was more than interesting enough to take the focus of the conversation. "She seemed pretty rough in history."

DA raised a brow at the comment. "I haven't seen her. Is she okay?"

"Apparently, she got an acceptance letter to NYU over the weekend. She was trying to work out how to tell Ralphie."

This news took the breath away from DA. She knew the girl had applied out of state, but this was the first acceptance letter any of the group had received so far. Suddenly, the realities of college began to sink in. "Oh my god, that's… It's great, but…"

"Pretty much my exact reaction," Tim chuckled, amused at DA's own speechless shock. "I can't imagine how that's going to go down."

"When's she going to talk to him?"

"No idea. I don't think she even knows."

"Wow…" Noting the thinning crowds around, DA clicked her tongue and turned her attention back to her current task. "I should get to class."

Tim and DA said their farewells and parted, the blonde still mulling over this new information in her mind. It would be hard enough to be going to school so far away from her home and her friends; she couldn't imagine having to consider a serious boyfriend along with everything else. Still, Keesha knew what she signed up for when she applied to the school. Maybe she'd handle the situation better than DA possibly could.

DA slipped into her Calculus classroom a full minute before the late bell sounded, giving her more than enough time to get settle in her seat beside the perpetual class clown that she called her friend. She took her seat and immediately turned to Carlos. "Guess what I just heard from Tim." Carlos opened his mouth to respond, but DA immediately realized her mistake in offering the boy a chance to respond. She cut in before he could respond. "Keesha got accepted New York U over the weekend."

This certainly caught Carlos off-guard as the boy's eyes grew wide. "New York? As in… The state? Like, on the other side of the country, New York?"

DA nodded. "And she hasn't even told Ralphie about it yet. Tim said she was freaking out about it this morning."

"Damn."

"Right?"

Carlos flumped back in his chair, his brain working at a hundred miles an hour. "Man, I don't have any good New York puns. What a disaster!"

"That's probably the best thing about this whole mess," DA retorted, smirking at Carlos's disappointment. Playfully, the boy punched DA in the arm, and the two moved onto discussing their homework from the night before.

January 18, 2016

Creative Writing

9:48 A.M.

Arnold sighed, sitting boredly at his desk as he waited for his classmates to arrive. As per usual, he was the first to arrive to his 3rd period class, with even his absent-minded teacher having yet to arrive from her extended break in the teacher's lounge. Arnold didn't mind the quiet, if he were honest – it was a brief moment of calm in an otherwise chaotic school, and far safer than sitting at the lunch table or in his basement with his rowdy friends. Still, he might not have minded if anyone else in his class cared about the course enough to show up on time. At least the teacher.

To his surprise, Arnold soon found his wish granted – not by Ms. Henderson, who seemed entirely uninterested in the world of writing as a whole, but the panting form of Carlos Ramon barreling through the door and crashing at the desk beside him. Arnold watched with a deadpan expression as Carlos caught his breath, raising a finger to ask for a second to compose himself. As strange as his friend's arrival had been, Arnold had certainly seen odder things when it came to his closest companions.

After several seconds of panting, Carlos sat up in his seat, his red face returning to its usual color. He pulled out his phone and typed quickly into the device before turning to Arnold with a grin. "I saw Ralphie in the hall and he bet he could get to class quicker than me, like a loser. Am I right?" Noticing the empty classroom, Carlos frowned. "Did third period get cancelled or something?"

"Nah, this is just what the room looks like when you show up on time," Arnold smirked, content with the boy's brief explanation. He peered at the clock on the wall. "I'd say we have about… 3 more minutes before anyone else arrives."

"Sweet." Carlos drummed his fingers on the desk as he waited for Ms. Henderson to arrive. "So… What do you normally do while you wait?"

Arnold shrugged. "Nothing, really."

Naturally, Carlos wasn't satisfied with this response – he'd never been one for sitting quietly and waiting. He needed a distraction from the boredom. "Hey, did you hear about Keesha?"

"I've heard the name, yeah."

Carlos rolled his eyes before continuing. "But did you hear about her going to New York?"

Now Arnold put all his sarcasm aside; this was not news that he had heard. "New York? Why?"

"DA was telling me about it. She's gonna be moving over there – like, for real! Which is lame, because I have absolutely no material on New York. I spent all 2nd period brainstorming, and I came up with nothing! This is a disaster!"

"How come this is the first I'm hearing about it?" Arnold frowned and retrieved his phone from his pocket. "Maybe Phoebe knows something…"

"Ask her if she knows any good New York jokes while you're at it!"

January 18, 2016

Literature

9:49 A.M.

Feeling a buzzing in her pocket, Phoebe pulled out the phone she dad had given her as subtly as she could. She didn't use the device much, especially not in school where she knew she could get in serious trouble, but the unexpected text from her boyfriend would concern her until she checked the contents. And, as soon as she read the brief message, she was grateful that she did.

She looked at the girl across the aisle from her. "Wanda," she hissed, distracting her friend from her conversation with a group of Ralphie's football friends.

Wanda didn't seem to mind the interruption. "What's up?" She grinned, then furrowed a brow in confusion. "Why are you whispering? Class hasn't even started yet."

"Right…" Phoebe pushed the question aside, more important matters now eating at her mind. "Have you talked to Keesha recently?"

"Nope!" Wanda beamed as she replied. "I've been ignoring her for nearly 10 days now."

"You have? Why?"

"Because it's funny. Has she noticed? Is she freaking out?" Wanda lifted her head and laughed loudly. "God, this is awesome!"

Unsurely, Phoebe glanced at the text message from Arnold once more. "Um… I don't think she has, Wan. Sorry."

"Oh." Wanda's face fell. "Why hasn't she noticed?"

"I don't know, Wan." Phoebe shook her head, not sure how this conversation had gotten so off-track. "But Arnold just texted me-"

"Dick pic?"

"No! Listen, he said Keesha is running off to New York!"

Wanda's laid-back demeanor fell in an instant. "What? No way!"

"Apparently so!" Phoebe bit her lip, her gaze falling to the desk before her. "Why wouldn't she tell us something like that? Do you think she's mad at us?"

Wanda smacked her forehead, realization dawning upon her. "Shit, I've been ignoring her for too long! No wonder she wants to run off!"

"I don't think that's-"

Before Phoebe could hope to change her friend's mind, the bell rang to mark the beginning of 3rd period. Defeated, she had no choice but to slip her phone away once more and reconsider every conversation she'd shared with Keesha over the past year, trying to work out when she might have accidentally upset her closest companion.

January 18, 2016

Walkerville High Hallway

11:26 A.M.

By the time she finished 3rd and 4th period, Wanda was disappointed with the lack of updates she'd received regarding the current Keesha-New York escapade. How could Phoebe drop such fascinating gossip on her before Lit and then drop the topic completely? And just because class had begun? How infuriating.

But Phoebe was never the best friend to get gossip from anyway, and Wanda knew that. No, if she wanted to get to the heart of this juicy tidbit, she would need to get it from someone a little more loose-lipped and a little less morally righteous.

And sure enough, she had no trouble picking out her target as she maneuvered through the halls, making her way in the direction of the cafeteria. As smoothly as possible, Wanda slithered up beside her friend and leaned against his arm. "Do we need to talk or what?"

Ralphie narrowed his eyes towards the newcomer, not so much surprised by her sudden appearance as he was confused. "Do we?"

"Oh, we do indeed."

"Uh… Okay…"

With wide, purposeful strides, Wanda managed to match her taller friend's pace as the two walked side by side to lunch, Wanda gesturing wildly as she spoke. "So, there's a little rumor going around about your girlfriend nowadays, but you know me-"

"You always need to know more about a rumor than everyone else."

"Exactly. And I figured, who better to go to for a scoop than my bestest, bestest pal Ralphie? My favorite friend that would never want lil' old Wanda to feel out of the loop…"

Ralphie raised a brow at Wanda's obvious attempts at manipulation. "I hate to tell you this, Wanda, but I think I might be a little out of the loop on this one. What rumors?"

"You know…" Wanda winked coyly as she responded. "Rumors about New York… Rumors about… Running, I guess…"

"Like a marathon?"

With a sigh, Wanda dropped the façade and turned to her friend. "Look, honestly? I don't really know any more than that."

"Well, that's like… Nothing."

"I know! So, spill the dirt, Tennelli!" Wanda frantically grabbed Ralphie by the shirt as she shouted, her desperation to be the source of all gossip overcoming what little restraint she had.

With a shriek, Ralphie pulled away from the manic girl. "Gah! I don't know what you're talking about! I can't even find New York on a map!"

Wanda dropped his shirt, causing the boy to topple over backwards, and tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Okay, that check's out. Which leaves me only one choice…"

"Just ask Keesha?" Ralphie groaned, rubbing the growing bump on the back of his head from where his skull met the hard linoleum floor.

Wanda snapped her fingers. "That's way better than what I was planning! Up and at em', Ralphie, we're confronting your girlfriend!"

"As long as we're doing that in the cafeteria, I'm on board." Ralphie stood and followed his enthusiastic friend down the hall, his head now swirling with thoughts of New York.

January 18, 2016

Walkerville High Cafeteria

11:34 A.M.

Unsurprisingly, after their brief ordeal in the hall, Wanda and Ralphie were the last of the group to stroll in the cafeteria that Monday morning. Wanda was pleased to spot Keesha already seated at the table, muscles tense but her face unreadable. Now, she would get to the bottom of this enticing rumor mill.

However, Ralphie beat her to the punch. Before Wanda could so much and utter a word, Ralphie slammed his hands on the table, causing lunches to go falling left and right. "Why didn't you tell me about the marathon?"

The table was quiet, and hesitantly, Keesha moved Ralphie's hands away from her own lunch tray. "You're going to have to explain that one, big guy."

Wanda crossed her arms as she peered around Ralphie to face her friend. "Oh, don't play dumb: we know all about you and your little New York thing."

Keesha remained stoic as the rest of the table glanced around uncomfortably, everyone trying to work out what exactly was happening before them. Ralphie frowned and turned to Wanda. "Actually, we don't really know anything."

"We know enough!"

"You think I'm running a marathon?"

Keesha's voice was dangerously low, and Wanda immediately regretted her decision to confront her. She gulped. "Okay, so we don't know enough."

Keesha rubbed her temples, her stress now replaced with frustration. "We need to talk, Ralphie. Apparently, some things have been lost in translation."

"Apparently so," Ralphie agreed, taking the seat opposite Keesha. He still wasn't really sure what she was talking about, but he figured this stoic certainty made for a better look than Wanda's frantic screaming.

"I got a letter over the weekend," Keesha explained bluntly, her narrowed eyes fixed to the table as she spoke. "I should have told you sooner, but I wasn't sure how to do it."

Wanda snorted as she took her own seat at the table. "Tell him what? That letters are an outdated means of communication and that text is where it's at?"

Keesha's eyes darted towards Ralphie's face. "I got accepted to NYU, Ralphie. I'm going to be going to college in New York."

The color drained from Ralphie's face as the words sunk in. This explanation made far more sense than Keesha's developing an avid interest in long-distance marathons, sure, but it was no easier for him to take in. "You're leaving Walkerville?" She nodded, and Ralphie groaned. "Wait, what about us, then? Should I go to New York?"

"You hate New York."

"But I love you."

As sweet as the sentiment was, for the first time since receiving her acceptance letter, Keesha knew exactly what she needed to say next. She only wished it wasn't going to hurt so badly. "You're staying here, Ralphie. And I'm leaving. And… I thought that long distance could be possible, what with email, Skype-"

"The mail system, apparently…"

"Shut up, Wanda." Keesha sighed and took Ralphie's hands in her own. "We're not good enough at communicating to make that work, Ralphie. Instead of talking to you, I apparently started some game of telephone that convinced you I wanted to pick up running. I love you too, but I don't want the next round to turn into something that makes you hate me. I don't want to ruin a real friendship because I couldn't say what I needed to."

Ralphie was quieter than usual, but his furrowed expression told Keesha that he was clinging onto every word. As hard as it was, there was no more turning back. "We need to break up, Ralphie. Before we lose each other for good."

"I just want you to be happy, Keesh. Promise me you'll be happy?"

She gave a small, reassuring smile. "I promise. You too?"

"Yeah. As long as you promise to come back and visit." He paused for a moment. "And… As long as we're still friends."

A weight lifted from her shoulder's, Keesha chuckled and pat Ralphie on the arm. "Of course, we are. Across space, time, and everywhere in between."

"Shikka shikka ka-boom."