"New York traffic isn't the easiest to get through." Mrs. Nyxinn said from
the front seat.
"Yeah. Exactly how did you get all of our stuff in the back trunk?" Tara asked curiously.
"Just a little spell." Mrs. Nyxinn said as her comforting, light brown eyes that Riley inherited smiled at Tara through the rear view mirror.
"I've never ridden in this car before. It's really big. There's a front, back, and middle! So cool!" Leilani said amazed.
"Chill Lei. It's just a car." Riley said from the front passenger seat.
"It's an awesome car!" Leilani said spreading her arms out almost hitting Jhene in the head.
"Watch yourself Lei." Jhene said shaking her head.
"Sorry." Leilani said and she searched the cars various compartments.
"Are they still in back of us?" Riley asked from the front.
Leilani turned around to see Sean's car following from behind.
"Yeah." Leilani said after confirming that they were there.
"Who's in there with Sean, Ri?" Becky asked.
"Er.Paul, Miranda, and Alexis." Riley replied.
"And why are they coming again?" Becky asked.
"You know why. Sean and Miranda are my favorite cousins. They're practically my older brother and sister. Alexis is just there because Sean, they are together. But, she's really close too so it's a good thing she's coming. And Paul is my biggest homie in the world." Riley explained to Becky again.
"Paul's your biggest homie, huh?" Becky teased.
"Yes. He's my biggest homie. You know what I mean. We're really close." Riley said calmly.
"Right." Becky said and she turned away to talk to Tara.
Riley smiled innocently making sure that Becky didn't see. But, she couldn't get her smile away from her mom. Mrs. Nyxinn giggled and caught her daughters' attention.
"What's so funny?" Riley asked.
"Nothing." Mrs. Nyxinn said smiling.
Riley shook her head.
"I'm really going to miss you honey. 9 months without you is going to be hard." Mrs. Nyxinn said sadly.
"Don't worry Mom; I'm coming back for holidays." Riley reassured her.
"I know." Mrs. Nyxinn said. "Just make sure you have fun and keep up with class, alright?"
"I will Mom. I'll send you an owl any chance I get." Riley told her mom.
"You better." Mrs. Nyxinn said smiling. "Oh look! We're here. Finally!"
When they arrived at the airport the immediately got their bags tagged and headed for the waiting area. It was 9:45 PM and their flight was supposed to be boarding at 10:15 PM.
"Well, we're going to have to wait." Tara said as she sat down next to Jhene.
"I'm going to go and look for a Starbucks." Riley said getting up.
"I'll go with you." Paul said getting up from his seat too. Becky cleared her throat noticeably. Riley gave her a very convincing eye.
"No problem." Riley said still looking at Becky.
The two "homies" walked down the airports hallways talking about how they have to keep in touch no matter what. When they finally found a Starbucks they both ordered a Venti Iced Caramel Frappacino and walked back to the waiting area drinking them happily.
"Come on you guys! Hurry up!" Jhene said as they turned the corner to their waiting area. "We're boarding early!"
Riley and Paul broke into a sort of jog and run and caught up to the rest of them.
"Here are your bags." Leilani said and her and Tara handed Riley her bags.
"Thanks."
"Give your ticket to the lady Riley." Mrs. Nyxinn said.
"Huh? Oh! Right." Riley said as she pulled out her ticket from her back pocket.
She handed the lady her ticket and they all headed for the plane. Since Mrs. Nyxinn, Paul, Sean, Miranda, and Alexis weren't passengers they couldn't go too far. So they said their good-byes once they got to the passengers entrance.
"Bye honey. Take good care of yourself alright?" Mrs. Nyxinn said as she hugged her daughter, tears welling up in her eyes.
"I will Mom. I love you." Riley said starting to tear as well.
"I love you too." Mrs. Nyxinn said.
They released each other and smiled.
"Alright. I have to go to the car before they give me a ticket. I'll meet you guys there while I watch your car as well." Mrs. Nyxinn said and she vanished into a corner.
Sean, Miranda, and Alexis all hugged Riley. They each gave her a good-bye present. Sean gave her a new shoulder bag that she could use for her classes. Miranda gave her a picture frame that said around it "Love Is As Strong As Our Friendship" that held a picture of her and Miranda and also a pack of pictures to keep for remembrance. Alexis gave her a photo album for all the pictures and an admirable jacket by Coach.
"Well, make sure you keep in touch." Paul demanded.
"I promise." Riley said.
They hugged each other and gave a kiss on the cheek for good-bye.
"Here. This is for you." Paul said pulling a couple of items out of his jean pocket.
It was a notebook and a long, velvet box. The notebook said on the cover "If writing is your dream than fulfill it- I will help you along the way."
"I guess the notebooks saying was referring to it helping you but I'll always be there for you helping you fulfill your dreams." Paul said honestly.
"Thanks. It's great." Riley said searching for better words.
"Oh. I got this for you too. Open it on the plane okay?" Paul asked.
Riley shook her head and hugged him one last time.
~~~***~~~
Riley struggled as she carried all of her gifts onto the plane along with her luggage. Once she got her trunk and two duffle bags into the top compartment she sat down next to Leilani to look through all of her gifts.
"You alright alone Tara?" Leilani said peeking over in back of her to her friend.
"I'm fine. I needed the extra chair to hold my stuff anyways." Tara answered.
"Alright." Leilani said as she sat back down. She turned to Riley who was holding the velvet box from Paul in her hands turning it around several times.
"What's in the box?" Leilani asked.
"I don't know." Riley said plainly.
"So, then why don't you open it?" Leilani suggested obviously.
Riley smiled. "Yeah. That'd be a good idea." She opened the box revealing a shining, silver heart locket. In scripted on the front were the letters 'PR.'
"Paul and Riley I suppose." Leilani said.
"Paul and Riley?" Becky said turning and leaning over her seat to see the necklace in Riley's hand. "Wow! He gave that to you?"
"Yeah." Riley said opening the locket. Inside was a picture of her and Paul. She smiled again sighing a happy sigh.
"Here. Let me put it on." Leilani said. Riley handed her the necklace and she put it on around her neck.
"Thanks." Riley said smiling at her friend.
"Well, I'm going to order some gourmet food! 1st class is going to be busy this flight." Becky said humorously.
Leilani started to read her book The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants that gave Riley time to look through her gifts in peace. Once she looked through everything and carefully, trying not to put any fingerprints on the pictures, placed them into the photo album, she opened up Paul's notebook to start writing. But, there was already something written in it.
Dear Riley,
Over the years our friendship has kept hold through all of the tough times. I hope that this separation will not steer us away from each other. You're my #1 "Homie" and I pray that we will never part as friends.
Keep in touch and don't ever change.
With love,
Paul
"Yeah. Exactly how did you get all of our stuff in the back trunk?" Tara asked curiously.
"Just a little spell." Mrs. Nyxinn said as her comforting, light brown eyes that Riley inherited smiled at Tara through the rear view mirror.
"I've never ridden in this car before. It's really big. There's a front, back, and middle! So cool!" Leilani said amazed.
"Chill Lei. It's just a car." Riley said from the front passenger seat.
"It's an awesome car!" Leilani said spreading her arms out almost hitting Jhene in the head.
"Watch yourself Lei." Jhene said shaking her head.
"Sorry." Leilani said and she searched the cars various compartments.
"Are they still in back of us?" Riley asked from the front.
Leilani turned around to see Sean's car following from behind.
"Yeah." Leilani said after confirming that they were there.
"Who's in there with Sean, Ri?" Becky asked.
"Er.Paul, Miranda, and Alexis." Riley replied.
"And why are they coming again?" Becky asked.
"You know why. Sean and Miranda are my favorite cousins. They're practically my older brother and sister. Alexis is just there because Sean, they are together. But, she's really close too so it's a good thing she's coming. And Paul is my biggest homie in the world." Riley explained to Becky again.
"Paul's your biggest homie, huh?" Becky teased.
"Yes. He's my biggest homie. You know what I mean. We're really close." Riley said calmly.
"Right." Becky said and she turned away to talk to Tara.
Riley smiled innocently making sure that Becky didn't see. But, she couldn't get her smile away from her mom. Mrs. Nyxinn giggled and caught her daughters' attention.
"What's so funny?" Riley asked.
"Nothing." Mrs. Nyxinn said smiling.
Riley shook her head.
"I'm really going to miss you honey. 9 months without you is going to be hard." Mrs. Nyxinn said sadly.
"Don't worry Mom; I'm coming back for holidays." Riley reassured her.
"I know." Mrs. Nyxinn said. "Just make sure you have fun and keep up with class, alright?"
"I will Mom. I'll send you an owl any chance I get." Riley told her mom.
"You better." Mrs. Nyxinn said smiling. "Oh look! We're here. Finally!"
When they arrived at the airport the immediately got their bags tagged and headed for the waiting area. It was 9:45 PM and their flight was supposed to be boarding at 10:15 PM.
"Well, we're going to have to wait." Tara said as she sat down next to Jhene.
"I'm going to go and look for a Starbucks." Riley said getting up.
"I'll go with you." Paul said getting up from his seat too. Becky cleared her throat noticeably. Riley gave her a very convincing eye.
"No problem." Riley said still looking at Becky.
The two "homies" walked down the airports hallways talking about how they have to keep in touch no matter what. When they finally found a Starbucks they both ordered a Venti Iced Caramel Frappacino and walked back to the waiting area drinking them happily.
"Come on you guys! Hurry up!" Jhene said as they turned the corner to their waiting area. "We're boarding early!"
Riley and Paul broke into a sort of jog and run and caught up to the rest of them.
"Here are your bags." Leilani said and her and Tara handed Riley her bags.
"Thanks."
"Give your ticket to the lady Riley." Mrs. Nyxinn said.
"Huh? Oh! Right." Riley said as she pulled out her ticket from her back pocket.
She handed the lady her ticket and they all headed for the plane. Since Mrs. Nyxinn, Paul, Sean, Miranda, and Alexis weren't passengers they couldn't go too far. So they said their good-byes once they got to the passengers entrance.
"Bye honey. Take good care of yourself alright?" Mrs. Nyxinn said as she hugged her daughter, tears welling up in her eyes.
"I will Mom. I love you." Riley said starting to tear as well.
"I love you too." Mrs. Nyxinn said.
They released each other and smiled.
"Alright. I have to go to the car before they give me a ticket. I'll meet you guys there while I watch your car as well." Mrs. Nyxinn said and she vanished into a corner.
Sean, Miranda, and Alexis all hugged Riley. They each gave her a good-bye present. Sean gave her a new shoulder bag that she could use for her classes. Miranda gave her a picture frame that said around it "Love Is As Strong As Our Friendship" that held a picture of her and Miranda and also a pack of pictures to keep for remembrance. Alexis gave her a photo album for all the pictures and an admirable jacket by Coach.
"Well, make sure you keep in touch." Paul demanded.
"I promise." Riley said.
They hugged each other and gave a kiss on the cheek for good-bye.
"Here. This is for you." Paul said pulling a couple of items out of his jean pocket.
It was a notebook and a long, velvet box. The notebook said on the cover "If writing is your dream than fulfill it- I will help you along the way."
"I guess the notebooks saying was referring to it helping you but I'll always be there for you helping you fulfill your dreams." Paul said honestly.
"Thanks. It's great." Riley said searching for better words.
"Oh. I got this for you too. Open it on the plane okay?" Paul asked.
Riley shook her head and hugged him one last time.
~~~***~~~
Riley struggled as she carried all of her gifts onto the plane along with her luggage. Once she got her trunk and two duffle bags into the top compartment she sat down next to Leilani to look through all of her gifts.
"You alright alone Tara?" Leilani said peeking over in back of her to her friend.
"I'm fine. I needed the extra chair to hold my stuff anyways." Tara answered.
"Alright." Leilani said as she sat back down. She turned to Riley who was holding the velvet box from Paul in her hands turning it around several times.
"What's in the box?" Leilani asked.
"I don't know." Riley said plainly.
"So, then why don't you open it?" Leilani suggested obviously.
Riley smiled. "Yeah. That'd be a good idea." She opened the box revealing a shining, silver heart locket. In scripted on the front were the letters 'PR.'
"Paul and Riley I suppose." Leilani said.
"Paul and Riley?" Becky said turning and leaning over her seat to see the necklace in Riley's hand. "Wow! He gave that to you?"
"Yeah." Riley said opening the locket. Inside was a picture of her and Paul. She smiled again sighing a happy sigh.
"Here. Let me put it on." Leilani said. Riley handed her the necklace and she put it on around her neck.
"Thanks." Riley said smiling at her friend.
"Well, I'm going to order some gourmet food! 1st class is going to be busy this flight." Becky said humorously.
Leilani started to read her book The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants that gave Riley time to look through her gifts in peace. Once she looked through everything and carefully, trying not to put any fingerprints on the pictures, placed them into the photo album, she opened up Paul's notebook to start writing. But, there was already something written in it.
Dear Riley,
Over the years our friendship has kept hold through all of the tough times. I hope that this separation will not steer us away from each other. You're my #1 "Homie" and I pray that we will never part as friends.
Keep in touch and don't ever change.
With love,
Paul