By the time they had returned from the labyrinth - all of them wearing sneaky grins and masquerade dresses - the roommates found themselves nearly out of time. Their contract ended on the 13th of August. The golden summer of their youth was spent, and now it was time for the credits to roll. They might have wept if they weren't in such a rush.
Packing all of their things took the better part of two days. When they'd finally boxed up all of the Calvin and Hobbes books, the miscellaneous action figures, the plethora of plants, the posters of sexy men, the several weapons, the toaster, and their Weasley clock, it was time for more ceremonial matters: they assembled a time capsule.
A small, brown envelope was the chosen vessel for their memories. They enclosed their entire collection of quotes, doodles they'd compiled together, a photograph of Grosland's elderly suitor, and letters written to their future selves. They planned to open the capsule in two years - after Beth returned from her mission to OtherPlace - and celebrate all over again this wonderful summer they'd shared.
That night they huddled on the couch (in the newly sparse apartment) with a fine pile of junk food, wrapped some blankets around themselves, and watched Labyrinth together one last time.
Well, at least, it was the last time in that apartment.
* * * * *
They left on Saturday morning, after scrambling to finish cleaning out their apartment before the final cleaning check (which they passed handily). Grosland and Beth had moved most of their stuff back to their parents' houses, since they'd both be leaving the state soon - Grosland only had two weeks until she left for Russia, and Beth could be leaving anytime in the next six months for who-knows-where. But Erin was staying in the same apartment complex, so after their cleaning check was over the other two helped Erin move her stuff into the new place. Erin's new roommates were friendly and helpful, even if they did turn out to be Justin Bieber fans.
It didn't take very long to get all of Erin's stuff inside; when they were done, the three of them stood looking at each other in the parking lot. The air between them seemed thick with unsaid words.
Erin held out her arms, and they all hugged each other tightly. They knew that this wasn't the end of it; they'd already made plans for play-dates between their future children. But though this wasn't the end of their friendship - by far - it was the end of The Jareth Chronicles. As they held on to each other for one last moment, the curtain was already coming down on their summer and they knew it.
But before they walked away, to their separate homes this time, they put a final stamp on the whole thing with their customized, not-quite-secret handshake. Jessica Grosland, Erin Asay, and Beth Black stood formally in a triangle formation and held out their right arms. They slapped hands in the center, smacked their chests with their fists, then thumbed their noses at each other. After standing erect for a moment longer, each of them broke into a wide grin, and they all started to laugh.
No, it wasn't over. Not by a long shot.
THE END
2 comments:
Incredibly touching. It brought a tear to my eye. I'm so glad you had this time together. You are all very lucky.
....this is so cool. labyrinth was my favorite movie as a child. I watched it almost every day. And I still break it out from time to time. Jareth is the man.
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