Seventeen Forever

Secrets Forever

I don't even know what I'm running from. I just kept running, past a guitar tree, into the forest, past a lake of what looked like ranch sauce. Eventually, I stopped at an opening. I looked down to catch my breath, and when I looked back up, a building had appeared- a grocery store.

"Kaileigh, you idiot! Stop running!" Suddenly, Emily bounced into the opening on her hair.

"Oh, wow. This has not been a good day for Endless memories," Emily said, walking up to the store.

"What do you mean, Emily?"

"Just don't go in there. Please just listen to me," she said.

"Why would I listen to you, bully?" James came speeding out of the woods and ran into the store.

"Crap," Emily said as she began following him. "I'm not dealing with this without you, Kaileigh. Let's rip it off like a band-aid." What was she so afraid of? We entered, and the store was stocked with snacks.

"Kaileigh, look at this, this bag of chips has your face on it!" James says, waving the bag. He opens it, and some mist exits the top. Suddenly, we are enveloped by the haze and the our surroundings changed. Where were we now?

"Happy birthday, Kaileigh!" What? Where did that come from? I turned and realized I was in my childhood home. I turned again, and Emily and James were standing among my childhood friends. Wait. This couldn't be.... Suddenly, I heard someone coming down the stairs, and I knew it would be me. Younger Kaileigh came into view, and she tripped and fell down the stairs as if in a cartoon, landing on her face. The kids in the memory began laughing, and the room faded, returning to the store.

"Ouch, Kaileigh," Emily said.

"I broke my nose," I replied.

"Was that a memory?" James asked.

"Yes, a rather traumatizing one," I answered.

"Gotta keep this train rolling," Emily said, opening a bottle of pop with James' face on it. We were once again consumed and appeared in front of the middle school. A slightly younger James was standing in front of the school bus as the door closed behind him.

"This is the first day of sixth grade, isn't it?" Current James muttered.

"What happened?" I ask.

"Watch the bus," he says. Suddenly, the driver started the bus and it began moving, and I realized James' backpack was caught in the door. Young James screamed as he was dragged a few feet, before the driver opened the door. We returned to Endless.

"Yeah, that would've scared me," I told him. "At least no one laughed at you."

"Well, I was known for that girly scream for a while. But it passed, I guess." The bottle in Emily's hand vanished.

"Wow, that was way faster than when I did this," Emily said.

"Let's do you, now, Emily!" James said.

"I've already done this," Emily said.

"Found you!" James returned with a can, which he opened. We arrived at the middle school again. A younger Emily was talking to a lanky boy with brown hair.

"What do you mean, you don't remember Endless?!" Young Emily exclaimed in horror.

"I'm too old for all that imaginary stuff, Emily," the boy replied.

"Look, Shane! It's the bracelet! We made these together, and they took us to Endless!" she pleaded.

"We were kids, Emily. You and I don't have much in common anymore." Shane walked away.