Cloud 69

66:

august 1, 2022:

"FLIGHT 478 TO SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA WILL BEGIN BOARDING AT GATE 22 IN TEN MINUTES. AGAIN, FLIGHT 478 TO SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA WILL BEGIN BOARDING IN TEN MINUTES."

She held a finger up to her parents, telling them to give her a minute, and turned back to her friends, her face glowing with excitement. Her hair whipped behind her as she turned, falling over her shoulder; it had grown much longer over the summer – extending down to the middle of her back – and the sun had tinted it lighter with streaks of caramel and reddish-brown running through. She tugged on the hem of her shirt, a red, tight-fitted, cropped varsity tee that read 'STANFORD' in white letters across the chest. She smoothed down the front of her low rise jeans before tucking her hands in her back pocket. 

"Okay," she sighed, giving a sheepish smile. "I guess this is it."

"Can't be," Luna said, shaking her head. "There's no way our summer is over already." In contrast to Maddie's long hair, Luna had cut hers short. It now dangled just above her shoulders in messy waves, which complimented her new curtain bangs. Her hands were pulled into the sleeves of her white Stanford crewneck, a parting gift from Maddie, as her arms dropped to her sides limply.  

Madeline moved in to hug Luna and nearly starting crying herself when she saw the tears in her best friend's eyes. She wrapped her arms tightly around Luna, who clung on as though her physical strength would keep Maddie in North Carolina. 

The longer they stayed connected, the more emotional Maddie felt. She couldn't recall a single day in the past six years in which she hadn't talked to Luna, whether it was face-to-face or over the phone. Most of her best memories from middle school and the beginning of high school were ones of just her and Luna. Now, Madeline was leaving and Luna would be staying in town for NC State, and they would be nearly three-thousand miles apart; they'd be in different time zones, living completely different lives for months at a time. 

Before any tears could swell past the point of stopping them, Madeline pulled herself back, slipping out of Luna's grasp. 

"Call me, text me, every hour of every day," Luna demanded, letting out a little sniffle as she used her sleeve to wipe her nose.

"You got it," Madeline laughed. "A text every hour, on the hour. I expect a response to every single one." Luna smiled and moved to the side so Maddie could say goodbye to everyone else. 

She moved down to the next person in line. Zach stood with his arms already outstretched and a huge smile on his face. He had also changed quite a bit over the summer. Him and Samantha were no longer dating – but they ended on friendly terms – and the breakup seemed to be harder on the group as a whole than for Zach individually. Now that she and Zach weren't dating, there was no real reason for Samantha to keep hanging with them. The first movie night after their break up, Samantha didn't come, so Jason drove to her house, which was on the other side of town, and practically kidnapped her. After that, she would come to most movie nights and hang out with the group every once in a while. She would still go out for lunch or a girls day with Luna and Maddie anytime they invited her. 

Their relationship did wonders for Zach's maturity, however. Sammie motivated him to apply himself and actually put an effort into his academics, and it seemed to be carrying through. Zach was going to the University of Alabama for sports broadcasting, which everyone deemed very fitting for him. 

Zach's goofy expression almost made her laugh as she allowed him to engulf her in a hug. Zach squeezed her tight enough to knock the air out of her, swaying her on her feet a bit, and she swore she heard her back pop. She patted his arm, and he quickly released her.