Winter 2010
I had a horrible habit of staying up later than I should.
I could be called a night owl--I liked to be curled up watching films in the darkness of my room. The soft blue glow of the television screen filled my room. The audio was soft, and occasionally, I would rest my eyes and burrow deeper into the pillows. I had been on winter break for less than a week and I was already running out of films to watch. Each night, I was either watching a film or reading a book for leisure.
I jumped when I heard a clatter from my balcony door. The curtains were drawn tight, and I was sure that it was just a branch striking the door from the wind. Snow was falling outside, and the icy white sheets coated my entire backyard. I liked the snow and the crisp winter air, but not in the middle of the night.
The noise continued and I rose from my warm bed. I pushed up the thick rim of my glasses up on the bridge of my nose. My bare feet were chilled as I padded to the door and pulled the curtain aside. Momentarily, I was worried it was going to be a man in a ski mask or something; I was pleasantly surprised to see a familiar set of chocolate curls. I glared as I unlocked the door. Harry stood in the cold, arms wrapped around himself, his face red and his teeth chattered.
"Hi Petal," he smiled mischievously.
"How did you get here?" I gasp.
"Climbed." He chattered. "I'm parked out front."
The cold air blew into my room, causing bumps to rise on my skin. It was a mistake to wear a t-shirt and fleece pajama pants--I was chilled to the bone. The back porch lights casted an ethereal glow on the beds of white that decorated the backyard--like thousands of small diamonds glowing in the incandescent light.
"What are you doing here?" I asked as I brought him inside.
"It is time," he chuckled.
He had small little white flurries decorating his hair and lashes. He shed his coat and draped it on the back of my desk chair. He was wearing dark colored jeans and a thick white wool sweater. He shook the snow from his hair before grinning at me, he pulled a white envelop from his coat pocket.
"I thought we were waiting until tomorrow." I mumbled.
"It is tomorrow," he told me. I glanced at my watch and noticed the time--technically it was morning. I locked the door once more before I crawled back into my bed and Harry kicked off his shoes before he joined me. "Come on, what do you say, Petal?"
I sighed and leaned over to my bedside table retrieving my identical envelope. I held it to my chest as we settled on the mattress so that we were facing each other. He winked at me as we stared at the Fairchild University seal that decorated the front of the envelope.
We helped each other with the application weeks ago and the idea of us going to college together seemed like a dream. We had been waiting to open the letters together--no doubt Harry would get in, he was on honor role and had brilliant test scores.
The past few months, Harry and I had grown inseparable. We studied together, ate lunch together, went out to dinner with our friends--well, they were his teammates, but they had all grown on me. We became a pairing--Harry and Violet or Violet and Harry. It was both of us or neither of us, and there was no in-between. The idea of having that same friendship follow me to college seemed amazing.
"On three?" I proposed.
"On three," he confirmed, his dimples deep in his cheeks. We both hooked our fingers under the seam of the envelope in preparation. "One."
"Two," I whispered, my heart pounding in my chest.
"Three," we said together as we broke the seal of the envelope. We pulled out our letters and read them with shaking hands. I felt Harry's eyes on me as I tried to process what I was reading. I looked up grinning widely at him, and it was like words were not even necessary to convey what I was going to tell him. He pulled me into a hug.
"We got in!" He exclaimed in my ear. I laughed with excitement, I felt like I was floating. I brushed my hair out of my eyes and cupped my mouth with my hand and tried to contain my astonishment.
"Oh my God," I whispered. "We're going to college."
"This is so cool," he cheered.
I fell back into my pillows and tried to catch my breath. Harry laid beside me and stared smiling at the ceiling. College with my best friend. I stared at the ceiling with him, and my brows furrowed in confusion.
"I thought you were already accepted to New York," I mumbled, turning on my side to look at him. He had gotten in a week ago, and that had been his dream school. Next to New York, Fairchild looked like a joke. He was so excited to leave, and now he seemed content with the idea of staying here.
"I was," he breathed. "But I think that I want to stay closer to home."
"Oh," I whispered. "Why? I mean, it is New York."
He smiled at me, and turned onto his side. His brows furrowed and he rested his head on his hand. "I think I would miss my family too much. At least with Fairchild, it is only an hour away. New York can always happen for me later. I would rather be in a place near people I love then have no one in another place."
"You'll have me at Fairchild," I told him with a grin.
A twinkle flashed in his eyes. "That I will, Petal."
"We can have classes together," I beamed. "Well, core classes at least. I am pretty sure there is not a lot of overlap with pre-law and art history courses."
"That would be brilliant," he told me, as he draped his arm over my shoulders and pulled me closer to him. Even now, in winter, he smelled like summer. "College with my best friend, who knew."
"So you are for sure saying no to New York?" I asked.
"Yes, Petal." He smiled. "I'm staying."
"Good," I chuckled breathlessly. "I didn't want to beg you not to go."
"Violet? Beg?" He mock-gasped. "Who knew we would ever see the day?"
"Shut up," I laughed. "And now you will never see it, because you're stuck with me for another four years."
"How will I survive?" He teased. "Stuck with you? The horror."
"You know you love me," I joked.
"That I do," he grinned.
We teased each other. We were in and out of watching the film that was playing mindlessly on the television. We joked about dorm room decorations, how we could somehow become room mates if he dressed up like a girl--we agreed he would make a pretty girl. We talked and laughed about our futures and the excitement that surrounded it.
There was a knock at my bedroom door. "Vi? You awake?"
"Shit," I mumbled at the sound of my father's voice. I scrambled out of bed and Harry ducked onto the floor behind it to hide. I waltzed up to my door and opened it a crack to see my father peering into my room. "Hi Daddy."
"Hi sweetheart," he smiled. "Why are you up? It's late."
"I was just watching a movie." I explained.
"So that would explain the male voice," he mumbled, giving me a pointed look.
"Yep," I squeaked, bringing the door closer to my body.
"Okay, well, good night," my father smiled. "Tell Harry hello for me."
"I will--what?"
"The door flashes on the security system whenever it opens, Vi." He chuckled. "You're sneaky, but not that sneaky."
"Hello, Mr. Davis," Harry cheered from inside my room.
"Hello, Harry," my father shook his head. He turned to me, my face flaming hot with embarrassment. "Don't stay up much later, sweetheart."
"Good night, Dad," I mumbled.
"Your mother and I are proud of you," he told me as he walked towards my parent's room.
"You heard all that?"
He just nodded and laughed, "Congratulations, sweet pea."