The Best Laid Plans
School was to start tomorrow; Senior year seemed like such a daunting fate. Evan thought back to the memories of this past summer that seemed to have flit by much too fast. He wished everything could have lasted just a little bit longer.
It was currently 10 pm on the last Sunday of summer. Evan’s parents were downstairs squabbling about something or the other and he needed a distraction so he climbed out of his bedroom window and walked on over to his girlfriend’s house. When he got there he picked up a couple pebbles from the ground and threw them at her bedroom window. The lights were on so she was clearly awake and in her room. After a couple moments she must have heard him because she opened the window and let him in.
“Hey Layla.” Layla Stevens was perfect. She was utterly gorgeous with her golden locks of hair and bright green eyes. They started dating two years ago. It’s been nice, comfortable, safe.
“Hey gorgeous. What’s brought you here?”
“Nothing in particular. Just missed you I guess. Plus, you know tomorrow is our last first day of high school. It’s kind of bittersweet I think.”
“Yeah, it is bittersweet. But I’m happy to be spending this last year with you, Evan. Now, did you just come here to chat or did you have something else in mind?” Layla asked and the question hung in the air for only a moment.
. . .
6 am, the next day
“Shit! Evan wake up!”
“Hmmm what is it?” Evan blinked sleep from his eyes as sunlight had just started to pour through the windows.
“Evan it’s morning. We fell asleep. You’ve gotta go.” Layla listed off all the things.
“Oh shit!” The scene before him became more clear as his sleep-fogged brain pieced together the pieces of last night. “I have to sneak back into my house now, wish me luck.”
“Good luck.”
“I’ll see you in an hour for the first day back?”
“You know you will.” Layla rolled her eyes as she gave him a peck on the cheek and led him back out the window he came in from last night.
When Evan had successfully got back to his bedroom window he noticed a figure perched on the edge of his bed. He had been caught by his father, of course. But the figure was grinning from ear to ear as Evan swung his legs over the windowsill.
“Barty.”
“Hey there, gorgeous. Been out and about already?”
“I went to Layla’s last night and we accidentally fell asleep.” Evan felt annoyed that he was explaining all this to Barty.
“Ahhh, so that explains the hair at least”
“Why are you here, Barty?”
“I just thought you might want to walk to school together.” Barty held up his hands in surrender. “I can leave if you don’t want me here.”
“Don’t leave.”
Evan’s parents were both still asleep, so he and Barty were able to leave the house in peace. When they got to school Evan was immediately assaulted by someone jumping up onto his back. He knew it was Layla but it still caught him by surprise as she stood in front of him and kissed him in front of the doors of the school.
“Nice to see you again.” Layla told him as she pulled back from the kiss.
“You too, my love.” Evan was acutely aware of Barty’s presence at that moment. He was still standing there, watching the interaction between Evan and his girlfriend.
“Hey Barty!” Layla greeted. She must have noticed the look shared between Evan and his friend because now even she looked a bit uncomfortable.
Students all around them were going inside to scurry off to their first period classes before the bell rings. Evan grabbed his best friend and girlfriend and did the same.
“I’ll see you both at the end of the day?”
A chorus of “yep!” and “yeah, sure” came from Layla and Barty, and Evan tried not to dwell on it too much and just get through the day of classes instead.