*

"Wake up, stinky!"

Mia awakes to the curtain ringing up, bringing the dawn with a new freshness of light, as if the world has been upgraded to some high definition.

"It's too bright" she groans, shifting away from the light – definitely not ready for the morning "Close the curtain, Stella"

"It's morning already" Stella quips and rings up the remaining curtains.

"I'm not a morning person and you know that." Mia protests, burying her face deeper into her pillow in an attempt to shield herself from the unwelcome brightness. Stella snatches the pillow away, shooting her a pointed look.

"I know you love your beauty sleep, but you need to get up."

Mia sits up in exasperation with heavy eyelids. She looks outside her window. Today, the light is oddly bright, casting the seagulls into dark shadows against a sky of palest blue. Their wings beat, hugging the air as they drift on unseen thermals. For a few moments, they have Stella's eye, keeping her spun into some sort of daydream. 

"Okay, what's with you?"

Stella snaps out 0f her daydream and frowns at Mia. "Can't believe you forgot"

"Forgot what?" Mia groans, already tired of this conversation.

"Tomorrow is our graduation party."

Mia straightens up in shock. "Oh crap, I forgot."

"Probably because you were dreaming about Xavier all night?"

Trying to hide the flush on her face. Mia hurls a pillow at the giggling Stella who effortlessly catches it mid-spin and promptly thrusts it back at Mia's face. Damn her cat reflexes.

"I was not!" 

Stella giggles more at her weak attempt at denial and snatches a pillow that Mia is trying to reach for and shoves it right at her. She grabs her in a wrestle and they fall on the bed.

"Eww, you reek!" Stella jumps away making a gross face.

"I thought you loved me so much and you wanted a big hug. Come, give momma a tight huggy wuggy" Mia chases after her.

"Get away from me, you filthy beast!" She giggles "Go take a shower"

"You sure you don't want all this love?" Mia makes an exaggerated attempt at a gypsy wiggle and her teardrop breasts jiggle in her tank top.

"We really have a lot to do today, Mia" 

"Fine, so what's the plan?"

"Get a shower first, then we'd get breakfast. We would need to pick our dresses from the boutique"

"Okay, and?"

"And we need to get a manicure."

"I'm always up for that."

"Of course, you are" Stella shakes her head, lays on the bed, and Mia mouths her a kiss as she walks into the bathroom. In the soft white-gold light of the new day, the hues of her bedroom move from impressionist pastels to brilliant pop art. Mia has always hated mornings but this morning seemed like it would birth a special day. 

The shower doesn't take the usual 45 minutes which includes endless sing-alongs to her favorite Ariana Grande songs, kick-ass dance moves and self-impressions of Beyonce poses in the mirror. She changes into a casual outfit of a Real Madrid home jersey top, blue ripped jeans, and a pair of brown sandals.

Mia comes out and Stella makes a run into the bathroom. "I need to pee," Stella says

Mia scoffs and pulls out a blow-dryer from the drawer close to the window to dry her hair. Just outside her window is a view of the ocean. One of her favorite things about this University is the set of student lodge rooms with built-in vertical arrangements just close to the ocean. It isn't an Ivy League school or a very expensive school but it needed a good buck. 

A few minutes later, Stella's phone rings and she peeks her head from the bathroom. "It must be Xavier." she says "Answer it and tell him I am busy!"

Stella has got to be kidding her.

Mia picks up Stella's phone in her hands and her heart starts to thump in sync with Stella's reggaeton ringtone threatening to beat out of her chest.

"No, I won't answer it" 

"It's Xavier. Isn't it?"

"Yes, it is. And that's exactly why I won't answer it."

"You're such a Drama Queen." Stella rolls her eyes "Just text him!" 

Mia frantically types a quick text telling him that Stella is busy and then she slumps on the bed to stare at the ceiling. It feels just like yesterday, 16 years ago when she realized she was in love with Xavier Harris. There was something about him that drew people to him. She guessed it didn't hurt that he was a good-looking boy, but it was more than that. He was quiet, but not out of painful shyness. It was a reservedness, like a conscious choice to observe the lie of the land before he got involved. Yet he wasn't stand-offish, he remained friendly-faced and welcoming in body posture. It wasn't like he sat down one day and planned to be like that, it's just the way he was. She never saw him go out and deliberately make a friend, they just came to him. There was nothing threatening about him, nothing at all. He was an easy listener, and a good audience, giving encouraging feedback laced with intelligent comments, especially for his age. He worked hard, he got his work done. Only once in a while would he sink into a sulk over getting some schoolwork wrong, it didn't happen to him often, and he had poor tolerance for the feeling when it did.

She remembered that particular bright and sunny afternoon when she and Stella were stuck in a stupid argument over whose turn it was to ride the bike around the backyard. Stella and Xavier being cousins meant Xavier visited Stella much more often than normal.

"Stella, it's my turn!" she remembered saying

"No, it's my turn!" Stella shot back

"This is my scooter".

"I'm your best friend."

"And I'm yours. But...but it's my turn."

"I'll hand it over to you once I've taken one last spin," Stella called out as she rode off into the distance. Mia attempted to chase after her, but her efforts resulted in twisting her ankle and bruising her knee. The pain was excruciating. Mia found herself periodically glancing down at her throbbing knee, tears welling up in her eyes. Suddenly, a figure appeared out of nowhere, kneeling beside her and gently wiping away her tears. It was none other than Xavier Harris.

"Are you alright?" he asked

"It hurts" she cried

"Let me see?" 

He touched her knee and she flinched.

"I'm sorry." he laughed as he wiped her face with his hands.

"Let's take you inside and patch it up."

Mia remembered nodding silently with her tear-stained face and planting a kiss on his cheek as he blushed. Afterward, he helped her up and carried her into the house on a piggyback ride.