Fall, 2021.
Ring-ding and the butterflies came. I had been sitting there watching a movie nobody had thought about in twenty years, trying to relax myself. The truth was, I hadn’t been more excited all Summer. Calisto was back, and after putting in my two weeks at Denny’s, I finally got off that inconvenient second shift from two to nine. It wasn’t that we hadn’t spent any time with each other– God knows I got those text messages all the time. ‘We’re going to trivia, can you come?’ or ‘Board game night, we saved you a seat!’ Still, I knew in my heart of hearts this was going to be the best time we spent with each other until Winter came again.
I opened the door and saw Calisto there in monochrome black, jean shorts cut at the thigh, a septum piercing punched in distant California. Compared to my trashy white T-shirt and a button-up I wore off my shoulders, I couldn’t compete. To this day, I don’t know why I refused everything but jeans and T-shirts for a year.
“Best friend!” Calisto excl…
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