our origin story begins!

Syrah looked up from her prospective university’s homepage she had been aimlessly scrolling through. “Of course.”

“Okay.” Amelia straightened her posture, trying to figure out how to word what she wanted to ask. “Do you think, after shattering a person’s trust, it can ever be completely regained?”

“Oh, okay.” It made sense, even if she never really got why people got down about the end of school. Something to do with friends, she supposed, though nothing said you couldn’t stay in contact with them. Maybe it was just the passage of time. Getting older wasn’t always the best thing, but at the moment Angel wanted as much distance between her and the past as she could get. “Huh?” It took a moment for the question to process. “Oh, yeah. Just not a talker.”

She let out a small sigh of relief when Angel bought her response. She didn’t want to go into any further detail. What she wanted was a nap. A vacation. Just to shut her mind off for a little while. “Got’cha,” she nodded, placing her chin in her hands. Sitting in the silence for a few minutes sounded like a blessing --- even if that would only make it easier for her to think, therefore fueling her paranoia.

“Yeah, sure. Always. Go ahead, I’m all ears.”

Amelia opened her mouth, but she found herself closing it back only a second later. “Um,” she finally started, chickening out. “Just... what do you think would be a good father’s day gift for a man that has everything?”

“If it stops you from sighing dramatically every ten seconds, sure.”

“I--... I’m sorry. I can stop doing that. Nevermind.”

“of course.” willow nodded, always being someone who was willing to help. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, I just... miss someone that I know I shouldn’t be missing, I guess. I was hoping you might have some advice on how to stop doing that.”

“If you’re about to ask me if your face is lopsided don’t worry, it isn’t. One eyebrow may be slightly higher than the other, but that’s easily fixable and most eyebrows are like that anyway.”

“I... wasn’t. But that’s good to know, I guess.” Mimi paused, the corners of her lips drooping into a small frown. “My eyebrows aren’t symmetrical?”

“Sure.  Unless it’s about my haircare routine.  I keep those cards close to my chest.  Nah, but seriously, what’s on your mind?”

“Bummer. That’s exactly what I was going to ask.” She cracked a small smile. “Do you think people can ever truly change?”

“Hell yeah,” Marlene grunted with a harsh clap.  “Fear’s gonna kiss my ass.  I’m ready for some serious vertigo shit.”  She jostled her purse around for a moment, releasing a distinct rustle.

Amelia had to admit it would be nice to get everything off of her mind for a little while. Even if she knew at least one of her parents wouldn’t approve. She only laughed at the sound coming from Marlene’s purse. “Alright. Let’s go beat the frat boys there, then.”

That sounded like none of her business, and Angel wasn’t one to pry. But she also wasn’t one to just let someone sit there and potentially be upset so she considered a moment before asking, “You okay?”

“Yeah, just a little bummed. End of the school year blues.” If there was one thing Amelia had gotten good at over time, it was coming up with excuses. They would roll off her tongue without a second thought. I didn’t sleep well last night. I’m stressed about finals. I had a stupid argument with my mom. I’m disappointed with my grades. She wouldn’t call them lies as there was some truth to them. It was just the tip of the iceberg. “Wait, you’re okay too, right?”

“Did people really think that? That’s so interesting!” Well, she certainly learned something new everyday. She wasn’t entirely sure that was correctly, but she wasn’t an expert on turtles. “It really is. Our curiosity is what makes us human. Are you majoring in a science field by chance? It sounds like you have the passion for it.”

Fred rarely knew something that another person didn’t. It threw him for a loop. “Uh... yeah, I read about it somewhere,” he nodded, scratching the back of his neck. He was now doubting if it was true or not. “Nah. I’d flunk. I’m majoring in English. Which is cool too, I’ll just rely on my friends to make my invisible sandwiches and laser guns.”

“So it’s a hunk of junk, is what you’re saying.  There is this brilliant new invention called mouthwash…”

“Mouthwash tastes bad.”

Wendy felt warmth spread throughout her body. Fred clearly loved Hiro and she could see the same affection towards him as she felt towards her brothers. You don’t need to be related by blood to love someone like they are. And as Wendy was often designated “the mom friend”, she knew what it felt like to love someone even if they weren’t related, too. “I like that thought. Science has been able to do amazing things! Everyone said we could never go to moon, and yet there’s footprints that prove them wrong.”

“I’m a big science enthusiast,” he nodded. He wasn’t smart enough to be a scientist, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be excited over all of the amazing things other scientists did. “People also used to think turtles were a myth! It’s been proven time and time again that we humans do not know everything, there’s still a lot more to learn, and that’s really kind of cool when you think about it.”