joelle | d.m

50 | worth it

March 1995.

"I am stuffed." Nayun exhaled heavily as she patted her stomach.

"But what about dessert?" Imani wiped the corners of her mouth after she finished up her shrimp alfredo. "We ordered a huge brownie sundae to share."

"Hey now." Nayun's eyes were pointed as she stared at her friend. "When a person says they are stuffed, it doesn't mean they're too stuffed for dessert."

"That's pretty valid." Joey smiled amusedly, seated next to Devonte with the other two across from them. "Everyone knows there's always room for dessert."

"Hey, Jo-Jo, you gonna eat that?" Devonte nudged said girl beneath the table at their spot in a booth, gesturing at her leftover crisps.

"Go nuts." She pushed her plate closer to him after he slid his empty dish to the side.

The four of them were at the bistro shop in Hogsmeade for dinner on a Friday. It was a pretty heavy day during classes, so they'd all decided to go out to eat as a treat. The bistro shop wasn't packed, as it only had a couple of groups and pairs around the building. There was chatter going on around them, some laughs and giggles.

Their empty dishes soon vanished and then appeared their brownie sundae. Four spoons rested along the edge of the glass dish and each friend grabbed one.

"Okay, wait." Imani finished her bite and sipped water before speaking. "Nayun, Joey. I have something to talk to you guys about."

"What about Devonte?" The boy piped in, spooning ice cream into his mouth.

"Sure, Devonte too." Imani nodded indulgently at him before steering her attention to the two girls. "So I've been saving up like crazy for the last few months. I know you both have been saving as well, which is why I'm wondering if you guys want to start looking for an actual house we can buy instead of living in a building complex where we only pay rent."

"You don't like the flat?" Nayun mused, and broke off a piece of the brownie with the edge of her spoon.

"No, I do," Imani assured steadily. "But we can't live in that flat forever. It's not gonna be big enough forever. We'll need more space once we graduate from Hogwarts."

"That's true," Joey agreed with a nod of her head, spooning a piece of a brownie into her mouth. "Isn't the interest rate for houses high at the moment? That's why we never looked into moving."

"It is," Imani allowed as she scooped some ice cream into her fork. "But I'm not talking about moving right this instant. It was just a suggestion for the future."

"We can certainly look for a house," Joey said pleasantly before she washed down the sugar with ice-water. "Maybe a four-bedroom? That way we can have a guest room for whenever Von comes—or for whoever comes."

"I quite like our neighbourhood though," Nayun admitted softly. "We should stay around that area. It has everything at a reasonable distance—even walking distance."

"Of course." Imani smiled gaily. "We can stay in that area."

"We should think about getting another car anyway," Joey suggested lightly. "If we're looking into a house, then it makes sense for another car. We can't all just share one. It won't be practical in the long-run."

"We should get a bigger one than the one we've got then," Nayun said in agreement, leaning over the table as her arm rested on the edge. "That way we've got a big car and a small one."

"Makes sense." Imani nodded, also in agreement.

"I can buy you guys a house," Devonte finally said after being silent for a bit.