The Long Game (Joshaya)

California

*Riley and Maya are on the subway heading home*

"Maya are you coming to sleepover this weekend?" Riley asks me.

"Sorry not this week, I have to finish a scholarship application." I reply.

"That's alright, I know how much Juilliard means to you," she says smiling at me. "I believe in you so much. If they don't accept you, I'm gonna march into their admissions office and..."

"Paint purple cats on them?" I say laughing.

"Maybe," she says, laughing along with me.

We get off the subway, and I see a girl who looks like she's in middle school with a gold heart locket in her hands. She looks around the station, as if she's trying to find someone. She opens the locket and smiles at what's inside. The young girl closes the locket, walks over to the security guard and hands him the locket. I wonder what was in there. And why did it make her smile? Does she have family issues like me in middle school?

Riley and I walk to our apartment building and head our separate ways, even though my apartment is only a few doors down from hers. She stops as we walk off the elevator, and I feel like she's going to cry again.

"Riley, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to wish you good luck. And if you want to come over tonight, I'd love some help with my college apps."

"Okay, but I thought you already finished all of them?" I asked. Riley had her heart set on going to college on the east coast so she could stay close to home. So, she applied to Princeton, NYU, Columbia, and Harvard. She wants to become a lawyer, like Topanga. Riley always loves being right and arguing her side. Must be genetics. 

We also plan to get an apartment together our junior and senior year of college, so that we could stay close and maybe even invite the gang to sleepover. It would be our bonding place, a place where we can forget about college and just enjoy each other's company, just like high school. Actually, we've always dreamed about getting an apartment together, ever since we were kids.

"There's one more I want to apply to...it's...um..." Riley replies.

"Where else do you want to go? There's Boston, Hamilton..." I start saying, listing all the east coast colleges off the top of my head.

"It's for USC, I want to apply to USC," Riley says, interrupting me.

"USC? As in University of Southern California? CALIFORNIA?!" I say, raising my voice. "What happened to visiting each other every weekend, getting an apartment together? I thought that's what you wanted?"

"It was, but..." Riley carefully thinks about choosing her words. "Maya, I want to explore the world. I've never been to California before and I want to create more experiences in another part of the country. I want to have my legacy be worldwide, or at least nationwide for now."

"Yeah, well don't forget that your 'legacy' broke my heart," I shout at her. She stares at me as if she's seen a ghost, her eyes wide, her hands at her side, her mouth slightly agape.

"Good night, Riley," I say, turning towards my apartment. I feel angry tears running down my face; the tears feel like a river of fire running down my face. Why the change of heart all of a sudden? We've been planning our lives together since the 3rd grade. Why is she turning her back on our plans? On me? Did I do something wrong? I don't think I did.

"Hi, honey," my mom says as I open the door. Her and Shawn are in the kitchen making dinner for tonight. They've been practicing their cooking skills for the past year. They're not that great yet, but it's definitely better than Chinese takeout and diner leftovers.