4

Fifteen Years Old

THE SUMMER SKY IS breathtaking in the evening. Pinks mixed with oranges and blue, like a painting.

I rock slowly back and forth on the park swings. Ophelia is sitting in the one next to me. She's silent, which typically means she's thinking about something.

"You don't have to be scared," I say, hoping to comfort her about the upcoming milestone. "High school really isn't scary."

"I'm not scared. I'm nervous."

"There's nothing to be nervous about. I'll be right there with you."

She leans her head on the metal chain that keeps the swing suspended in the air. "You're a whole grade ahead of me. I'll barely see you."

"You'll see me in the halls. You'll see me at lunch. I'll walk you to your classes when I can. And you already have a friend group waiting for you."

She shakes her head gently. "They're your friends. You're just letting me in because you're being nice."

I chuckle. "It's really not like that. We're not stuck up. Anyone can sit with us."

Ophelia sighs, looking up at the painted sky. "I feel like I'm standing on the edge of something that's going to shake up my entire life."

I lean back, then rock forward, letting the swing move a little more. "Sounds like a dramatic way to describe high school. It's not that serious. Unless you want it to be."

There's a moment of contemplation. Even though I'm trying to encourage her, I don't know if it's helping. The swing groans quietly.

Ophelia rises, sending her swing rocking. "I should head home."

I follow suit because I would never let her walk home alone. We walk side by side, in silence again.

I hook my arm through hers. "It's you and me against the world. I'm not going to let you suffer in school. Besides, we have a few more days before we start. We should try to do something big for the end of summer."

"Big? Like what?"

"Like getting a book and going to sit on our hill and reading it."

She laughs. "That's not big, Atlas. That's what we always do."

"We can make it a picnic."

She turns to me and grins, her eyes lighting up. "I'm sold."

I smile. "Then it's settled. Tomorrow, we'll go to the bookstore. You get to pick the book. I'll bring the food. We go up to our hill on the park, under the shady oak. And we hang out. One last little party before summer ends."

"Deal."

LUNCH CONSISTS OF ONLY sandwiches, but neither of us cares. We eat the turkey-cheese sandwiches and take turns reading chapters of the epic fantasy Ophelia picked out when we stopped by the bookstore before coming here.

Moments like these are something I want to keep forever.

With my friends at school, it's different. We hang out outside of school. We have fun. But with Ophelia, I'm more relaxed. I don't have to worry about being something I'm not.

Things have always been comfortable here. Maybe it's because we're best friends. We've been inseparable since the day we met.

Ophelia glances up from the book, catching me looking at her. Her cheeks go pink. "What's wrong?"

It's my turn to be embarrassed. I rub the back of my neck. "I just wish everything could stay like this forever."

"You're sappy for a guy," she says, rolling her eyes. Still, she smiles.

"Only for you. I guess I was just thinking about everything."

She smirks. "Like you told me to stop doing yesterday?"

"That was about high school. I meant I was thinking about life. The future. I know I'm only a sophomore, but I know the moment I turn sixteen, the pressure will be so much more. College, sports—everything will become amplified."

"And I will be by your side." Her eyes light up when she says that. "We will never walk alone because we have each other. No matter what."