It was a sort of tradition here. Since elementary school, we always celebrated our success here at Creamy Frenzy, an ice cream shop not far from Elsie's house.

I smiled at the warmth and coziness that greeted us once we entered. We chose a long, double  letter cushioned seat at the far end.

A waiter walked up to us and took our orders.

"Strawberry cheesecake ice cream".

" French Vanilla Icecream".

I smiled politely at the waiter and pulled out my cell phone when he walked away.

"Who are you calling?" Elsie inquired out of curiosity.

"My mom" I said as I scrolled through my contacts to get her number.

Just then, a call came through. My mom's call. Such a coincidence!

"Hi mom!" I chirped excitedly as soon as I picked up.

"How are you Emily? I hope everything's good"
My mom asked.

"I'm fine mom and everything's good"
I smiled at Elsie who was busily playing with the stray strands of her ponytail.

"That's great. I'm sorry I couldn't call you earlier than this honey. There were a lot of events here"
My mom apologized.

"It's okay mom. I understand. Totally. I've got to go mom!My favourite icecream's here" I said, licking my lips slightly as I saw the waiter approaching us.

"Okay. We'll be back next week!" Mom said excitedly.

"That's great. Bye mom. Send my love to dad" I said and disconnected the call without waiting for her to say bye.

I scooped in a large spoonful of icecream in my mouth. I closed my eyes as I savoured the sweet, creamy taste, allowing it to melt in my mouth. Icecream had always been my favourite dessert and I'd shamefully admit that it was one of my weaknesses.

I ignored Elsie's burning gaze. Her piercing stare was literally drilling holes right through my skull.

"Geez, get a life!" I said, playfully hitting her arm.

"Then at least do it in a more civilised manner. If a vet was passing by, you could pass for a pig" She said in a playfully annoyed tone.

I held my hand to my chest, clutching it mockingly in the most dramatic way while feigning hurt.

"That doesn't work on me anymore. I'll never forget what you did in grade four" Elsie said giggling and wiped a tiny crust of icecream from my lips.

"What did I do?" I asked, pretending not to know what she was referring to. I perfectly remembered.

In grade four,I had feigned a headache so that Elsie would my Algebra homework for me. Long story cut short, she eventually found out in the end.

We both burst into laughter.

"You're the most super best friend I could ever ask for. You've always been here for me. I'll be there for you too if you ever need me. I love you" I said as we held each other's hands.

"I love you too, Emily Gibbs" Elsie responded and hugged me.

"Okay, enough of the emotional talk. Let's take a picture" Elsie said and took out her cell phone.

I held up my icecream and tried many poses. On the count of five, the five-seconds timer went out.

Flash!