"What the hell are you doing here?"

I smiled as I processed the gang at the door. I hugged them all as they entered my apartment. Mike, Sophie, Tony, Carly, Jacob, Emily, David, and Elliot showed. Lauren and Ailani were the only two missing.

"How did you guys find out where I live?" I asked.

Opal snickered, "How else, loser? This is your welcome party!"

"And we brought snacks!" Mike said cheerfully.

We set up the 99¢ decorations and food/drinks around the living room. The place looked super crowded since my apartment wasn't that big.

We all took a seat around the couches and snacked on our food. I smiled as I looked at all of my friends. I was happy that everyone was back in California, especially after some of the group had moved out of state for school.

"Can you guys believe we kept in touch after all these years?" I announced, "usually a group this big wouldn't last very long after high school—especially after all of that drama we've been through."

"Well, what can we say? We're the best!" Mona chirped.

We all laughed.

"Did you guys all just plan to stay in California just to see my apartment?"

Carly replied, "Well I only came back from New York to visit family for a while. And maybe to see you freaks."

"Well, there so happens to be a GBH reunion coming up, so you all are here at the right time," Opal mentioned.

"So, who's going?" Opal asked. We all looked around for someone to answer.

"Really? No one wants to go?"

"Well," Jacob spoke, "We just graduated, like, 5 years ago. We haven't even grown up yet!"

"That's what I said!" I laughed.

"Oh come on. It'll be so fun to have everyone back together and see how everyone's doing. David, Em, Elliot—you guys could probably go too and no one would notice that you never attended," Mona chuckled.

"Well I guess I'm going," I said, "It'll be kinda fun. We can all take a limo, like prom!"

"That's the spirit. So far it's Lei, Opal, and I. Come on, any takers?" Mona pleaded.

Everyone eventually grumbled and mumbled in agreement. Mona clapped her hands excitedly. "Yay! We can watch the countdown, and look for hot boys—men—and party all night!"

We all cracked up again.

"Alright, I think we should play a game," I changed the subject.

I got my phone out and opened the "Heads Up" app. We had a great time the rest of the night squealing like animals and acting out dance moves and singing badly to songs. After that we watched The Hunger Games series and went out on the town.

As we walked through the street, I slowed for Elliot to catch up with me. "So how's everything on your guys' end?" I wondered.

"Everything's fine. I overheard David's plan to propose."

"And you're okay with that?"

"Yeah, I'm actually really happy for them. I've already moved on. I've been dating this girl, Steph, for a while now."

"Oh, I'm glad! When is David going to ask?"

"Not sure. Sometime soon, but I think it might be on New Year's Eve. Don't think a high school reunion is a great place to do it though."

We chuckled at that.

"I guess we'll see. You guys obviously don't have to go. Only if you want to," I said.

"Nah, we don't mind. I'm sure David will find some way to make the proposal memorable."

We smiled at each other and kept walking.

***

"LEI! WAKE UP!"

I sat up quickly and looked around frantically

"What?! Huh? What happened?"

The girls smiled down at me from my bed. Everything from last night came back to me. We had gotten back to my apartment and said our goodbyes, and I crashed. The girls had stayed the night, but stayed up later than me.

The girls were all dressed and ready to go. I was still in my PJ's and had my hair up in a super messy bun.

"Where are you guys headed?" I yawned as I rubbed my eyes.

"Shopping, and you need to get ready. You have 5 minutes," Sophie demanded.

"But—"

"You don't need to look pretty. You're gonna try stuff on anyway," Carly interjected.

I grumbled as I got out of bed. I slipped on a sundress after brushing my teeth and combing my hair. I put in some light makeup and finished the outfit with a pair of white sandals.

We drove to the mall and looked around for our reunion outfits. I spotted a few pretty dresses and tried them on. Just as I was about to give up, I found the perfect dress in a shop window.

"That's the one!"

~

Hello, hello, hello!

Sorry about this boring chapter. It'll pick up later on.

Love you guys, see you soon!

~C