2033, New York City
Third Person PoV

It's been almost 20 years since the first Adopted By Broadway kid, Catlynn McLemore, was adopted. Catlynn was thirty-one years old now, head doctor at the children's hospital she works at, loving and devoted wife ,and mother of three. She was, by far, the most professional and put-together of the group.

Adopted four years after Catlynn, Matilda Henson was New York's most well-known derby girl. Having gone pro at just age 17, Matilda's life was dedicated to skating, though she did take a quick break to get married when she was in her late twenties.

In 2019, Valerie Salazar-Roland was adopted, battling a heart disease at just ten years old. Now 24, Valerie's a professional flute player and is the junior varsity basketball coach at Eisenhower High School on the side, the school she and the rest of the kids graduated from. Valerie's currently engaged, and she was going to get married in a matter of months.

Josephine "Josie" Block, once a ten year old girl with a boatload of trauma and fear, was now almost thirty, married and hitting the stage on a near daily basis as a professional ballerina and dance teacher. When she wasn't on stage, she was at home with her wife, Harper Cambridge, her girlfriend and best friend since fifth grade.

Penney Steingold, like Valerie, also spent her time at her old high school, as she was teaching the freshman level Algebra 1 class. Penney fell in love with education after tutoring the younger patients at the children's hospital she spent almost a year at as a teenager. Penney was currently living with her two partners, Asia Allburn and Lacey Wagner, and they were planning their upcoming polyamorous wedding.

Keira Roland spent most of their time at home with their platonic partner Avery, but once a week, she taught a digital art class at the local children's center, and once a year, they flew back to their home village in Tahiti, just for the nostalgia factor.

And last but not least, Clementine London Mack, the youngest in the group and the last to get adopted, lived a rather independent life. Having just gotten back from her college years spent in Brazil, Clementine bought a motorcycle, an apartment for her and her alone, and settled down, working at a Brazilian deli to pay the bills and becoming a small-town songwriter for fun.

Catlynn smiled, thinking of her childhood best friends and where they all ended up. To her, it was hard to believe that all of them were adults now. They really all stuck together for little Clementine for eight years, staying in NYC to see her graduate, then they all scattered across the globe and away from home.

Then suddenly, she got a revelation. The kids, well, adults, all visited each other at work once in a while, just to say hi, but they haven't had a proper day out together for four years. Looking around at the restaurant Catlynn spent most of her nights, mostly on little dates with her wife Red, she pulled out her phone and texted the six people she hasn't texted in months.

Hey guys, miss you! Want to have dinner together tonight?

~~~

"CATLYNN!" a voice shrilled from the entrance of the restaurant. Catlynn looked up from her phone, startled, and was greeted with a tall, thin woman with thick black glasses, her bleach blonde hair falling in neat waves on her shoulder. Catlynn engulfed the woman in a hug, finally recognizing who she was. She was Josephine Block, godmother to Catlynn's three children and mother-to-be of nine year old twins.

"Josie!" Catlynn said, still hugging her. Josie laughed and said, "I saw you last week, remember? Babysitting Eleanor? You're acting like I just came back from the dead." Catlynn smiled and said, "I know, but I missed you! You're honestly one of my best friends, JT."

Josie smiled a little and made small talk with Catlynn, and then the door to the restaurant banged open. A woman with dirty blonde hair shaved off on the left side ran in, wearing an oversized T-shirt and a pair of jeans. Penney Steingold, cancer survivor, teacher, and lover of all things goofy and chaotic.

Penney ran to the girls, threw her arm around Josie and then said, "Jay! How are ya? I missed you!" Josie laughed and kissed Penney's cheek. "Hey babe, been good."

Penney and Josie had a "fling" in high school and college. Josie thought she was polyamorous, Penney knew she was polyamorous but was insanely in love with the sassy, adopted by Falsettos girl. They broke up once they graduated, when Josie realized she would much rather stay with Harper and Harper alone, but they've been in a QPR ever since.

"JT! Pen! I love you both, but do you guys want something to-"

"CAT! JOSIE! PENNEY!" someone screamed, interrupting Catlynn. The figure crashed onto an empty chair next to Penney, blonde hair messy and tangled, out of breath, but with a massive grin on their face.

"MATILDA!" Catlynn squealed, hugging the taller girl. Matilda Henson laughed and said, "Sorry I'm so sweaty, and I'm still on skates, so just be warned. I just came from the arena, I'm literally on the go 24/7."

"Isn't it against restaurant rules for people to literally roller skate through the doors?" Josie smirked. Matilda sat down and unlaced her skates, replacing them with a pair of nice sandals. "Eh, I'm not kicked out yet so I don't really care at this point."

"Who are we missing?" Penney asked, lost in thought. "Keira, Clem, and..."

"Val!" Catlynn and Josie yelled at the same time, pointing to a girl with long strawberry-blonde hair held back with a headband. Valerie Salazar-Roland waved, sitting down on the chair Matilda was using for support as she took off her other skate.

"Just a heads-up, Valerie, you're gonna be losing one of your players. He's failing my class and the counselor won't let him do any more sports." Penney said. Valerie groaned and said, "Great. Just great. But can we not talk about school? I just want to enjoy some time with you guys."

"No, I kinda want to hear the Eisenhower gossip. What's going on at that place now that we're all gone?"

"Well-"

"I do know that someone has a volunteer opportunity there! And that someone is me!" a strange voice walking through the door said.

"Keira!" Val said, getting up to hug her sibling. "You look different."

And Valerie was right, Keira did look different. While their hair was once long and pin-straight, it was now styled into a pixie cut with a slight wave. Keira did have the same sense of style she had as a teenager, all-black, skinny jeans, and Converse.

Keira laughed and said, "I may or may not have gotten a haircut, little sis! And I'm gonna volunteer at Eisenhower once a week!" Valerie squealed and said, "We can see each other more often! And I hopefully will still have a team this season..."

Keira laughed and the six adults engaged in small talk for a little bit, soon interrupted by the sound of a motorcycle pulling up and coming to a stop.

"Oh my God. Motorcycles are that loud?" Josie said, covering her ears. Catlynn nodded and then the owner of the motorcycle walked into the restaurant, helmet tucked under their arm. They were tall, with short dark brown hair, bronze skin, and a million piercings. They looked pretty young, and none of the people sitting at the table recognized them at first glance.

But then, when the motorcycle owner came closer with a guitar case on their back, Penney realized who it was.

"Clementine?" Penney asked. Clementine London Mack gasped and ran over to the group, setting her guitar down and sitting next to Josie.

"Hey guys!" Clem said in her signature Brazilian accent. "Long time no see! Ah, it feels so good being back in New York!"

"I'm sorry- but when did you cut your hair...and get a septum piercing...and a lip piercing...and all those tattoos...and a motorcycle? What happened to the little ten year old I knew and loved?" Penney said, giving Clementine a huge hug. Clem laughed and said, "Funny you say that, Steingold, when I knocked on my mom's apartment door, she said the exact same thing. And my aunt Adrianna- she almost slammed the door on me cause she didn't recognize me at first! Funny what four years out of the country can do to ya!"

The group laughed and then looked at each other, remembering the special memories they had when they all were kids. Catlynn smiled and then pulled out a box from under her feet, putting it on the table in front of her.

"Our time capsule!" Penney yelled. The summer before Clementine left for Brazil, the group all got together and put together pictures, videos and mementos of the past fifteen years. Mementos of times together, mementos of their individual lives with their families and friends, mementos of their significant others...

"One of these days, we should go through this. Take a trip down memory lane." Keira said.

The group looked at each other and smiled, and when they looked in each other's eyes, they knew the answer.

"Who's free on Tuesday?"