Adam sat on a seat at the dinner table, patiently waiting for anyone else that would join the reunion. Judging by the time that had already passed, he doubted that anyone else would come. If anything, Eddie, Natashia, and the others that didn't come were probably busy with their lives. They must've not cared enough to come and dawdle in the past. They had places and people to move on to.

In all honesty, Adam hoped that no one else came. He was content with the people that were here, and the fewer people there were, the more those present would be able to catch up to each other. He thought of his classmates, of Lizzie and Ryan and Elena and Markus and Lao, and how they had all changed so much since he'd known them in elementary school. Granted, Adam had always been a bit of a loner. Sure, he was a part of the class identity, but he was that one kid that everyone always teased.

He didn't truly feel like a part of the class. He hadn't belonged with Eddie, Felipe, and Lao, who were always joking around, stirring up trouble amongst the kids, or organizing recess events like freeze tag or Cops and Robbers. He hadn't belonged with Lizzie and Mary, who had always been the gossips, knowing everything about anyone and anything. He hadn't belonged with Markus and Elena, who played pranks on the entire class. He certainly never really hung out with Ryan, who used to be the quiet boy in the corner. Actually, now that he thought about it, Adam had put himself in the class identity. He did dumb things so that people would notice him, even if they did tease him. He wanted to belong in the class, but he ended up feeling like an outsider anyways. Maybe if he just stayed quiet like Ryan, he wouldn't have to live with these feelings of self-worthlessness.

But those things were in the past. The things that they said and did to him as a kid...Adam was over that. He knew that none of them knew what they were talking about when they were younger. Maybe a part of that was why he came back today. He wanted to see how everyone changed.

A ring of the doorbell broke Adam's train of thought. Surprised, he opened the door to see a hispanic boy panting with his hands on his knees. "Sorry I'm late," the newcomer wheezed, "The car broke down and ma--uh, my mom--told me to run the rest of the way." He looked up at Adam sheepishly, "Uhm, this is the class reunion right?"

Adam smirked, wondering if Markus found teasing others to be fun like this, "Class reunion?"

"Crap, I'm in the wrong place, I'm so sorry." The boy bowed to him and turned to leave.

"I'm just kidding, Felipe," Adam laughed. Or maybe he had just wanted to get back at Felipe for all of the times the boy had teased him when he was younger. "You're in the right place. Recognize me?"

The boy turned back and sighed, "You nearly gave me a heart attack." He squinted his eyes at Adam. "Unfortunately, my memory doesn't serve. I don't recognize you, sorry." He didn't sound very sorry to Adam.

"I'm Adam," the boy laughed, "But no worries. Lizzie thought Lao was Mary, so you're fine."

The newcomer perked up, "Lao's here?" Adam felt a twist of jealousy. Felipe and Lao had always been close as children, and he supposed that nothing really changed in their relationship. Lao had always been nice to Adam as a child. Whenever the others teased him, she would talk to him and make him feel better. Sure, she teased him at times, but it was all in goodwill. She had treated him as a person, unlike everyone else in elementary school; and in truth, he had had a crush on her ever since then. Adam actually was hoping that Felipe wouldn't come to the reunion. Without him here, he would have a bigger chance with Lao.

"Yeah." He took a look at the clock. It was already too late for anyone else to come. "Let's go meet the others." He led Felipe through the back door and followed the familiar stone paths that wound through the hilly backyard. Ryan's parents sure were rich to afford to live on such a nice and clear property like this one. It was a stark contrast to Adam's own home, a small apartment reeking of his younger sister's unclean laundry and his sickly mother's stench. It never really got lively at his place.

"Hey everyone, guess who's here," Adam said, arriving at the place that they had all buried the time capsule years ago. It was a small, opening clearing of grass, flowers, and weeds in between two sturdy oak trees that seemed to create a sort of doorway between them. Almost like a dream, Adam decided, the spot was sacred, almost. It could've been a scene from a movie. Or better yet, if the Garden of Eden had a clearing, this could've been a part of it.

"FELIPE?" Lizzie squealed, "Welcome to the reunion!" Maybe some parts of people never changed after all.

"Hi," Felipe answered the ecstatic blonde awkwardly, looking around. He found Lao's gaze and smiled, but passed her by to look at everyone, "Sorry I'm late." Adam wondered what people did to ever deserve such connections like that.

"Alright, let's dig up this little sucker," Markus stuck a shovel into the ground. Adam guessed that he was impatient with all the idle talk. Everyone watched silently as the strong, dark-haired boy scooped the dirt out with the shovel in search of their lost treasure. "Well that didn't take long at all," he remarked, frowning at the box that he'd nearly shoved out of the way with the shovel. "I guess we didn't dig that deep as kids," he laughed.

Lizzie eagerly lifted the time capsule out of the ground and placed it somewhere that everyone could see. "You guys ready?" She asked. Everyone nodded. She took off the lid and gasped, taking something out. "It's the hair-clip that I put in!"

"Of all things, you put a hair-clip?" Markus scoffed.

Lizzie glared at him, "It's important to me." If his memory served him correctly, then Felipe had gifted that to Lizzie for her birthday once. Adam wondered if she had a crush on him, like he had one on Lao.

Lizzie passed the box to Ryan, "Let's pass it around so that everyone can get what they put in there." The swim captain pulled out a planner and frowned.

"I guess I thought a year's worth of assignments would be what I wanted to put in here," he sighed, passing the box to Adam. Adam curiously peeked inside, observing all the objects that were in there. There was a rock, a certificate, two boxes, a medal, a crumpled up piece of paper, a picture of Mary and Lizzie grinning together, a drawing from Lao that he had put in there, and...was that a dead cockroach on his drawing? He let out a small squeal and dropped the box.

"What's wrong," Felipe peeked in the box and started laughing. He picked up the cockroach, earning him a scream from Lizzie. Adam backed away from the boy.

"Put that thing down," Adam said shakily. Felipe tossed it at him and he bolted behind Markus.

"Chill, Adam," Felipe laughed, "Eddie put that in there. It's a fake cockroach, he thought he'd surely get some people with that when the time came. Too bad he's not here to see it through."

Adam frowned and picked the box up, "Darn that kid. Nearly gave me a heart attack." He gingerly took out the drawing that Lao had gifted him years ago. It was just him and her as stick figures, but it meant the world to him. She didn't draw stick figures for anyone else here.

Elena got the box next and took out the rock that was inside. She frowned, didn't make a comment, and passed it on towards Felipe who pulled out a certificate and a box. At the reveal of the small box within the box, Adam noticed Lao and Felipe exchange knowing glances with each other. He passed her the time capsule and she pulled out the second box, along with a medal of academic achievement. Jeez, those two were alike, Adam thought.

"Ugh, y'all are so awkward," Markus took the crumpled up piece of paper out of the time capsule. He held it up so that they all could see it, "Do you know why I put this in the time capsule?"

"Is it like, your broken dreams," Elena snickered.

Markus smirked at her, "No, but close I suppose. This is a crumpled up piece of paper. In other words, it's trash. This is a momento to how elementary school was trash."

"Well, thank you for your very knowledgeable words," Elena rolled her eyes, "We are forever grateful."

"What I want to know is why Felipe and Lao have identical boxes inside the time capsule," Lizzie perked up.

"I am curious as well," Ryan agreed.

"Well," Lao glanced at Felipe, "We kinda, um. Decided to have our own mini time capsule inside the time capsule. With our, uhm, stuff." She shifted uncomfortably and Adam could tell that she was feeling pressured and overwhelmed. To his surprise, he wasn't the only one that noticed. In fact, Felipe jumped in to save her from the predicament.

"And we're actually going to do that right now, privately, so excuse us." He gestured his way and Lao trailed along beside him. They disappeared, passing through the gateway of oak trees. It was as if Lao was once again out of his reach. Adam frowned, pinching the sides of his precious drawing. Perhaps some things never changed after all.