Milford, Pennsylvania, March 3rd, 8:07 am

Vallie chewed anxiously at a hangnail on her thumb as she read and re-read the message she had typed out in her notes app. She wasn't sure why she was so nervous, it was just a text. Still, she had a fear of rejection, and the thought of being turned down by the people who used to be closest to her scared her endlessly.

After deciding that there were no errors, that the message was concise enough, warm enough, excited enough, she decided she couldn't stare at it any longer. So, she copied and pasted it into the group chat that had long since been abandoned. She clicked send before she could overthink it too much, then cast her phone aside and got back to work on making her breakfast. Her cat, Wilson, nuzzled affectionately near her feet, probably hoping to scoop up any scraps she dropped.

Hey guys! :) Long time no talk. I hope everyone is doing well! Anyways, I've saved up some vacation time for this summer, and was hoping maybe we could find a week in July where we could all catch up at my parent's lake house. What do you guys think?

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Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, March 3rd, 8:07 am

Ophelia was running on about 4 hours asleep, switching consistently between tabs of e-textbooks and paperwork that her supervisor had sent her. While this should have been stressful for her, she was unfortunately very used to this exact scenario. When the words on the screen began to blur together, she knew she needed a break. So, she sat up at her desk and pulled her glasses off. She used the heels of her hands to rub at her eyes, then decided to get up and stretch.

It was a Saturday, which meant she had a day off from her internship, but her days off were anything but relaxing. Free time just meant more time to study, especially since she had finally pulled the trigger and decided to apply to a PhD program that accepted applicants without a masters degree. She got in, of course. Her grades, internship, and extracurriculars made that a given. Still, she knew there was a possibility she might feel behind the students who did have their masters, so she found herself studying harder than before.

Ophelia was nearly out the door of her bedroom, planning on grabbing a snack, when she heard the ping of a notification on her laptop. She paused, mainly because she had thought do not disturb was on, before padding back over to her desk and clicking on the text in the right hand corner. Her eyes scanned the message, then scanned it again, before a smile lit up on her face. July was perfect, seeing as her courses would start in Mid-August. She typed up her reply and clicked send. Thoughts of a snack were all but abandoned, instead she found herself pulling up a blank word document and putting into words, as best she could, the feelings of nostalgia and warmth that were flowing through her in that moment.

Vallie dear!! I've missed you all!! I can do anytime in July, so count me in :)

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Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, March 3rd, 11:15 am

Marc did not read the text when it first came through, because Marc was not awake when it first came through. Typically, it's not like him to sleep in, or he would like to think that it's not like him. Still, after a week of working 8 am to 4 pm with his grandfather, then barely having time to eat or change out of his suit before heading off to night classes, he thought maybe he deserved to sleep in on a Saturday.

He didn't check his phone when he first woke up, because almost immediately he found himself thinking about the talk his grandfather had with him yesterday over lunch. While they ate the catered street tacos in his grandfather's pristine office, his grandfather paused before asking him what exactly he was doing with his life. He claimed he was happy that Marc was getting hands-on knowledge at the firm, but that it was almost two years since he graduated, and Marc still had yet to take the LSAT and apply to any law schools. Marc had pushed these things off, at first because he simply wanted a break, but now because he wasn't sure he could even do it. He was smart enough, of course, but he'd begun to fear that perhaps he could no longer push himself towards things that simply did not interest him.

After finishing his classes last night, which had a focus on dining room service, Marc had found himself googling information on the LSAT and various law schools in the state. Even if he didn't want to, his family's pressure was choking him. They called it love, a desire to see him succeed, but it still felt suffocating no matter their reasons.

When Marc finally read the text, he sat up quickly in his bed. His first inclination was to say 'no.' He didn't imagine any of his old friends would actually be happy to see him, not when he thought back on how pompous he once was and how tired he had now become. Still, he couldn't find it in himself to decline. In fact, maybe he needed some time away from it all. Maybe he could even cook for everyone, like old times, and show off how much he'd learned without the fear of being ridiculed for 'wasting time.' Before he could think too hard about it, he typed out a simple message, pressed send, then rolled back over in his bed.

Yeah, just let me know the exact dates so I can request off

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Ann Arbor, Michigan, March 3rd, 8:30 am

Amory had been up since 5 am, and he'd already worked out for two hours at the local gym. Genny, his younger sister, had promised she would get up and go with him, but he knew that was never going to happen. Now, he was making a protein smoothie in the kitchen, silently cursing how loud the blender was in fear that it would wake up his mother or sister.

Sometimes, his life was hard for him to believe. One day he was a kid living in a small two-bedroom apartment with his mother and sister, and now he had bought his mother a house on the good side of town that had enough room to fit his family three times over. He had a rental apartment in Detroit, too, to stay at during football season, but he found himself spending most of his time in Ann Arbor during the off season.

He clicked off the blender and began pouring his breakfast into a glass when the sound of footsteps alerted him. Genny came around the corner, rubbing at her eyes before taking a seat in one of the barstools at the kitchen island.

"Finally decided to get up?" Amory teased, leaning across the island.

"Don't big brother me," Genny warned, shooting him a glare. "It's only 8:30, half of my friends won't be up for another 4 hours. Besides, you could've woken me up. You know I can never get up from my alarm."

Amory was about to respond, but was distracted by his phone buzzing from the other end of the island. He had social media and people like his teammates or coaches muted during the offseason, so the stream of buzzing he had been getting for the last half an hour was odd. He straightened up and walked over to his phone, then scrolled through the notifications on his lock screen. His brows furrowed as he read the invitation, not expecting an offer like that out of the blue.

"Message from a girl?" Genny prodded, resting her head in her hand as she gazed at him. She was very much the nosy younger sister, endlessly enchanted by his 'exciting' life as a football player. Her and his mom were always at the Lions opening game, even though it meant she would miss some school.

Amory didn't quite respond, but instead made a quiet 'mhm' sound and nodded slightly. He was surprised, honestly, and a bit worried. He loved and missed his friends from Alleghany a lot, but he wasn't quite sure how things would be between them all now. Plus, he couldn't shut off his big brother brain, and something in him was worried by Vallie's surprise invitation. Was she alright?

Despite his concerns, Amory knew there was no way he would say no. July was right before the start of preseason, but if they went in the beginning of the month he could probably swing it. Plus, being with all of the people who saw him as Amory, rather than Moore, could be a nice change. Might even give him a bit of extra inspiration for writing. He typed out his reply, clicked send, then returned his attention back to his sister.

Hell yeah! How does the week of the 4th sound? I'll need to do it early so it doesn't conflict with football.

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Portland, Oregon, March 3rd, 10:32 am

Lou woke up with a headache. She had gone out for drinks the night before with a few students from her Theories in Medical Sociology class. It wasn't that fun, if she were being honest with herself, but she didn't like to think about things like that for too long. If she did, she would begin to think about the fact that it had been awhile since she last felt like she was having any fun at all, which would in turn make her spiral. She couldn't afford that today, so she chose not to think of such things. This is what her life looks like now, and she knew she had to accept it.

Lou quickly got up and began to make her bed, then made her way to her bathroom. She didn't like sleeping in, it made her feel lazy, but she knew there was nothing she could do about it now. She brushed her teeth, fixed her hair, and changed from her silky matching pajama set into a pair of black slacks and a white shirt. She ran through her plans for the day as she readied herself, deciding that she would save money and make coffee at home, spend a few hours working on her current research paper, then perhaps look a bit further into her schools PhD program. Her paper wasn't due for a few weeks, but her topic was on how general practitioners usurped midwives, placing men in a formerly female dominated field and effectively placing women's medical needs aside, which was something that genuinely interested her, and it wasn't often she felt interest in her studies anymore.

Lou was staying in a small studio apartment not far from campus. It was probably closer to tiny rather than small, but Lou didn't mind. A small space meant less room for chaos and more ease for her to have total control over everything. It was just her, so it wasn't like she needed a lot of space. Plus, it gave her an excuse not to have people over, which she was fine with. She had yet to meet anyone in Oregon that she wanted in her space like that.

After Lou was sufficiently ready for the day, she grabbed her cellphone from her night stand and made her way to her kitchen. She rested her hip against her counter top as she scrolled through her phone, not expecting as many text notifications as she had. Her eyes widened when she saw the old undergrad group chat amongst her notifications. After opening the text thread, she scrolled up and found that Vallie had texted them all about 4 hours before. Lou reminded herself of the time difference, which in turn reminded her of the distance between them all.

Lou didn't have to think about her reply. In fact, she let out a small squeal of excitement, then sent her reply. In her mind, she added look at plane tickets to her to-do list for the day.

You guys! I miss you! I don't care which week we do it, just count me in :)

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Whitaker, Pennsylvania. March 3rd, 11:20 am

Caspar was reading a modern romance novel. It was awful, honestly. Definitely not something he would immediately gravitate towards or pick up. One of his co-workers, Emma—the junior high English teacher, had recommended it to him. Now, he was questioning her taste and their friendship/acquaintanceship entirely. When his roommate, Jordan, walked into their shared living room, it was a welcomed distraction.

"Hey man, you got a text." Jordan tossed Caspar's phone lightly towards him, giving Caspar just enough time to drop his book into his lap and catch it. Jordan nodded his way, then turned and went back towards their kitchen.

Caspar hadn't even realized that he had left his phone somewhere, but that wasn't exactly uncommon for him. His father's words rang in his ears, something along the lines "when are you going to get tested for ADHD?" Caspar would, honestly, if adult comprehensive testing wasn't upwards of $1,000 and if Caspar wasn't surviving on a $30k salary. It didn't matter much anyways, even if he did have ADHD, he had made it this far without knowing. He wouldn't want the medication anyways, the last thing he needed was legal amphetamines.

Caspar slid open his phone, half expecting a text from Emma questioning where he was at in the book. Instead, he found a slew of texts from his old undergraduate group chat. Caspar couldn't remember the last time they had talked in this chat, but he knew it had to be awhile ago because he no longer had the text threads. He scanned Vallie's initial message, then sat up a bit straighter on his couch.

He thought about Vallie for a moment, having to remind himself that she was no longer Vallie Wright, but now Vallie Sinclair. He hardly knew her anymore, in fact he hardly knew any of them anymore. He was always forgetting to respond to their texts, and some part of him worried that they had grown annoyed of him for that reason. But, here he was, being invited on a week long trip in the summer.

He had no reason to say no, seeing as school was closed in the summer. Plus, he did miss them all. So, he smiled, and before he could forget, he sent out a reply. Afterwards, he threw his phone on the couch next to him, and forced himself to resume reading the godawful book. Emma would kill him if he didn't finish it.

I'll be there :)

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Geneva, Switzerland, March 3, 2:48 pm

If Nadia were a normal 25 year old abroad, perhaps she would be sightseeing or relaxing on her day off, but of course, Nadia was not a normal 25 year old. She was a member of the UN's Young Processionals Program, approaching the end of her 2 year contract with them. Subject to satisfactory performance, she would be offered another contract with them, filling a different role and perhaps working in a different city. Nadia needed to stay on top, so weekends did not mean the end of her working week.

So, Nadia had brought her work home and was preparing herself for a proposal she would give to her supervisor on Monday. She knew the work she had done thus far went far beyond satisfactory, she knew she would be offered another contract, but there was no room for her to become complacent. Plus, she was passionate about the work she did. Sure, she was competitive, and she wanted to be on top, but she also deeply believed in the work that they were all doing.

Nadia's phone was on do not disturb, so it was over 30 minutes before she saw Vallie's text in the group chat. Immediately, she found herself furrowing her brows and re-reading the text along with the replies. She had not seen any of them in person since Vallie's wedding, and perhaps subconsciously she thought she never would again. It wasn't that she didn't want to see them, she did, but it still felt unexpected.

Nadia found herself chewing on her lip and weighing her options. Her current contract would be up at the end of June, which would mean this vacation could then take place before the start of her next one. In a way, it was perfect, actually. She could take two weeks off, then return to Geneva, or wherever she was set to work, after. She could spend a week with her family, even, which they had been begging for for months now. After a couple moments, Nadia found herself responding to the group chat, then sending a text to her family group chat as well: how does a visit in July sound? After clicking send, she cast her phone aside, and was back to work.

Send me the details once they're all figured out, I think I might be able to make it back home :)

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Ah! So that is the prologue! Please let me know if I got your characters right, this chapter was really just a way for me to feel things out. It will be easier, too, once I know the specifics of their relationships together. If you have any questions or think I didn't portray anything right, let me know!