Freefall ✓

e p i l o g u e

AUDREY

It was an extraordinarily sunny day that greeted me when I skipped out of Tufts University's main entrance gate. This heat and brightness that Boston decided to treat us with today were quite out of the blue, especially in contrast to the poor weather we'd had in the past weeks, but all I knew was it fitted my mood perfectly.

I had just completed my last ever college assessment. What I was feeling wasn't merely relief— no. The term's too earthly to describe this whopping load of bricks that I could finally shake off my shoulders now.

On top of that, I was —at long last—on my way to see my boyfriend. We hadn't met in over two weeks, and the extent to which I missed him surpassed every aspect of what is considered sanity. We normally never went that long apart from each other, but these past weeks had been truly hectic. Apart from having to study our asses off like never before for the college finals phase, there had been the tremendously untimely heightening of exigency from the internships we were each enrolled in.

But apparently (and luckily), it had been worth it, since my counseling internship did end up in a full-time job offer. I still couldn't fully believe it.

Sliding into a free seat from the subway, I took my phone out and began checking the repercussions of my latest YouTube video post. I still have to laugh every time when recalling the origins of that channel. . .

I was staying for a sleepover at Syd's cozy little place in Connecticut, back in our freshman year. And, at the precise time of 1 AM, an irrational whim had gotten into us— suddenly— to go and bake something. Next is when the even more interesting part comes. As all ideas formed past midnight, this one was impulsive, we both knew. But, at the spur of that moment, we'd fixed our minds upon creating a recipe YouTube channel, to demonstrate our amateur talent to the world.

That'd been done as a joke, of course, and successfully forgotten the following day. A few of them had to pass, in fact, before we noticed what had happened. The video— the only one we'd posted— had unanticipatedly blown up to a sheerly ridiculous amount of views within just over a couple of days. We'd freaked out.

I'd have never believed you if you'd told me that, three years later, we'd actually be making money off it. But if college life had taught me anything, it is to expect nothing but the surprises, so here we were.

As might be expected though, with the busy life we proceeded on leading, that channel received our remembrance only sporadically now. But we were determined to keep supporting its existence, even so. 

I pressed my cheek against the cool subway window, watching a mélange of natural and urban sights rush before my eyes. 

Only five stops to go to see mon amour. I was excited, to say the least. The phone in my hands buzzed.

boo: i'm at the stop

boo: make sure to get off the right one this time ;)