The way we are

Chapter 1

It was the second summer I was working at the flower shop, because it was something I always wanted to do and I didn't want to go to university right after I finished high school. So I got that job, saved up some money for when I went back to studying and the plan was to enjoy some freedom when I could, maybe even travel a little when I could afford it. Most of my friends went away to study though, they didn't come back to our little town every weekend but when they did, we all got together, and they told me all their adventures, about the new friends and going out at night, how hard and tiring the classes were.

Even if I was one of the few that stayed back, I never resented it, never felt jealous of them being at university, my time would come and I enjoyed hearing about what would wait for me. In the holiday's period, sometimes we had house parties our just got together at someone's house to have fun, play some games, maybe even drink a little, usually in the summer, since there were always tests to study for in the Christmas holidays but even so, we made the time.

We've all been friends since childhood, lived near each other and could go by foot or bike to each other's houses, when we were children, we would do a roundup and just go house by house, until we collected the whole group and went to play.

There was a dirt football field in the woods, we mostly went there when we were younger, not to play football but because we were safer. When we got a little older, and more aware of dangers, we went to this old abandoned small quarry that had a little lake, we usually didn't swim in it, though we were all great swimmers, just enjoyed hanging out there, talking, listening to some music, if we were in a particular good mood we would sometimes dance with each other, some of my fondest memories were just messing around in the quarry.

But our favourite place to hang out at night in the summer was by the river, it was in a more secluded place, there were no houses around so we could be as loud as we could, could do what we wanted without none of the neighbors or parents knowing, which is something very important to teenagers even if we weren't doing anything wrong, we just liked the privacy and the judgement free zone.

But now, everyone had finished the first year of university, they were buzzing with life, excited about no schoolwork, and no deadlines, just relaxing and having fun. My friend Jack had a big house, with a fully furnished basement, with couches and a nice tv and even a sort of fireplace to warm up the place, as such it was the favourite spot for our winter get togethers, since his parents were quite laid back too, and believed teenagers should be allowed to enjoy themselves and make mistakes, if they could learn from them.

Besides the basement, he had a pool and a big backyard, with a grass area and a tree area, the former had a big sun umbrella with a table and some couches, and in the border between the two areas, there was a tree with a thick trunk and a branch perfect to hang a swing, and so that's what they did, hung a swing wide enough for two people, made of a plank of wood and held by thick ropes. It was rarely empty when he threw parties. And so, it was in one of these parties, that me and Jack's cousin met again.