Planning Your Future

Days of Summer

May 18, 1991

Veronica's POV

I'm already starting to get my stuff packed up. I don't want it to be the last day and I'm not ready to leave. "Stop packing up! You're gonna make me sad." Erika hugs me from behind. "Erika, we'll be roommates next year." I tell her. She gasps, "Really? You still wanna be roommates?" I laugh, "Oh course."

Later that night, I pick up my diary. I haven't written in it since last month, on JD's birthday. But I didn't feel like there was anything going on to write about so I read my last few entries, then I put it down.

May 26, 1991

Today is the day. Everything in the room is gone and we're hugging goodbye. "Ugh. I'm gonna miss you!" Erika squeezes me. "Hey, we've got these days of summer to remind us of our friendship. And the time we spend apart will make seeing each other even better." I say. "Wow, philosopher much?" I roll my eyes, "It's true!" She smiles, "You're right."

I give Erika and Kyle one last hug before loading up the car. JD and I get in and start driving. Erika and Kyle both gave me their address so I could write to them over the summer. I'm happy to not have to worry about Aaron being an ass.

When we get to Ohio, we stop at 7/11 to get gas. We get snacks and use the bathroom before hitting the road again. We had been silent most of the trip, aside from JD asking what music I wanted to listen to. But we continue to stay quiet for the remainder of the ride home.

Once we pull up to Jill's house, she runs outside. "I missed you guys so much!" She hugs us. "We missed you too." JD smiles. "Let me help you with your stuff." We unload the car and bring the stuff to JD's room. "And summer begins." JD flops down onto the bed. "It does." I lay next to him. "I'm guessing you'll be going to visit Heather?" He asks. "Yeah, I haven't been able to see her since February." I know JD isn't the biggest fan of Heather, but at least he doesn't try to stop me from going. "Okay."

I have to wait a few days, but soon I'm able to go to the prison. "Hey." I sit down. "Hi." She seems very nervous. "Are you okay?" She nods, "Oh I'm okay, it's just been a while." I know she's lying. "What's really going on, Heather? Is this about you coming out to me?" It has to be. "Yes." She sighs, "I just... feel weird about it." She admits. "You don't need to feel weird, Heather. I'm hear for you. I couldn't care less about whether you like girls or guys. You're my friend and I care about you." I tell her. "God, I don't deserve your kindness. Especially since I spent all of our senior year treating you like garbage. You shouldn't be supporting me. You should be treating me like the bitchy, freak of nature that I am." She rants. "Heather, you're not a bitch or a freak of nature. You did bad things because you loved someone. Sure, murder wasn't the best thing you could've done, but you aren't bad because of your actions or your sexuality." I say. "Again, I don't deserve this. I was almost a part of your murder and got you sent to prison." She puts her head in her hands. "Heather, look at me." She looks up. "Heather, the transformation you've gone through in here is exactly why I believe in you. You repented and decided to serve your time so you could be better when you came out. And I wish I could hug you but unfortunately I can't." She smiles, "Thank you, Veronica." I nod, "You're welcome. Now I have to go, Heather should be back soon and I haven't seen her since New Years." Heather was so busy with school that we weren't able to make plans for spring break like we wanted. "Okay, are you going to come back before school starts again?" She asks. "Of course! I'm coming back a lot!"

We watch as Heather gets out of her car. Heather practically jumps into my arms. "Woah!" I set her down. "Sorry, I'm just excited to see you! Now tell me everything that's been going on." We go inside and sit down. "Did Heather ever tell you anything about her-" I'm interrupted. "Her crush on Heather? Yeah, I got into the middle of a fight about it one time! Heather C was calling her a..." Heather clears her throat. "And Heather Duke was just screaming that she was sorry and asking her to stop. I eventually had to get out of there." She has a weird look on her face. "What's wrong?" I ask. "I was just thinking that maybe if I stayed and defended her, maybe she wouldn't have killed Heather." She bites her lip. "It's okay, I get it. But you couldn't have known Heather's bullying would drive her to murder." I lay my hand on Heather's shoulder. "You're right. Anyways, so she told you?" I actually haven't really told her that I'm visiting her. "Yeah, I've been... seeing her. She told me in February." I tap my foot. "Oh, how is she?" So she isn't mad? Wow. "She's good." I nod. "How did she handle telling you?" She's being way cooler about this than I thought she would. "She's really ashamed that she's... but I told her that I support her." I honestly don't know what word to use. I don't know what she wants to be called. Gay, a lesbian, I honestly am not sure. "That's good." Heather smiles. At least Heather isn't as bigoted and disgusting as Henry.