𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 ~ 𝙝𝙨𝙢𝙩𝙢𝙩𝙨 (𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙞)

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟕.

Nini's alarm startled her out of a deep sleep at seven. She groaned, rolled over, and turned it off. Rubbing her eyes, she glanced at her phone. A text from Ricky said that he was headed into school early but that he'd see her again tonight. Nini smiled to herself, with things better between them, she finally felt like she could breathe again. She sent him a quick message to let him know that she could talk after school whenever he was free since she had no practice tonight. Then Nini dragged herself out of bed.

She quickly braided her hair and dressed in her favorite mint sweater and jeans. Nini could barely be bothered to put on makeup, but she figured a smear of concealer and a bit of mascara never hurt anybody. She made a quick trip to the bathroom, and collected her books, then left her room to go meet the girls in the dining hall.

For the first time in a long time, or maybe ever, Nini felt like she could see how beautiful the campus here really was. She could appreciate the way the sunshine made the Colorado snow glitter. She could enjoy the soft click of her flats on the marble floors of the main hall. She felt at peace with who and where she was.

"Well you seem like you're in an awfully good mood this morning," Faith said as Nini sat down to join them with her breakfast.

"I am in a good mood," she confirmed. "Ricky and I finally talked last night, and I don't have rehearsals tonight, and it's Friday," Nini said while stirring her oatmeal.

"Well, happy looks great on you," Gwen said with a sweet smile. It occurred to Nini that this is where a backhanded compliment usually would come. "Where's Layla?" She asked.

"Take one guess," Faith deadpanned. She and Nini shared a conspiratorial grin.

"Is she at yet another early morning rehearsal for her extremely groundbreaking portrayal of Rizz?" Nini joked.

"Ding ding! Not just a pretty face, folks! Nina's also sharp as a tack" Faith replied, Nini and Gwen both cringed at how loud she said it. The girls all laughed, enjoying each other's company, and all too soon it was time to head to their first class.

---

Nini was always astounded by the way that days could simultaneously fly by and drag their feet, and today was no exception. She and Gwen gathered their books from their last class, and headed out the door together, walking together to meet up with Faith so that they could head to dinner before their rehearsal, while Nini got the night off. "So, now that you and Ricky are back on solid ground, are you two gonna catch up during normal people hours?" Gwen asked while they walked.

Nini had confided in her a bit of the drama that had been unfolding in her life as of late, and particularly last night. She blushed at Gwen's question. "Yeah, we're gonna FaceTime as soon as he gets home from school," she said.

"But you're still in for coming over to my room for a movie night, right?" Gwen said.

"Oh my gosh, yeah! It's been way too long since I watched Mama Mia!" Once they found Faith, the three girls stepped outside, into the cool afternoon air. And that's when Nini's heart froze in her chest. Everything froze, really. It didn't matter that they were turned around, she would recognize those curls anywhere.

Nini vaguely heard the girls asking her what was wrong when she stopped walking. "Ricky," she said, although it was barely more than a whisper.

"What?" Both girls said in unison. Tears began to cloud Nini's eyes, "Ricky?" she shouted.

This time he heard her and turned around with the most radiant smile Nini had ever seen on him. Somewhere, she registered that she must look insane, but she couldn't really be bothered to care. Nini took off, running down the steps and walkway, he did the same, trying to reach her as quickly as possible. "Ricky!" she cried again as she finally reached him. She threw herself into his embrace and he caught her, just like always. "Is this real? Am I dreaming?" she said, crying and burying her fingers in his curls. "Ya know what, I don't even care if it's a dream. It's the best dream ever and I hope I never wake up."