Reconnected Forever

Author's Note: I'm not good with romance, so I decided to make this a "friend" relationship instead.

Alice sunk into the recliner, closing her eyes, and lighting what seemed like the twentieth cigarette. She wasn't going good after the fight with Bethany. Period.

The fridge, stocked with countless boxes of doughnuts, and cakes. Empty packets of candy littered the room. Water endlessly pooled at the edge of the sink. Screw the plumber.

Doughnuts had been the ultimate cure for the pain. A fight about university.

Think about that, she spat bitterly.

She closed her eyes, exhaling, and tossed a ciggie into the wastepaper basket, already brimmed with pipes. She could remember that day, so clearly, as if it was today...

"I have something to tell you." Alice sighed, digging into her chipped nails.

"Go on." Bethany smiled.

"I'm moving. We're not going to the same university."

Bethany gaped. "B-but, why?"

Alice's lip wobbled dangerously. "We have different interests. I want to do medicine. You want to do engineering. We can't be in the same university, Beth." she whispered.

Bethany nodded, her smile curving into a frown. "We've been together since first grade. And now, you're just going to let it go?"

Alice peeled off her polish, flustered. "It's not that. I just -"

"Just what?" Her hands were on her hips now, her eyes boring right not mine, challengingly.

"No. I just...please. Just try to get into my shoes."

"Alice, if we go into different universities, we might never see each other again. We'll go into different paths."

"I know," Alice mumbled.

"You know? You don't seem sad, just afraid. You don't know how this will feel like, Alice! Like the whole world is against you! Medicine's stupid. Do engineering with me. We'll be together, at least."

"I have my interests." Alice swallowed.

Bethany managed a smirk. "Okay. Fine. Fine. If you want it to be that way, fine. I'm sorry Alice, but we won't be friends again. We're on different paths right now. Find someone else." she stifled a sob, and then sprinted, leaving her coffee cup on the ledge, as she buried her face into her arms.

"No, no. Bethany, that's not what I meant." Alice protested weakly, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"Will that be all ma'am?"

"Yeah, yeah, just leave the bill on my card," Alice mumbled.

Alice shook her head, and stuffed a gummy bear into her mouth, chewing endlessly. She shouldn't be thinking about this. It was rubbish.

Five minutes later, Alice was stirring tea in the kitchen, spooning in sugar. She sipped gingerly, and then made a face. Herbal tea was not her kind.

Maybe a walk would be better? Highwood Park. Where she and Bethany used to giggle and jog regularly around the park.

Alice tugged a dusty sneaker and blew the dust off, disgusted. That was how long she hadn't come out of the house. She twisted her shoelaces hastily, took a look at the shoes piled under layers of dust, and then started out to Highwood Park.

She prodded an earphone into an ear, humming quietly. She slowed down her pace, miserably staring at the all-too-familiar cherry blossom tree. They'd took a celebratory selfie and tagged each other on Instagram to celebrate the end of their exams. Less than a week later, they'd broken their friendship

Alice shook her head, and jammed the volume button to "maximum volume". Ignoring the tree, she prodded on. Her hair was a mess, a hasty made-together ponytail, some yoga pants, and the sneakers she'd gotten from Bethany. Bethany.

As she jogged, stifling the tears, someone struck into her. Alice pulled out her earphones, annoyed. "Watch it!" she yelled.

The woman flushed. Alice noticed her shoes. The same kind of sneakers. Her eyes grew big, as she stared at the woman. "B-Bethany?"

The woman gasped, as astounded as she was. "A-Alice?" she echoed.

"You've put on weight." Alice pointed out, stiffly.

"You too," Bethany replied coldly.

Alice swallowed. "How're things going?" she asked, a little more brutal than she expected.

"Good."

"That's great to hear."

The two of them stood awkwardly until Alice inhaled. "Look,"

Bethany interrupted, "Look, I'm sorry. I should apologize. I should've let you decide what you were interested in. Instead, I forced you to take engineering with me. I should have known that our friendship would have stopped then." Bethany sobbed a little.

Alice shook her head softly, "It's both our faults. I shouldn't have acted so ruthlessly towards you. It doesn't mean our friendship stops if we take different paths." she smiled gently.

Bethany smiled a little, "We were stupid."

Alice laughed, "Yeah. Yeah, we were."

"We can video call anytime."

Bethany smiled sadly, "Yeah. We could meet up, anytime, I suppose. It'll be sad to see you go, but we can meet up when we're free."

Alice smiled wistfully. "You know, I've heard of a medical university and an engineering one, not very far from each other."

Bethany's eyes widened open, "You mean - you mean we can meet up often?"

Alice's eyes glimmered, "It's so glad to have you back." she whispered.

Bethany nodded. "A selfie with the tree?" she suggested.

Alice giggled, "To lock our friendship, forever."

Bethany grinned, "Forever."