Monday morning arrived with a strange mixture of excitement and melancholy.
This was it. The final week of high school. Five days until graduation.
I stood in front of my closet, staring at my school uniform one last time. After Friday, I'd never have to wear it again. The thought was simultaneously liberating and terrifying.
"You okay?" Maya asked from my doorway. She was already dressed for her last week of seventh grade.
"Just thinking about endings."
"And new beginnings?" She came in and sat on my bed. "That's what Kai says. Every ending is a new beginning."
"When did he become so wise?"
"Probably around the time he started dating you." She grinned. "You make him philosophical."
"I make him ridiculous."
"That too."
Downstairs, Kai was already making breakfast our routine now. Aunt Maria sat at the table going through mail, and the morning news played quietly on the kitchen TV.
