Maysie’s eyes were downcast and she chewed on her bottom lip. “Well, that’s the thing I wanted to talk to you about,” she said nervously. I watched her warily as she started to twist the rings on her fingers. She was about to tell me something she knew I wouldn’t like. Or at the very least something I would give her a stern lecture about.
“I’ve decided to graduate early. I’m going to get my diploma at the end of the semester,” she said quickly. I blinked in shock, not sure I heard her correctly.
“What?” I asked incredulously.
“I already have enough credits so I figured why not. And then…well…I’m going on the road with the guys,” she announced and I sat down heavily on my bed.
Maysie was leaving. At the end of the semester. To go on tour with Jordan and the band.
Well crap.
“Are you serious?” I asked, trying not to sound as judgmental as I was feeling.
“I want to be with him, Ri. More than anything. And this is his chance to make music and change his life,” she argued.
“What about your life? Your plans?” I asked, not understanding how she could give up everything to follow her boyfriend around the country. I didn’t want to tell her how disappointed I was in her decision. Though I should have expected this. She and Jordan were a force unto themselves. They had always been and an all-encompassing whirlwind that teetered on the edge of disaster. And for me, the always sensible, reliable one, this had disaster written all over it.
Maysie sat down beside me and nudged me with her shoulder. “He is my plan, Riley. Jordan is my life. My future and his future are wrapped up in doing this together. I’m not you. I don’t have these fantastic goals that I’m determined to meet. I don’t have things written down and planned out. All I know is that this is what I want to do. And I’ve spent way too long worried about what other people think I should be doing. This time, I’m doing what I want to do,” she said defensively.
“I know I should be telling you why this is a stupid idea. Because I know that’s what you expect me to do. But maybe this time, I’ll just say good luck,” I said, putting my arm around her shoulders. She sagged in relief that it hadn’t become an argument.
“I’m just gonna miss you is all,” I said gruffly, feeling emotional at the thought of going through my last few months of college without my best friend.
Maysie wrapped her arm around my waist. “I’ll miss you too, Ri. But who knows, maybe you could come with us or something. You know, when you’re done with school. Before you head off to grad school, it might be good for you,” Maysie teased and I shoved her away.
“Yeah, I don’t think that’s gonna happen, Maysie,” I said tersely.
“Okay, I get it…it doesn’t fit into your grand vision right,” Maysie’s dig was more than a little harsh and I realized that perhaps she was just as critical of my choices as I was of hers.
“I’ve got to get to the newspaper,” I said getting to my feet.
“Are you picking up Gracie?” Maysie asked, not realizing how such an innocent question put me on edge.
“Uh, no, I’m not. I was just planning on driving myself. I have to work later so I figured I wouldn’t have time to drop her off,” I lied.
“Are things cool with you two? I know you’re feeling bad about Garrett because of her, but I don’t think you should let that eat you up. Gracie goes through crushes like you or I go through underwear. She’s never been serious about Garrett. She just thought he was cute. So if you’re beating yourself up because you thought you were being disloyal to Gracie, let it go,” Maysie said firmly.
I appreciated her words. They were spoken like a true friend.
“Yeah, well it was still a dick move. But things are fine, I guess. We haven’t talked much beyond what’s going on in class,” I replied dismissively. I really didn’t want to talk about this stuff. My head was already too full with Maysie’s unexpected news.