Origins Unknown

Two Years Later

I have two weeks until I finish my degree. I even made a few friends. Life is good, not great, but good. After getting done with my last class before graduation, I decided to go shopping for some new clothes. Even brought along my girl Sophia, who I call Soof. We were both excited, so we made a whole day of it—shopping spree, fashion montage through eight different stores. She loves to shop, I hate it, but I wanted to have some fun. After all, it was graduation day, and we were going to celebrate. We had a weekend of clubbing ahead of us, and I couldn’t wait. I’d spent years focusing on school, on making sure I got everything right, and now, finally, it was time to relax and have some fun.

Having fun is something I’ve had to force myself into. I was never allowed to have fun growing up, and I’ve never gotten a satisfactory answer to why, nor will I ever. And I am all right with that; I’ve made my peace with it, or at least I’ve tried to. But finding ways to be my age, to actually enjoy life, has proven to be harder than I ever expected. For years, I lived with this weight on my shoulders, believing that I couldn’t afford to make mistakes, couldn’t afford to let go and have a good time. I was always just surviving. But now, for the first time in a long while, I was living. It was liberating, even if I still didn’t quite know how to navigate it.

"So, are you ever going to find that special someone, you know? Do the special deed with?" Soof asked, her voice light but curious, as she pulled a sparkly dress from the rack and held it up to her body in front of the mirror.

"No. I’m getting my life in order first. Then love can come and muck things up. But right now, I’m having fun living my best life with you as my best friend." I smiled, a little too easily, maybe. The truth was, I never planned to find a husband or have kids. I had bigger plans—plans that didn’t include anyone else complicating things.

"So where did you get this much money, anyway?" she asked, giving me a side-eye that felt more playful than probing. She had a knack for knowing when I wasn’t being completely upfront.

"Inheritance." I answered simply, like it was no big deal. For me, it really wasn’t. I hadn’t asked for it, but it was there, and I had no reason to complain about it.

"So how rich are you?" Soof asked, her voice dripping with fake curiosity, though I knew she was joking. It wasn’t like her to take anything too seriously.

"No. Never going to tell." I just shook my head, laughing lightly, but inwardly I was still wondering what my life would be like without her in it. She was a constant, one of the few people who I trusted without hesitation. Even if I didn’t say it out loud, I knew that she was one of the best things that had ever happened to me. Sophia was just one of my friends, but she felt more like family than anyone I’d ever known. The other two were guys, nutbars as we called them, but they were as close as I could get to feeling like I had a family.

My real family... I didn’t need to finish the sentence, but I thought about them anyway. I couldn't easily forget them, but at least I could pretend they didn’t exist. I’d rather do that, but I couldn’t. Not yet.

"So, I’m thinking we’re hitting up Claw Walkers last. But we’re starting at Vang, then heading to Cy beforehand. How does that sound?" I said, already picturing the night in my mind—the lights, the music, the energy. The freedom.

"Then we are going to need slutty or ho—no, we are going to start up w***e. Cause our bodies alone will get us into all three," she said, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet, excitement radiating from her like an electric current. She was adorable, her joy contagious. It was moments like this that made everything worth it. It didn’t matter how many bags we were carrying or how sore our feet were from walking up and down the mall for hours; moments like these made it all feel light. She was the best friend, the sister I never had but always needed.

We shopped until we were so hungry we were becoming hangry. And I’m talking full-blown man-hangry. Our stomachs growled loudly in protest, and the energy from our shopping spree started to fade as we realized we hadn’t eaten since the night before. It was two in the afternoon, and we’d missed breakfast. But that wasn’t unusual for me. I hadn’t eaten breakfast since I was fourteen. Some would say I’d grown out of it, others might think it was unhealthy, but I didn’t care. It was just how I was.

After checking out, we made our way to our favorite little Mexican restaurant, one we’d been going to since her freshman year as she is one year behind me. It was small and cozy, the kind of place that made you feel like family the second you walked in the door. I ordered my usual: an open-style shrimp and steak burrito. It was huge and messy and utterly perfect. Sophia, on the other hand, had nothing but salsa and chips. I never understood how she could make that a meal, but then again, I didn’t get half the things she did, and I loved her for it. We ate in comfortable silence, the kind that only best friends could share, and for a moment, everything felt... simple. We were just two people, sitting at a table, sharing food, sharing time.

Afterward, we did more shopping, but at that point, I was starting to feel the weight of all the bags. It was brutal. I had never carried so many shopping bags in my life. By the time we were done, I was ready to collapse on the couch with a bottle of water and a Netflix binge. But instead, I powered through, determined to keep going. Once we got everything put away, I took a moment to make my schedule for the week, organizing everything in my head. There was still plenty to do before graduation, but for the first time in a long while, I wasn’t feeling overwhelmed.

I quickly started getting ready for the weekend festivities. I was fast about it, grabbing clothes and makeup with an efficiency I’d perfected over the years. But Sophia—she was already getting ready the moment we got home. She’d thrown herself into it, trying on outfits, experimenting with different looks, and taking her time to make sure everything was just right. I didn’t mind. It was part of who she was. I was used to it. But still, I couldn’t help but smile. She was meticulous, determined, and unapologetically herself. And that was exactly what I loved about her.

It wasn’t just about the shopping or the party. It was about something bigger—feeling alive, having a choice in what I did, who I was. For once, I was in control of my own life. I wasn’t living for anyone else. And that felt damn good. No more stress. No more wondering if I was doing things the right way. Just... fun. Finally.