Elena stood in front of her mirror, tugging at a button-down shirt she had ironed twice already. Too stiff, Too plain. She thought as she brushed her curls off her face. College orientation was tomorrow, and it felt like whatever she chose to wear would decide who she became.

A sudden tap at her window startled her. She turned just in time to see a pebble bounce off the glass. Across the narrow street, Amara waved from her bedroom window, blonde hair spilling over her shoulders, her grin unapologetic.

Elena cracked her window open just as her phone lit up with Amara’s call.

“You’re ignoring me,” Amara announced, voice bubbling with mock offense.

“You’re throwing rocks at my window,” Elena shot back.

“Desperate times.” Amara leaned halfway out of her window, like a scene from a movie. “Alright, show me what you’re wearing tomorrow.”

Elena sighed but lifted the shirt against her chest so Amara could see.

Amara scrunched up her nose. “No. That’s what’s the word? tragic. You’ll look like you’re applying for a desk job, not stepping into the next chapter of your life.”

Elena rolled her eyes, grabbed another option, and held it up.

Amara tilted her head. “Better… but you still look like you’re on your way to church.” 

“That’s not an insult in my house,” Elena muttered, smirking.

“Exactly why you need me,” Amara said. “Come raid my closet. Emergency fashion intervention.”

Elena pretended to hesitate but was already slipping on her sneakers.

........

A few minutes later, she let herself into Amara’s house. The scent of garlic bread and Tomato pasta lingered in the air, warm and familiar.

Smells good in here; Elena said

“Elena?” called a voice from the kitchen.

She found Mrs. Alvarez, Amara’s mom standing at the counter, stirring a pot of pasta sauce. Her apron was splattered red, her blonde hair tied into a messy knot. She looked up with the easy smile of someone who had known Elena most of her life.

“Hey, sweetheart,” she said, wiping her hands. “Big day tomorrow, huh?”

“Yeah,” Elena said, leaning against the doorway. “Feels… huge.”

Mrs. Alvarez nodded knowingly. “My baby, off to college.” Her voice cracked with both pride and sadness.

Elena’s chest tightened. “She’ll be okay. I’ll keep an eye on her.”

The woman’s smile wavered as she reached out to squeeze Elena’s hand. “That’s why I’m not completely falling apart. She’s got you.”

Before Elena could answer, Amara’s voice rang from upstairs. “Lena! Quit flirting with my mom and get up here!”

Mrs. Alvarez laughed. Elena shook her head, grinning, before Amara appeared at the top of the stairs, arms full of clothes, her impatience dramatic. She rushed down, grabbed Elena by the wrist, and tugged her upstairs.

“You see?” Elena called over her shoulder with a laugh. “Bossy, as usual.”

“She gets it from me,” Mrs. Alvarez said fondly, already turning back to her sauce.

.......

Upstairs, Amara threw the pile of clothes onto her bed and flopped down beside them, talking too fast about how excited she is about college, her smile stretched just a little too wide.

Elena noticed. She always did.

“You don’t have to do that,” she said quietly.

Amara blinked. “Do what?”

“Pretend you’re only excited. It’s okay if you’re nervous. Or… sad. We’re leaving home. Leaving your family. That’s not nothing.”

Amara’s bravado faltered. Her eyes welled, and she tried to laugh it off. “Am fine, I will be.

Her smile trembled, and her eyes glossed with unshed tears.

Elena pulled her into a hug, “It’s okay to be scared. You don’t have to be strong with me.”

Amara broke then, crying into Elena’s shoulder, and Elena held her until the sobs gave way to shaky laughter. Their tears dried into a silence only best friends could sit in, surrounded by forgotten clothes and the weight of tomorrow.