In other news, Mr. Dennery emailed me yesterday. I’m officially class valedictorian.

Gabriela

PARISA!!!! That’s amazing!!!!

Parisa

Is it? I don’t feel like I really earned it. He told me that I should feel proud of myself and that he wanted to give me enough notice so I’d have time to work on my graduation speech.

Gabriela

You’re going to be great! You’re always so profound.

Parisa

No one wants to hear from me. Everyone wants to hear from Andrew. I just feel like he’d do such a better job than I would.

Gabriela

When did you become the negative Nancy and when did I become the friend that had to point out the bright side? I don’t like this! If it had to be anyone else, Andrew would have wanted it to be you. You were the Lebron to his Kobe.

Parisa

I guess. Sometimes I feel like I’ll never try as hard without him there, making me better.

Gabriela

Or maybe you’ll be even better to honor him. Anyway, it’s a huge accomplishment. You should be celebrating.

Parisa

It feels weird to celebrate anything these days.

Gabriela

LOL. Tell me about it.

Parisa

OMG. Except birthdays! You should celebrate the shit out of your birthday today. Period sex is supposed to be very hot, and Wes won’t know the difference anyway. Just tell him that it’s cuz he took your virginity.

Gabriela

I don’t think that will work. It’s one of those super-duper absorbency days.

Parisa

Sucks. Okay, never mind.

Ugh, okay. Time to log in for school. HBD!

I miss you, I hate this. Wish we were together today.

Gabriela

Me too. Love you.

Parisa

Love you, too, you hot eighteen-year-old. So glad you’re legal now.

Gabriela

Hahahaha. Xoxoxo

PARISA

There’s a trail around the corner from our house that Gabs and I used to hike every morning—or afternoon, depending on how late we’d sleep in—after she’d spend the night. We had planned to go on a hike the day after the pot gummy incident of 2022, but now I know we would have been far too hungover. The last time the two of us hiked the path, she had stayed over to celebrate my eighteenth birthday. By the time we got to the summit, we were tired and sweaty and dying of thirst, but the view of the valley, as always, took our breath away.