Epilogue
Where There is an End There is a Beginning
The hum of murmuring students, clanking plastic plates, and the crease of books opening and closing surrounded Yori as she sat at a booth in the back of the college grounds cafe, alone. Textbooks were scattered around Yori’s pink-cased laptop, notes spilled onto the floor, and all her pencils were tucked underneath her plastic plate of a half uneaten muffin.
Rocking out to her favorite song with her ear buds poking out of her three time pierced ears, Yori flipped through her books. Yori had her last final that day, but she wasn’t worried. It was her favorite course, Foreign Design. Besides, who could be more ready when Yori was dressed in clothing that she had bought directly from foreign places? Her purple tunic was from Italy, her faux-fur shrug was from France, and her bejeweled jeans were from Hawaii—so that one wasn’t exactly foreign, but it wasn’t from Idaho or Cali. Yori had also spent extra time on her hair that morning because she was demonstrating to her roommate how to do the triple twist braid and pull-back. Yori had even lent her roommate one of her blue floral hair clips to hold up the braid.
“Yori! Ugh…you would not believe the mess that last final was for me! Finally this killer third year is over for me,” Velvet exclaimed, sliding into the seat opposite of Yori. Looking up, Yori smiled and pulled her ear buds out, shoving her things to her side of the table.
“I told you to go to the library last night instead of call Brody!” Yori scolded, slamming her text book closed and saving her document on her computer.
“I know…well, at least I’m all done. Your last one is this afternoon, right?” Velvet responded, setting down her black purse with silver, dangling tassels beside her.
“Yeah, but I’ll do great,” Yori said, confident she would.
“Okay, then…tell me everything about the dress I’m wearing,” Velvet quizzed Yori, standing up to show off her spring dress.
“Well, it’s 93% cotton, and I’m going to say…7%....polyester. The weave at the bottom is threaded with silk and bound with elastic. It is Vietnamese styled, you can tell by the straps, and the red floral print could be described as mini.”
“Anything else?” Velvet asked, twirling around in it.
“You look pretty in it?” Yori tried.
“You passed!” Velvet replied and sat back down.
“Hey, did you get that email from Jane? About the Camp Sing-Song alumni party in August?” Yori asked, offering the last portion of her muffin to Velvet. Shaking her head at the muffin, Velvet nodded her head about the alumni reunion party.
“I did get the email. If only Jane could’ve been the director years ago! I hear they have some sort of battle every Wednesday and Friday. Like last summer, I heard they had an official water balloon fight, an honorary food fight, a Revolutionary War reenactment battle, and paint ball crusade. I wish we could be counselors this summer,” Velvet shared.
“I know, right? I heard they actually had to close enrollment early for this coming summer because the camp filled up so fast once everyone heard about how great last summer was,” Yori added.
“I can’t believe it’s been three years since I’ve last seen Jane,” Velvet thought aloud. “You’re going to the alumni party though, right?”
“I’m still thinking about it,” Yori replied.
“What? You have to go!”
“I know, but I leave the next day for Milan,” Yori said.
“Milan?”
“I got chosen for the Fashion and Design Abroad course. Next year, I’ll be at the fashion capital of the world,” Yori remarked, beaming.
“Really?! No way! That’s great, Yori! Have you been before?”
“Milan? Nope, this will be my first time.”
“Did you pass your Italian Language course?”
“I’ll find out soon. I hope I won’t blank out on all I’ve learned these past years…here, your clip is falling out,” Yori replied, leaning over the table to adjust Velvet’s slipping blue clip.
“Don’t mess up my double twist.”
“It’s a triple twist, and I won’t,” Yori replied, laughing. “Are you and Brody going together to the party?”
“I think so, but I’ll be sick with anticipation,” Velvet responded. Yori sat back in her seat after fixing Velvet’s hair.
“Meaning?”
“I’ll have sent out my Peace Corps application that day,” Velvet replied.
“Peace Corps? But you still have one more year of college, well two since you need more for your education course,” Yori commented.
“I know…I applied early. It says apply 9 to 12 months before you are ready to start your service, but I thought I would apply even earlier than that, so if I got rejected I could reapply with better qualifications and still have time to be accepted by the time I finished college.”
“That’s pretty smart. I’m sure you’ll get in though! How many languages are you fluent in, again?” Yori asked.
“Four, not counting English—Spanish, Italian, French, and Portuguese,” Velvet commented, smiling at her accomplishments.
“That’s amazing…how are you and Brody doing by the way?”
“Great! He has seventeen more hours of firefighter training to do and then he’ll be a certified fireman.”
“That’s pretty cool, but I always thought Brody would do something like the Peace Corps, though,” Yori commented.
“Oh, he applied. He’ll probably serve earlier than me, but we might meet up in the Peace Corps sometime depending on how long he stays in the Peace Corps,” Velvet answered.
“Of course, you both applied,” Yori laughed. “Wouldn’t it be so romantic if you got married in, like, Kenya or something?”
“That would be so romantic…” Velvet trailed off, a drunk smile fulfilling her face.
“Oh, shoot!” Yori exclaimed, looking at her cell phone. “I got to go.” Snapping out of her reverie, Velvet asked, “Where are you going?”
As Yori cleaned up her mess of books and papers, she replied, “I have my Charity from one Army Family to Another meeting that I need to lead before my last final. Then I’m gonna doll up and meet Matt for dinner. Did I tell you he’s going to intern at NASA this summer?”
“Is he? That’s pretty good! Is he already done with his third year at Johns Hopkins?” Velvet asked, handing Yori her hidden pencils.
“Yeah, he got done really early…or are we getting done late…I’m not sure, but he’s coming to San Diego and when I’m done with school, we’re heading back to Idaho and then we’ll hopefully go to the alumni party together.”
“Fun! Hey, why don’t I get a movie and some theater popcorn and we can celebrate finishing finals in our dorm tonight?” Velvet suggested, grabbing her purse and putting Yori’s laptop in Yori’s armful of supplies.
“Sounds perfect. See you around ten,” Yori replied and headed out the café door.
“Good luck on your final!” Velvet called.
“Luck?” Yori asked at the doorway of the café, a smile dripping from her face. “I told you, I don’t need it.”
THE END
That's it! It's all done! Wow!! Is that crazy or what?
Well...that's 13 chapters (plus the epilogue), 41265 words, and 93 pages of July Writing right there! :) I need to thank each and every one of you who read, commented, and supported me. Writing can be very solitary and sometimes a lonely deed and it was very nice having a little audience and rooting section. It made it so much more fun! Thank you and I hope you liked the story. I definitely have things I would like to change about the story, things I would like to add, things I would like to delete, edits to make, and a title to think of, but overall I am very happy with the way things turned out. I liked the motivation to write and how the story developed and evolved.
And finally, I dedicate this book to all of you! Thank you and maybe we'll see each other again tomorrow, in August!
And lastly, remember guys: No matter what your end, beginning, or in between middle is, it is good! If you can get words on paper (or on a word document) at all, you are brave and already making progress. Don't be afraid to get started because mistakes will be made, but it isn't like you haven't made them before. Give it a try and love it!
ABC 123,
Maddie
You are my new favorite author. YOU (and this amazing novel) ROCK!!!!!!!!
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