Featuring Hugo and Livvy

June 12, 1996 - December 16, 1996

9 years earlier

They graduated high school in May. For the longest time Olivia knew that she was going to continue studying, and aimed to get into a prestigious university in a few towns away from theirs. She applied, and only that day, the twelfth of June, 1996, did she find a letter from the university in her mailbox. She tore it open without thinking, and called Hugo after the first line registered in her mind.

Dear Ms. Olivia Lee,

He picked up after three rings. "Hello?"

"Hugo..." Her voice shook.

"Hi, Liv-Livvy, are you crying? What happened?" He asked, his voice going up an octave - she could picture him getting up off his bed, his hair disheveled. This mental picture made her smile, even though her eyes were welling up.

"I-I-I got the letter," she told him, barely able to form the words without shaking, "From the university."

"O-ooh, oh. I'm sorry."

"No, don't be. I-"

She read the words again.

Congratulations! On behalf of the university and its faculty, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into the class of 1996-2000.

"-I got in," when she said this, her voice cracked.

For a second, it was silent. And then suddenly he hollered, "I KNEW IT!" so loudly that she had to pull the phone away from her ear. "I KNEEEEEW IT!"

She laughed and sniffled again.

"Oh, Livvy, I thought someone died." He breathed out a sigh, "Then why are you crying so much?"

"I was so scared I wouldn't get in."

He snorted, "You? Rejected?"

She continued, "Hugo, I've never been happier." At this, she began to blubber and hiccup again.

"Let's party! I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

And so, an eventful summer passed them before they even knew it was gone. They met the night before she left, and evening sky found them sitting side by side on the porch of that abandoned house.

"I can't believe it," said Hugo, putting his hand on her hair and ruffling it. Some hair got into her eyes, but she's not sure if her eyes started to water because of that or because she was leaving.

After a moment of silence, he says, "You're so big, Olivia. I remember when you were only thisssss big." He motioned his hand some distance from the floor.

"Shut up," she said, laughing, and he laughed too.

She looked around at the neighborhood she had known since she was a child. She'd never thought much of it all before-the chipped paint on the cramped houses, the street lights that were off more than they were on, the trees that didn't really have any leaves-but now that she was leaving, she realized that she would miss all of it, the good and the less good.

Most of all, she'd miss her best friend, sitting beside her in the fading light of the summer sunset, looking brightly at her as if it were him that were leaving to pursue his dreams. This chance hadn't come for Hugo, or at least, not yet.

"You'll be back soon enough, Liv. This neighborhood isn't going anywhere, is it?"

"No, no it's not," She looked at him then, and so many words rushed through her mind. Words that she could never say.

In a quieter voice, he said, "I'm not going anywhere either."

That's because Hugo didn't try. He didn't apply for any universities, and whenever anyone would ask him what he planned to do, he'd say, "I'll go where the wind takes me." He was banking on his acting career, which, until that point, hadn't quite taken off yet. He did get a few more roles after My Lady, and one modelling gig, but none of them were his big break - the moment he'd been waiting for.