Jayden stood in his empty bedroom, one last time. The posters were down, the desk cleared, the shelves bare. Only the scuff marks on the floor and a crooked corner of peeling paint reminded him this was ever his space.


His mom peeked in. “You ready?”


He nodded, taking a slow breath. “Yeah. I think I am.”


The car was already packed. His acceptance letter to Atlanta State sat in his backpack, along with a thousand other hopes and fears.



---


Across town, Malik was filling out a job application at the local auto shop. College wasn’t in the cards right now, but responsibility was. He had a younger brother to help raise and a mom working double shifts.


He looked at his phone. A text from Jayden: Don’t forget—group dinner tonight.


Malik smiled. No way he was missing that.



---


Noah was folding art prints into a suitcase. He’d gotten into a design program in Chicago. Big city. Big leap.


He added one last drawing to his sketchbook—a doodle of the four of them, back-to-back like superheroes.



---


Eli sat on his front porch, envelope in hand. He hadn’t told anyone yet, but he’d deferred his first year of college. Anxiety had been eating him up, and he needed to slow down. Figure things out.


He scrolled through their group chat—memes, encouragement, updates—and typed: I got something to tell y’all tonight.



---


That evening, at a worn-out diner booth they’d claimed as “theirs” since sophomore year, they came together one last time.


Stories spilled. Laughter echoed. Promises were made.


Jayden raised his glass of root beer. “To what comes next.”


They clinked.


Whatever that would be—they were stepping into it.