No matter how many times the sun set, everyone always knew that it would rise again. For every dusk, there would be a dawn. For every night, there would be a day. For every beginning, there would be an end, and for every end, there would be a new beginning. It was one of the few things in life that they would be sure of. Change was inevitable, but they always knew that there would be a beginning and there would be an end.
And today would just be another one of those special days when it seemed like none of that mattered.
Time was at a standstill. It was the last day of their summer vacation, and The Naked Brothers Band decided to spend it in style. Lounging atop their “hippified” tour bus, the band had not a care in the world. They had performed in front of millions of people, run from rabid fans, and fended off ravenous reporters, but it was times like this that made them feel alive.
Fifteen minutes until sunset.
Cooper felt a vibration in his pocket and took out his phone, which had been silenced so that it wouldn’t ruin the moment. For a second, he contemplated answering it, but shut it off entirely and set it off to the side. For once, business could wait until later.
Qaasim was passing the time, flipping through a good book. It didn’t matter what he was reading; everyone knew that it was going to be a few grade levels ahead of him anyway. David and Thomas were sitting with their legs dangling off the roof of the bus, staring out at the amazing view of the city. They were trying to spot their houses from where they sat. In the middle of the bus was Alex, staring dreamily to the sky, watching as the clouds lazily floated by.
And, of course, there was Nat and Rosalina, sharing a moment together as if nothing else mattered. It had been one year since they had made their feelings known to each other, and since then, their time together had been nothing short of magical. Although the rest of the guys were a bit disappointed that it wouldn’t be as fun to tease the two, they were genuinely happy for the couple, and wished them all the best.
Ten minutes until sunset.
“Can you believe summer’s over?” Qaasim asked, abruptly ending the comfortable silence.
The unexpected noise had caused Alex to jump slightly and the other boys to turn their heads. Nat and Rosalina were the ones who were most caught off guard. He had been leaning in to kiss her, but as soon as they realized they were being watched, they suddenly found themselves sitting several feet away from each other, blushing wildly. Despite having been together for a full year, they were still quite shy about public displays of affection, even in front of their closest friends.
Nat coughed, still trying to protect what was left of his dignity. “I thought you were reading, Qaasim.”
“Not really,” he said, a giant grin plastered on his face. “I’ve been on the same page for the past twenty minutes. Was I interrupting something?”
“Ha. Ha. Very funny, Qaasim.” Rosalina scooted back over to her spot next to Nat now that everyone had settled down.
He put his arm around her, but nothing more. Nat knew that if he got any closer to her, the guys would be all over it.
Cooper, always the mature one, decided to take the spotlight off the couple despite how amused he was by the whole ordeal. “So what were you doing reading the same page over and over again for twenty minutes? It’s not like you, Qaasim.”
“I don’t know. I was just thinking, I guess.”
David and Thomas had finally decided to join in on the conversation, having already missed their chance to make fun of Nat and Rosalina.
“About what?”
“A lot of things. I mean, can you believe that we’re all going to be in high school tomorrow?”
“Wait. What about me?” Alex said, reminding everyone that he was significantly younger than the rest of them.
“Well, you know that they’re renovating Amigos, right? The middle school, high school, and elementary school will all on the same floor. Everything’s changing.”
“But that could be a good thing, too,” David objected. “We won’t be separated by floors anymore. We get to see everyone at school, even Alex. Right?”
“I guess.” Qaasim still seemed a bit unsure.
“Don’t worry about it. High school’s fun.”
“Easy for you to say, Rosalina,” Thomas said. “You’re already halfway done. You’re a junior. You’re an upperclassman now. We’re just a bunch of freshman.”
“And a fifth grader,” Alex said, once again reminding them of his youth.
“Don’t worry, Alex. We’re not forgetting about you. And, hey you guys, if I can walk through those doors without having any friends and survive, then you guys can surely make it through four years together. You’re all lucky. At least you have each other.”
Nat gave her a quick little squeeze so no one would notice; he had always admired her strength and ability to adapt to loneliness. “She’s got a point.”
“You’re only agreeing with her because she’s your girlfriend.”
Once again, Nat blushed, and once again, Cooper was there to rescue him.
“Hey guys, look. The sun’s going down.”
Six heads turned to the horizon as the sun began to set. The large, golden orb slowly sunk into the invisible line in the sky, bathing the world with just a few more seconds of its warmth. Soon, the twilight set in and a still breeze swept over the land. Rosalina rested her head in Nat’s chest, welcoming his warmth. The rest of the guys were still entranced by the residual light lingering in the rapidly darkening sky.
Nat looked at his companions and sighed in contentment. This was how it always should have been. There they were, sitting on a hill on top of their tour bus, the vessel of all their hopes and dreams. They sat together in silence, enjoying the very presence of one another. As Nat glanced out at his best friends and at the girl of his dreams wrapped up in his arms, he knew that he was happy.
“Do you guys think it’s possible,” he asked whimsically, “for the world to look this way forever?”
No one said a word.
At the time, they thought that they had kept their silence in order not to spoil the moment. It was such a simple question, and they each assumed the others had said yes to Nat’s question – that they would always be that happy when they were all together. It never once crossed their minds that maybe no one responded his question, not due to their reverence of the moment, but simply because not one of them had the answers.
