Marisol knew she was a product of her generation. She was not tech-savvy, but she loved the way apps could entertain her or make life slightly easier. She still remembered her fist-hand lesson on the importance of keeping a GPS on hand, even if things worked out well that one time. It was fun to watch someone jump into the world of infinite distraction for the first time. (Her uncle did not count, since he was going to forever be hopeless when it came to modern technology.)

”Oh no, photos of my best friend all day? How will I even manage,” she bemoaned sarcastically. Shuttertext would be a great way for Marisol to get little updates on Celeste’s day on the rare days where they did not cross paths. Since she was apparently one of the only people Marisol did not get tired of or exhausted by, more Celeste sounded like an unquestionably good thing. The idea of photos of Celeste throughout her day felt like it would make Marisol’s days more enjoyable.

Eventually, Celeste’s new phone was handed back to her with all necessary information. Marisol gave her friend a moment of privacy to reply to stored up text messages from the old dead phone. She was looking at a tablet when she saw Celeste waving her over. It took a moment to realize what was happening, but the way Celeste was holding her phone gave it away. Marisol ran over and wrapped an arm around Celeste’s shoulder, getting on her tip-toes to balance out some of their height difference. ”Cheese!”

They stepped out of the store with Celeste already downloading apps to her new toy. ”Don’t you worry. We will add each other on all the things.” That was what besties did. The word still made Marisol feel giddy.

With their main objective out of the way, the choice came down to food or more shopping. Vanessa had a few things she would not have minded picking up and she was about to decide on shopping before her stomach intervened. She felt the groan that suggested she was running on empty and blushed. ”I think maybe we’ve earned a dinner break. To the food court?” she asked, calling for the bolder of the two women to lead the way.

Celeste looked over her new, pretty phone. She had to be really careful with it - otherwise, she'd be in one sticky situation with no phone. She'd been without a phone all day today and it was killing her. What if she ended up becoming addicted to this phone? On a huge plus, she had a GPS! No more getting lost in the city with literally no idea where to go. She had learned the hard way when she first moved here to not make stupid turns, fall asleep on the bus or train, and to always pay attention to the streets. She didn't have to anymore! Well, at least not as much. Plus, reviews! She'll actually be able to find places to eat that aren't sketch as all h*ll. Maybe it was great that her old phone died.

Regrettably, every time she thought about that old phone she got a little sad though. She made a mental goal not to think about it anymore - she had the same number, just a better phone. It wasn't like she had cut them off for good. They still have a chance, even though she knew that chance was -100000%. 

>> ”Oh no, photos of my best friend all day? How will I even manage,”

Celeste couldn't but laugh at her friends sarcasm. She scrunched up her face, "Wellll... You know, we're pretty much around each other like 90% of the time anyways, with work and what not. You'll probably be in most of them photos yourself." It was kinda funny, really. She wasn't sure which apps she'd really get into but now was the time to find out!

After she took their photo, she made it her lock screen & background screen. Perfect. It was super official now, their best friendship. Celeste just needed to finish adding all the apps and all the apps she wanted accounts with - then she could add Marisol to all of them! And other people, maybe Booker had a MyFace? Or Gawain/Maya? Hmmm.

>> ”I think maybe we’ve earned a dinner break. To the food court?”

Celeste's eyes widened at the mention of dinner. Yes, she was getting really hungry now. Time for a real meal. She nodded and began walking with Marisol towards the food court. Upon arrival, she took a deep breath of all the scents. They had so many choices. There was a couple Chinese places, a Chipotle, a McGreasy, a salad place, and of course, the ice cream and cinnabun places. She wanted real food, so she was thinking Chinese. It had been a while since she last had Chinese. She perked a brow and nudged Marisol, "Whatcha craving?" 

Conversations with Celeste were fun. When they talked, Marisol often felt silly in a playful way, rather than silly in the socially unskilled way she was with almost everyone else. Meeting Celeste was the product of so much luck and coincidence, it was hard not to believe they were supposed to be friends. Reagan wanted to get Sunday Morning breakfast with her roommate one day while they were still in the “getting to know one another” stage. Marisol was still struggling to acclimate to a roommate at all, so breakfast was still awkward, but she did take the opportunity to fill out an application for the diner they visited. One forced breakfast was the difference between Marisol having a best friend or spending all her free time running lines and practicing steps.

”I don’t know, I think you’re drastically underestimating how much I’m stuck at school. You’ve got like ninety percent of my free time, though,” she pointed out correctly. ”I’ll still be looking forward to photo distractions in class.”

Well, maybe that was a fib. Marisol was too studious and focused to get sidetracked while she was actually in class. ”Or at least some cute pics to check out once class is over.” That was a more honest answer, and likely a more believable one.

They approached the food court and Marisol snuck a peek of what Celeste was doing on her shiny new phone. Much to her surprise, their selfie was the picture hiding behind the few apps collected on the phone so far. With the exception of, perhaps, her mother, Marisol had never earned a spot as someone’s phone background before. Knowing she had that spot with Celeste gave her a fluttery feeling in her stomach. It was pleasant, but unexpected. Marisol wondered if she could silence it with food.

They certainly had options, she realized as she looked out at the many restaurants packed into the space. Celeste wanted to know what Marisol was craving, but she had yet to figure that out herself. There was a salad place. She could definitely order there and be the good girl, holding firm to her diet. She mulled the idea over. ”Hmm… the only thing I know is I’m not interested in Chipotle.” If she was going to cheat and eat Mexican food, she was going to eat authentic Mexican food, which usually meant getting dinner at her Tío’s apartment. ”I think… we can get your food first and I can make up my mind then.” It was a non-decision to stall things out, because Marisol was being subjected to too many scents at once to make up her mind.

This day turned out extremely better than she expected. It started out sad, depressed, aggravating but it turned out to confirm her friendship, in fact, best friendship with Marisol. Celeste was super excited and happy. She had never had a best, best friend before and maybe Marisol didn't either? She seemed just as excited as Celeste felt when she carefully made her comment about them being best friends. It was an exciting time in her life, even though she had to let go of her little flip phone.

>> ”I don’t know, I think you’re drastically underestimating how much I’m stuck at school. You’ve got like ninety percent of my free time, though, I’ll still be looking forward to photo distractions in class.” 

Celeste arched an eyebrow and gave Marisol a 'really' look. Marisol did not seem like the kind of person who would ever pull out her phone during her classes. She was Celeste's little drama nerd and Celeste loved her for it. Of course, Celeste herself probably wouldn't pull her phone out during class either. She was a nerd, too. There was nothing like learning about economics, art (even if she was awful at it, but at least her awfulness earned her a favorite teacher and a late high school idol.) And all them other subjects she was taking. Her next big challenge was the training course she signed up for - she had little to no combat experience but she was probably going to have to learn pretty quickly. She was a hit and run kinda gal.

>> ”Or at least some cute pics to check out once class is over.”

She nudged her playfully, "That sounds better. We can't mess with your studies!" 

>>  ”Hmm… the only thing I know is I’m not interested in Chipotle. I think… we can get your food first and I can make up my mind then.”

Celeste laughed at Marisol. That made sense - she was latina, after all. She probably had lots of real, amazing Spanish food. She could cook some pretty good Spanish dishes, but it wasn't her forte. They were good, but they weren't amazing. In either case, Celeste's nostils and stomach wanted a pretty yummy Chinese meal. General Tao chicken! She nodded and began to walk over to the Chinese station. She looked over to Marisol, "I love some good Chinese food." 

Celeste already knew Marisol well enough to call her out on out-of-character behavior. Even when they were working, Marisol would usually have a script or textbook nearby to flip through on her lunch break. Of course, with Celeste around, her commitment to studying was not as ironclad, but that was just extra time. Marisol had enough of a handle on time management to set aside an appropriate amount of time each night for her assignments.

Her more honest revision was met with a playful nudge of the shoulder. ”Of course, but same goes for you. You’re gonna be a college gal soon, Celeste. You’ll be way too busy to entertain texts from your high schooler friend,” she joked, pretending she was not actually concerned about the possibility of their friendship fading in the face of college. They did not go to the same high school, so Marisol chose to belief it would not change anything when Celeste was occupied with college. And all the awesome friends she would make in college because she was wonderful.

With all the options of the food court at their disposal, Marisol was struck with a bout of indecision and deferred to her friend. Celeste seemed to have an idea of what she was craving, and sure enough, she led both girls to the Chinese station. Behind the glass, there was a collection of varied scents from different sauces, meats, and veggies, along with plenty of rice and noodles.

Marisol looked away from the selection, surveying other, healthier food options in the area, but the aromas behind her were vying for her attention. She looked over the metal containers of Chinese food again, and one scent spoke out to her from the cacophony. ”Okay,” she said, sighing in resignation as she pointed to her selection. ”May I have the Szechuan Chicken with fried rice, please? Oh, and an eggroll!” If she was going to cheat anyway, might as well go big or go home, right?

The girls paid for and collected their orders before finding a nearby table to claim. The seats were made of hard plastic, as if the mall was discouraging anyone from loitering in the food court for too long. ”So, speaking of college, it really is right around the corner, huh? Just a few months. Has it even sunk in yet?” She wondered if Celeste even had time to think about her imminent college life between school, work, and volunteering.

Celeste couldn't help but give a giggle towards Marisol. They were already amazing friends and Celeste knew that that was never going to change, at least not anytime soon. She felt like they had a once in a lifetime type of friendship, one that would transcend the barriers of time, work, and family related situations. She could only hope that Marisol would put as much effort as Celeste promised herself she would into their friendship.

>>”Of course, but same goes for you. You’re gonna be a college gal soon, Celeste. You’ll be way too busy to entertain texts from your high schooler friend,”

She chuckled again, "So? Nothing at college is going to distract me from giving you a text every now and then," she grinned, joking about not texting her a lot. She got a little serious, though. She knew that Marisol might worry about their friendship fading once she was in college - it was a natural thing to be concerned about. All teenagers had that feeling when they were in transitioning from high school to college. "Just because I'm going to college doesn't mean I'm not going to text, hang out, or do anything differently with my best friend who still has a little while left in college." She gave her a sincere smile. She meant it. Ultimately, their friendship was more important than work, volunteering, or anything else. Friendship and family always came first.

Once they were sitting, Celeste grumbled at the hard, plastic seats, "You'd think a mall this busy could have at least somewhat more comfortable seats." In either case, it was food time! She quickly opened her container of General Tao chicken with some chicken fried rice and began to dig in. She couldn't help but smile at Marisol's food - she definitely didn't do healthy with that meal. A couple cheat meals couldn't hurt her, though. Plus, she'd probably be dancing it off in a couple hours anyways. 

>> ”So, speaking of college, it really is right around the corner, huh? Just a few months. Has it even sunk in yet?”

She shook her head as she finished swallowing a big bite of chicken, "Um... Yeah, it is. I...," she was thinking about how to phrase it, "It hasn't, not really. I don't even really know what I'm going to do there. My original idea is dead now and now I'm just going in and hoping I figure it out." She shrugged, "I hear that's kinda what college is about though, right? The experience and stuff." 

Marisol was not confident in social situations; she could not help it. Confidence came from practice and experience, of which, she had neither. She was not used to having best friends and rarely even had close friends, but she was finding it to be a lovely feeling. The idea of that feeling going away as her friend found other, more interesting people to spend her time with was an unnerving one.

To her credit, Celeste might have been the perfect friend to deal with a girl like Marisol. While the younger girl was keeping her neurosis hidden behind a thinly guised joke, her friend was taking it upon herself to reassure Marisol things were going to be fine. ”Okay,” she said, trying to sound nonchalant, which was undone by her pleased smile. ”If you live on campus, you better expect me to come hang out at your dorm!” Where she would find the free time, Marisol was not sure yet, but she would figure it out.

Marisol took her seat and uncovered her meal, prompting a plume of steam to rise and envelop her face in the strong aromas. She pulled the cheap pair of chopsticks from its sleeve and tore the corner of a small bag of low-sodium soy sauce to soak her rice in. Marisol did not eat Chinese food often, but she knew it well enough to know how she enjoyed it.

She settled a portion of rice and chicken between her chopsticks, carefully leading the food to her mouth. ”Mmm,” she moaned in appreciation, ”Spicy and tasty and so good.” The flavorful bite had taken Marisol out of the conversation for a moment, but when she returned, she felt her cheeks blushing. ”I’m sorry, you were saying what about seats?” It had been too long since her last Chinese food indulgence, and Marisol nearly forgot why she ranked it so highly amongst her cheat foods.

As expected, Celeste was not quite ready to process the next step in her future. The first day they met, Celeste admitted she was not sure about her major. It was a foreign concept for Marisol, but she also realized that not everyone chose a path so early in life, and there was nothing wrong with that. ”Of course. You’re supposed to go figure yourself out at college. Find a passion, make out with a roommate, get put in police custody.” She took a bite of her eggroll, chewed, and swallowed, before grinning and adding, ”Or, you know, join a club. I don’t really know, I don’t go for another two years.”

Celeste gave Marisol an upbeat, encouraging smile. She had a feeling she knew how Marisol felt about Celeste going off to college - mainly, worried about their friendship. Even though it wasn't said, she felt it. Intuition! Or whatever. Marisol confirmed her feelings with her nonchalant okay and her big pleased smile. Marisol was such a happy person - honestly, Celeste was surprised she didn't have more best friends. Despite her social awkwardness, which was more endearing than anything, she was an amazing friend.

>>  ”If you live on campus, you better expect me to come hang out at your dorm!”

Celeste nodded, "Of course! Although, I'm kinda nervous... What kinda dorm am I going to be in? What if it's like... A bad dormmate roomie thing?" She gasped, "What if she or he is like... Crazy, pyscho killer and tries to kill me in my sleep?" She was slightly joking, slightly serious. Bad roommates seemed to be a pretty common issue, especially in tight quarters like dorms. Limited privacy, busy with schoolwork or other stuff, yikes. She shook her head and decided to be optimistic, "It can't be too bad... Hopefully. Plusss, once you're ready to go to college, at least if you choose to go close by, we can be roomies! I'd have what? Two more years left? Unless I graduate early, I guess." Which she might try to do, presuming if she can find out what she wanted to do with the rest of her life.

Celeste was busy stuffing her face full of the Chinese food - not really in the most lady-like fashion, either. She didn't realize how hungry she was until confronted with the deliciousness. 

>> ”I’m sorry, you were saying what about seats?”

She shrugged, "No idea." She kinda remembered but she didn't feel like repeating it, it was mostly just a mumble to herself anyway. Not an important piece of conversation.

>> ”Of course. You’re supposed to go figure yourself out at college. Find a passion, make out with a roommate, get put in police custody. Or, you know, join a club. I don’t really know, I don’t go for another two years.”

Her eyes widened and she gave a gasp, "So scandalous! I don't think I'd do that. Well, at least, not get put in police custody. Maybe the other two. No guarantees." She chuckled as she took a few more bites. She sighed before nodding, "I mean, I guess so. I just don't know what I want to do. Everything was kinda set before I decided I couldn't handle Regina anymore." She shrugged. 

Concerns over dorm life were very familiar to Marisol, who was now living with her third roommate. ”I’m sure she won’t be a psycho killer. I’ve heard they go to Columbia,” Marisol joked, dabbing spicy sauce from the corners of her mouth with a napkin. ”If your roomie’s bad, I’m sure they’ll try moving you if another room needs a swap. That’s what I did my freshman year in Los Angeles. My first roommate was a slob who bring loud friends around at all hours of the night. We didn’t mesh, but I ended up transferring to a room with another girl, and we were fine through my time there.” Marisol did luck out when Jenna’s roommate transferred, opening a space for her to live with a pretty good friend. ”If I, Queen of Social Incompetence could survive a bad roommate, a sunbeam like you will be fine. Promise.”

Marisol and Reagan were functioning fine as roommates, but the other dancer was a senior, so Marisol had one High School roommate left to get through, (at least,) but once she graduated, Celeste was tossing around an intriguing idea. They could get a place together when Marisol made it to college. Obviously, they would be at different schools, but off-campus housing was a thing. It just felt surprisingly fast for an idea like that to come up. Marisol worried it was the kind of idea that would fall flat, but she was just continuing to let her self-conscious behavior make her doubt Celeste. Maybe it would not happen, but she did believe Celeste wanted it to happen, and so did she. ”Being your roomie and bestie sounds like the best thing ever. If we can find a way, I’m all for it. Assuming you don’t find some guy at college and get married sophomore year after a whirlwind romance,” she said melodramatically alongside a wave of her hand.

Celeste had so many possibilities ahead of her, and while a small part of Marisol was jealous, the rest of her was excited to be there as her friend met new experiences head-on. Hopefully nothing that would get her arrested, of course, but she was willing to explore new passions, and interestingly did nothing to dismiss the idea of some roommate intimacy. That would be quite the story to hear between waiting on their tables.

As much as her friend was open to new experiences, she was understandably concerned by her own uncertainty. Marisol stuck her chopsticks into her pile of fried rice and reached across the table to grab one of Celeste’s hands with both of her own. ”Just because things were set, doesn’t mean they would have been better. A lot is changing because you’re going to find something you really want that you never considered before. If things stayed ‘set’ for me, I’d still be in Cali.” She smiled, releasing her friend’s hand. ”And if I didn’t do that, I’d have one lest best friend and be at least twenty percent more of a loser.”

It looked like Marisol had plenty of experience with dorms. A bad one but it turned out to have a happy ending - at least, if by happy ending meaning they transferred and maybe never talked again. Or maybe they did talk again? "Did you ever talk to your first roommie again? Or was it like a messy, never talk each other again kinda thing?" 

Marisol found her social incompetence unfavorable but Celeste thought it made her, well her. She wouldn't ask for Marisol in any other way than a little social mess. Celeste had a feeling most people found it endearing, anyways. At least, most people being her and some of the diner patrons that really liked Marisol. Everyone found her very endearing. "You know, everyone who meets you loves you." She took another big bite of rice. 

She nodded, "I mean, it's really expensive to live here and I really don't want to be in a dorm stuffed with someone else in like 300 feet room. Much rather get a tiny apartment with a personal bedroom plus a large living space or something." She shrugged, "Maybe that's just me, though." She leaned back in her chair, taking a sip of her soda. She laughed at Marisols suggestion of her getting whisked away and married, "And maybe I'll have 2 kids before I'm 20, too! Wanta be there god mom?" She chuckled. She joking, of course. She wasn't even sure if she could biologically have children. She might could, she might not, it wasn't something she has ever been concerned with. Boys were something that was a bit on the side burner for most of her life until pretty recently.  

She yawned, "You're probably going to meet someone on Broadway, some famous celebrity, get whisked away to Hollywood." She chuckled and gave her a playful nudge from her chair. 

She smiled and gave a soft squeeze back. "You're right. I would also be a total loser with no friends, especially no best friend. So, you're right. And it's good that we have ventured out." 

Once they finished their meal, Celeste bought them both ice cream. It was her treat to Marisol for coming out with her, especially at such short notice. From there, it was all the shopping stores - from dancing/art related stores, to video games, to dresses. It was a great evening before they both had to part ways and head back to their respective homes feeling even more like best friends forever. 

Marisol shoveled a generous portion of chicken and rice into her mouth and reflected on her first roommate. She chewed thoroughly and swallowed before finally answering. ”Mmm, we were different people. We traveled in different circles after I left, and that was fine.” Specifically, the roommate travelled in circles, while Marisol did little to no traveling.

It was a nice thought that everyone who met Marisol loved her, but she knew well enough to know it was untrue. Celeste was drawing out the best side of her, but plenty of people saw Marisol as a cold, antisocial b**** because of how much effort she put into avoiding conversation. ”Whatever you say,” she said, smiling. There was no reason to argue when she knew Celeste would never accept the truth.

The future sounded promising for both of them. They were going to live together, Celeste was going to have a husband and two kids, and Marisol was going to fall in love and enjoy a widely publicized relationship. The last future sounded the least believable, not just because Marisol would wilt at the off-stage attention, but because she still could not see a future where she found someone to love. She was seventeen and no one had set off the warning bells or caught her eye. If her hormonal teenage years were going to leave her without a single significant crush, why should she think that would change as she got older?

Marisol had no desire to dredge up a serious conversation about her problems after such a long, stressful day for Celeste. She only smiled and shrugged. ”Sounds like we have exciting plans in store. Guess we should really appreciate the time we have now, then.”

The shopping trip was light-hearted, with their path determined by whatever passing fancy came over them as they walked by shops. Marisol would end the day with a new set of ribbons for her hair, a dress and a scarf suited for New York’s impending chilly months, and a heart-warming afternoon with her best friend.