oh, won't you take me from this valley

[thelark]

School is back in session, and, as much as Cosette loves her studies, she misses the too brief, heady days of summer. The bonfires on the beach, her hands sticky with ice cream, the smell of salt in the air — everything was so light and fun. Every day on the boardwalk was a carnival.

Now the air is turning colder and those days are gone. That's fine, too, though; Cosette loves the fall and the countryside, and she's happy to make her way out there to visit Ellie now. She's done all her homework like a good girl so nothing can keep her from enjoying her time with her friend.

Getting out of the hired car, she flounces up to the door and knocks.

Comments

[and_survive]

It was kind of weird, being out here most days during fall. Seeing the leaves turn, the air turn crisp, the lake turn too cold to swim in.

Well, admittedly she only experienced that one once, when she went in. Possibly being at a loose end had her a little loopy. She'd finished school but hadn't entirely chosen a direction for her future, or even for her now, so she was living off the income the city gave her while she tried to figure it out. She sort of mostly had it. But the intake for that wasn't for a while, so here she was, wandering around like a weirdo.

Until someone turned up. She was thinking about humoring whatever salesperson or nutty religious pamphleteer had made the effort, until she saw it was Cosette, which both made more sense and was way better.

"Hey!" she said. "Shit, is it a weekend? I don't even know what day it is."

[thelark]

"It's Sunday," Cosette affirms, nodding. "I guess it is easy to lose track when you do not have school. I thought I would come say hi, but if you're busy..."

She doesn't want to intrude, of course. If it turns out that Ellie isn't prepared for company, she can take a walk along the lake on her own and be perfectly content. It's just better, of course, to be with a friend. She's been to church already, early this morning. Some days, she stays after to do volunteer work, but she has to admit, it's more tempting to go out and play during the school year, to make more entertaining use of her free time.

[and_survive]

"Oh, yeah, I'm so busy," Ellie said, rolling her eyes at herself, because it probably was a little ridiculous that she wasn't doing anything. Leisure time, proper leisure time that wasn't stolen by sneaking away, it was new. It was years new, admittedly, but it was a new kind of new.

She pulling the door open wider, better to underline that she had absolutely zero going on. "No, come in, come in."