She was running late. 7:05am. Very late. At least in a hospital's perspective. She nearly tripped in her rush to get her scrub bottoms on and get to the back door to let her dog Bailey out to use the bathroom. Running back to her room she ran a brush through her hair to untangle the mess. As she brushed her hair, her eyes were on the piece of parchment on her bureau signifying tonight's event. It came in the mail two weeks ago with the school's stamp and everything. Was it really already time for a high school reunion? It had seemed time had gone by so fast, and yet so slow.
7:10am. No time for breakfast. Grabbing her keys from the kitchen counter and opening the back door, she called in Bailey and patted her kindly on the head. "Tonight's the night girl!" Bailey tilted her head to the side and Ava couldn't help but laugh. After six years, the class of 2008 would be reunited, at least she hoped most of them would show up. Joseph would be there for sure, Aiden would show up because Ava nagged him into it, but she wondered about the others, especially Josh. She had heard he was back already, but because she had taken on so many extra shifts she hadn't seen him. Maybe that was a good thing. Who knows what it would be like seeing Josh again after all this time. The butterflies in her stomach were wreaking havoc inside of her, making her feel on the edge and jittery.
Okay, now she had to get moving. Aiden was going to give her another lecture on the morals and principles of being a nurse for sure, she thought with a grimace. With no time to spare, Ava hopped onto her bike and rode into town. On her way to work, she always passed by old neighbor's homes. Most of the time, they were out getting their newspapers, or getting to work themselves. Waving quickly to them as she passed, they all greeted her in kind, smiling as they did so. And this why coming back to Virginia Falls had been so important to her. The community was friendly and eager to lend a helping hand. None of that cold shoulder stuff you may get in a bigger city.
Arriving at Virgina Falls General, she quickly signed in, noting that her sign in time was 7:25am. Twenty-five minutes late, a lot of things can happen in just twenty-five minutes in a hospital, but thankfully, the emergency department seemed calm. As she grabbed her assignment for the day she spotted Aiden. Making a quick u-turn, she tried her best not to be seen by her co-worker and old friend by running into a patient's room. "Good morning Mrs. Richmond, how are you doing today? You look well!"
"Well, I certainly feel better Ava, Gavin's been back for nearly a week and has been helping out a lot." The color rose in her cheeks talking about her son.
"Aw, well I'm glad he's back. And I'll hopefully be seeing him later on tonight?" Gavin and Ava were never the closest of friends, but she knew him since they were both in diapers, so it would be nice to see him again.
"Of course dear. I told him he had to go, or else I was going to have his father cut his hours at the garage," she said with a wink. At that Ava laughed and proceeded with her routine assessment and chatted with her patient. In just a few more hours she would see just who was going to show up to the reunion at the lake. Coincidence that the setting just happened to be at the number one hangout back then. Old memories were sure to come up. Hopefully, only the good kind.
Gavin stared blankly at the engine before him. His father was rambling on about how fun it was going to be at the reunion. It had came as a surprise. Just as soon as he had arrived in town, his mom was shoving the letter, opened letter, in his face. Gavin originally had no intention of going to the reunion. After all, high school was just another four years of school. It held no real importance to him, but when his mom had threatened him with fewer work hours, he had agreed quickly.
He didn't know what to expect, or who was going to even show up. People would probably be surprised he showed up, that is if they recognized him. In the past six years, Gavin had grown a lot. Sporting new tattoos and a beard, he would hardly be recognized as the tall, limp noodle he was back in the day.
"So what time is that reunion any way?" he heard his father ask.
''8:00pm if I'm not mistaken." Honestly, he didn't know who was more excited. His mom or his dad. Both hadn't stopped bringing it up, it was like all they could talk about. All the town could really talk about. The class of 2008 was the biggest the small town had seen in years, even though 40 was a laughable number to any other bigger town. But to the small town of Virginia Falls, 40 kids of the same class had been a big deal, and they were all glad to see how they had all grown.
As his father kept talking about the reunion, Gavin was busy thinking about how he was going to be greeted at the reunion. Most of the time, he was in the shadows or by himself in school. Too lost in his own thoughts to even try communicating with the other students. It wasn't that he was an anti-social person, it was that he had lost two of the most important people in his life. When his brother and sister passed away, it was like a part of him had passed with them. Now, he has had time to become adjusted to their passing, but those who knew him in school wouldn't know that and would most likely not bother talking to him.
With a heavy sigh, Gavin started tuning the engine in front of him, his thoughts on how his mother's appointment was going. Since she had been diagnosed with breast cancer, Gavin hasn't had a good night's sleep. With the idea of potentially losing another member of his family, was too much to bear. Not his sweet mother. She was the real reason he had come back to this town. He wanted her to be happy. He knew that when he left, it had been hard for her, for both of his parents, but he was back now. And she was the reason he was going to the reunion. If he had told her no, she would of been heart broken. After all, she just wanted to see her only son with old 'friends' being happy together.
Internally, Gavin wished the night would just happen already. And he didn't know if it was because he was secretly eager to see familiar faces, or because he wanted it to be over already.