The sun wasn't beating down as hard anymore when they decided to leave the park bench.
There was no written plan. Just the feeling that there was still time left in the day and that none of them wanted to go home yet. Brittany was the one who said it out loud, her hands tucked into her jacket pockets.
"If we split up now, tomorrow I'm going to feel like we wasted Sunday."
Madison checked her watch, then looked at Chloe.
"We have time. What if we go to that new café on the next street? It's nothing special, but at least we can talk without a kid kicking a ball over our heads."
Ana let out a short laugh.
"That already sounds like luxury to me."
Madeleine nodded, adjusting her backpack.
"Works for me. As long as we don't have to run all over the place."
Vivian smiled slightly.
"Then let's go. No rush."
The café was small, with light wooden tables and a scent of cinnamon that was noticeable from the doorway. They managed to get a table at the back, large enough for all six of them. As they sat down, the group naturally fell into place again: Madison and Chloe on one side, Vivian and Brittany opposite them, and Ana and Madeleine completing the circle.
For a few seconds, nobody spoke. Not because they felt uncomfortable, but because they were still getting used to the idea of being together again without the rush of the previous day.
Chloe was the first to break the silence, pointing at the menu.
"If I order something sweet and regret it afterward, nobody gets to judge me."
"I'll judge you," Brittany said with a perfectly serious expression. "And then I'll order the same thing."
They laughed. Even Madeleine, who had initially been sitting a little too straight, relaxed against the backrest.
When the waitress arrived, they ordered without making things complicated: coffees, a hot chocolate, and a slice of cake to share. Ana asked for water, but then, after seeing the cake, changed her mind and requested a fork "just in case."
"That wasn't very convincing," Madison remarked.
"I'm not here to convince anyone," Ana replied, though she was smiling.
The conversation started with silly things and deliberately stayed that way.
Chloe explained how her little brother had tried to dye his hair with a marker at home, nearly driving their mother out of her mind. Brittany said that was still better than what a guy from her class had done when he showed up to a date wearing his father's cologne. Vivian shook her head, laughing.
"Sometimes guys seem like they're from another planet."
"Not all of them," Madison said gently. "But a suspicious number of them."
Madeleine was quieter, listening attentively. Every now and then, she nodded or added a short comment. When Chloe asked her what life in Newton was like, she answered without dramatizing it.
"Smaller. More predictable. Sometimes that's nice."
"Here, everyone finds out everything within five minutes," Brittany added. "If you sneeze on the second floor, by the time you reach the first floor, you already know who dislikes you."
Ana raised her glass.
"Then Sussex wins on account of silence."
"For now," Vivian conceded.
At one point, a couple of guys from school walked into the café and spotted them. One of them waved at Madison. She returned the greeting politely and continued talking to Chloe as if nothing had happened. The other stared a second too long at Vivian and Brittany, but didn't approach them. The group didn't give them an opening. Not out of hostility; they were simply busy enjoying each other's company.
"Does that happen to you a lot?" Ana asked quietly, looking at Madison.
Madison understood immediately.
"Yeah. It bothers you at first. Then you learn not to let it stop you."
Chloe nodded.
"The worst part is when they think saying hello to you automatically means you're having a conversation."
Brittany clicked her tongue.
"Or when they ask if you have a boyfriend before they even ask your name."
"Exactly," two or three of them said at the same time, and laughter returned to the table.
The cake disappeared between shared forks. When Vivian noticed Madeleine hesitating, she pushed the plate toward her.
"Eat. We're not going to make a speech over a slice of cake."
Madeleine accepted, looking almost embarrassed, and Chloe took the opportunity to say:
"I like you. Both of you. And I barely even know you."
Ana raised an eyebrow.
"That sounded dangerously sincere."
"It is," Chloe replied. "Sometimes it's nice to meet new people who don't come with the school handbook tucked under their arms."
Madison looked at Vivian.
"Seriously. If you come around here again, you don't have to wait until you run into us by accident. You can let us know."
Vivian held her gaze for a moment. There was warmth in it. Nothing forced.
"Thanks. That… means a lot."
Brittany raised her coffee cup in an impromptu toast.
"To Sundays when nothing important gets done."
"That's exactly the point," Ana said.
They left as the afternoon began to fade. The air was cooler now. They walked together for a while, unhurried, still mingling: Madison explaining to Madeleine how to get to the station more easily, Chloe asking Ana if her school had cheerleaders too, and Brittany inventing ridiculous names for the guy who wore his father's cologne. Vivian was a little quieter, but not sad. Just present.
At the corner where the group had to split up, they stopped.
"The bus won't wait for us," Ana said.
"Neither will mine," Madison added. "Chloe, if we don't leave now, my dad's going to start sending messages as if we've crossed state lines."
Chloe rolled her eyes.
"Dramatic, but true."
They hugged without making a big deal out of it. It was quick and natural. Madison gave Vivian's arm a gentle squeeze as she said goodbye. Brittany gestured to Chloe with a casual "See you around." Madeleine, less accustomed to this sort of thing, still managed to say goodbye with a small, genuine smile.
When Madison and Chloe crossed the street, Ana let out a breath.
"They're… easy to get along with."
"Yeah," Brittany said. "Sometimes you forget people like that exist."
Vivian looked toward the spot where they had disappeared, then turned to her friends.
"Today was good again."
"Today was better," Madeleine corrected softly.
They didn't talk about notebooks. They didn't talk about letters. They didn't talk about anything that might break the thin layer of calm still covering them.
They simply walked together to the bus stop, still laughing about the guy with the cologne, still tasting cinnamon, still just girls
hanging out
among themselves.