Amy casually walked into the very loud cafeteria and spotted her friends quickly. They were sitting at their usual table talking very animated to each other and laughing. Amy smiled and headed over to them and she was met with friendly and excited greetings from all three. They had all been friends since kindergarten and spent as much time with each other as they could, especially now. This year would be the last year of high school for all of them and they had all gotten into different post secondary schools.
Heather, the one they all considered to be the brains of the group, was going all the way across the country to a super high-end school known for a lot of breakthrough scientific discoveries and very exclusive admission. When she got accepted, she was ecstatic and amazed but none of her friends were surprised. They all knew she'd be able to go wherever she wanted and would do great things.
Carla, the tiny, bubbly, artsy one, of course got into one of the better art schools. Not too far away from their home town. Carla had a very close family and she didn't want to go too far away from them. She wanted to be able to come back home and visit as much as possible while still attending a school that would give her great opportunities. As such, she had to settle for a less well-known school close by. She was more than happy with this choice however and she and her friends made her school the hub for any future hangouts they could schedule.
Kenzie, the one with rich parents, managed to get into a school in another country. Her family had the connections and influence to allow her to apply to many schools around the world and pick the one she wanted most. Not because the school was better but just because she wanted to spend a few years in that country. She would be able to fly home whenever she wanted and had a private tutor to teach her any language she'd need to do well, no matter what she chose.
Amy, however, was staying home. She and her family were unable to afford any post secondary school and her father refused to go into a huge amount of debt with student loans. This was expected and Amy knew she'd likely be getting a job that did not require a post secondary education and she was perfectly fine with that. She loved her town and was quite happy to make a life here, no matter what her job ended up being.
Which is why it was always so surprising when she made the announcement that everyone knew was coming. She had pulled out an envelope containing a plane ticket and displayed it on the table in front of her. She looked around with a big grin on her face as her friends all created a drum roll on the table. They thrummed loudly with big excited grins as they waited for the reveal. Finally, after enough suspense was built, Amy pulled the ticket out and slapped it on the table between the four girls.
"Japan!" She called out excitedly, and sure enough, the ticket was a two way trip to Japan and back. Her three friends all lit up and looked at it in awe.
"That's amazing!" Carla exclaimed
"Ooooh! I always wanted to go to Japan!" Heather lamented, "They have such a fascinating culture!"
"No way!" Kenzie said with a hint of jealousy, "That's one of the few places I've never been! How are you affording these trips every year!?"
Amy grinned, absolutely elated at the response her friends were giving her. She shrugged at Kenzie's question and told them what she told them every time she announced her big annual trip;
"Hard work and saving." She said.
The other girls rolled their eyes having heard this every year. Not one of them bought it but they could never get any other explanation out of her. Of course, that did not stop them from trying.
"That must have been a lot of hard work" Heather posited
"Yes." Amy replied grinning
"Japan is super expensive for tourists." Kenzie warned, "It's not just the ticket there"
"It is." Amy agreed, "That's why I have a bunch more saved for that too!"
"I'm gonna miss you!" Carla pouted "Just tell us how you really afford it before we barely see each other anymore!"
Amy gave a small chuckle at the guilting and blatant accusation from her friend and just shrugged again. "I dunno how to convince you guys but that's the truth."
Her friends all made disappointed faces and sat back in their seats defeated, knowing they'll not get the truth out of her today. As they did, Amy checked the time on her phone and stood up.
"Well, my flight is in a few hours. I just came to say goodbye to you guys! I'm gonna miss you all so much! I'll send you all so many pictures you'll get annoyed with me!"
They all laughed and stood and surrounded their friend, hugging her in a big circle. They stayed that way laughing as Amy tried to get out of it but they wouldn't let her. Eventually, through her laughing protestations, they let her go. She grabbed her ticket off the table and headed out of the cafeteria, walking backwards and waving until she got through the door.
The three remaining friends sat back down in their seats and looked at each other.
"So obviously she is getting money some other way, right?" Kenzie said, "There's no way hard work gets you a big trip like that every year...right?"
The other girls nodded, occasionally Kenzie had a bit of a warped idea of what is actually possible without a seemingly endless supply of money, but in this case Carla and Heather agreed with her assessment.
"My parents aren't crazy rich but they do pretty well," Heather told them, "And even we can only take a big vacation every few years or so."
Carla stared at the cafeteria door as she had been since Amy left, "So how does Amy do it every year! And why won't she tell us!?" She looked almost hurt by this
