Exactly Who They Were

Beck’s Green Lemon, Billy Talent and The Killers at full volume, Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament brackets—this is Friday night at its best and I can’t think of anything I’d trade it for.

What hit me is how little has actually changed in the seven years most of us have known each other. Sarah still has a mouth on her that would embarrass a sailor. Ali can win any game put in front of him, probably blindfolded. Kalli remains the specific breed of unsettling oddball he has always been. Everybody looks different on the outside. Nobody is different where it counts.

I’d been telling myself those days were over—summers on the playground near the Zugspitze, shooting walls by the old hut, Nintendo tournaments that ran until someone’s parents arrived. Apparently not. Maybe we’re not finished after all. That’s a better feeling than I expected.