Cheers

The girls were ready. They waited for the light glowing below their door to go off. Chrissy let her arm fall from the top bunk and Ellie reached from below. They squeezed their hands, counting down.

First, the bedroom door shut. Ten minutes.

Then, the creak of old springs. Five minutes.

Finally, snoring. Go time.

Ellie slid from her bunk as Chrissy descended from hers. Chrissy lowered herself, with Ellie’s hands around her waist, landing soundlessly on the carpet.

The hallway did not betray them. Down the stairs, the left side for the first four, skip for fifth, center for the sixth, the right side for the last four. They entered into the kitchen and paused, refusing to be betrayed by their pounding hearts, and listening for the sounds of someone sleeping upstairs.

Places. Ellie to the cabinet, Chrissy with one hand on the freezer’s handle, and one on the fridge’s. Three-two-one-pull. All three doors opened.

Cups on the counter, vodka in the cups, orange juice in the vodka. They locked eyes with the first sip. Holding back giggles and fear, they swallowed. Both wondered, but neither wanted to ask aloud, if all of adulthood would taste so bittersweet.