⇌

 The sky was filled with stars and it was the kind of night where you weren’t sure if it was summer or autumn. It couldn’t fit completely in either categories, but was a blurred transition between the two.

⟵

When Amber finally heard her parents’ door click shut and saw the light disappear she threw the covers off of herself and jumped out of bed. She grabbed her things she had prepared earlier before pretending to go to sleep. She slipped on her sneakers and opened the window slowly to prevent any squeaking. After tossing her sleeping bag and bags of sugary goodies she climbed through the opening. She scaled down the trellis that she had often used so many nights before. Without missing a beat, she dropped the few feet left from the bottom of the trellis to the ground, picked up her things and jumped over the short fence separating the two houses.

Amber knew she could easily use the front door and the gate because her parents knew exactly where she would be (they had been doing this since their freshman year), but she decided that it was for the principle of sneaking out or at least tradition’s sake.

Once inside her neighbor’s yard she walked to the side of the house. The window on the second floor, directly across from her bedroom window, was open.

“Psst Myungsoo!” She tried her best at whisper yelling, a giggle escaping her lips. A few seconds later she watched a darkly dressed figure complete the same steps she had just done. He however, had seemed to lose one of his belongings. Amber, never being known for patience, hurried him along. Her leg slightly shook in sheer anticipation and adrenaline pumped through her veins.

Finally straightening after locating his last bag of sour patch kids, Myungsoo sighed, “When will you ever learn to have some patience Amber?” Even though it was dark, Amber could practically see him rolling his eyes.

She began walking towards his backyard when she retorted, “Maybe when you start doing things faster.”

Myungsoo’s laughter could be heard from behind before he choked out, “That’s what she said.”

Not bothering to even acknowledge his immaturity, she walked directly to the large trampoline set up in the Lee’s backyard. She tossed up her sleeping bag and carefully set her share of the snacks on top. After taking a few steps back, she took a running jump to get up on the trampoline. Myungsoo, being taller than Amber, got on much easier.

⇌

This ritual had started four years ago, the night before they started their freshman year. Both neighbors and childhood friends had trouble sleeping. For no apparent reason really, they had just decided to lie out on his trampoline and somehow sleep came easily. 

As they slipped inside their superhero sleeping bags and opened their cavity inducing treats, Amber couldn’t help but feel sad.

“If I could pause time, I would chose to just live this day forever for the rest of my life.”

Myungsoo his side to face her and he propped up his head with his arm. “Me too,” he whispered.

She scooted ever so closer to him and grabbed a sour worm before continuing. “It’s like we’re stuck between this stage of school and summer. It’s exciting, yet sad at the same time because there’s hope of what’s to come and reluctance to leave behind what you already have. In this eight-hour period, for one night, you’re not anything. You’re not a free teenager living a lazy summer and you’re not a stressed out student.” She slowly faded out not really knowing what she was even trying to say.

“You’re just stuck in transition.” He finished for her.

She smiled slightly to herself, “Yeah. Stuck in transition.”

Myungsoo laid back down flat, crossing his arms behind his head. “I think people tend to think you’re either one thing or another. You go to sleep as something and wake up as something else. But nobody ever seems to remember that transitioning stage, where at some point you are both things at once or neither.”

Amber wrapped her arms around herself, “But I don’t think the transition is all the bad. It’s something unique and easily overlooked, maybe even better than either of the two things. ” The pair both nodded in mutual agreement.

A comfortable silence settled around them. The stars twinkled brightly and the only source of light was the soft glow of the street lamps. Myungsoo slowly wrapped his arms around the girl’s frame and Amber rested her head on the boy’s shoulder. Neither of them said anything, but both were thinking the same thing. That maybe they were stuck in transition as well. Not quite just friends, but not in love yet either.

Eventually the two could no longer ward off the inevitable sleep. Both were unwilling to fall asleep and wake up a different person in a different state. No longer in that fleeting stage of transition. The pair slept side by side in their matching superman and batman sleeping bags as the transitioning phase slowly slipped away.

⟶

When they woke, the air hung dense around them thick with chill. The grass was covered in dew and the sky had a grey tinge. Any signs of summer were already lost. Amber’s head had fit right in the curve of Myungsoo’s neck and somehow in the middle of the night, their fingers had intertwined. He turned his head slightly and kissed her forehead. They had woken up in a different season, a different grade, and a different relationship.

“Guess we’re not stuck in transition anymore,” he said softly.

Amber wrapped her arms around his waist taking in his scent. “Guess not.”