Run, Girl (If You Can)

It wasn't Keeley's best birthday but it certainly wasn't her worst. The day passed relatively uneventfully after her conversation with her dad.

She got texts, Facebook messages, and Instagram posts wishing her a great day from a variety of people but only got a couple in person. Aiden even wished her a happy birthday from Sweden.

After her dad dropped her back on campus, the only people she saw that even knew about her birthday were Erica and Dr. Kim. Dr. Kim was feeling generous and brought her lab assistants pizza to celebrate.

She didn't even get a face-to-face birthday wish from Valentina because she was already asleep by the time her roommate got home from her shift at the hospital. It wasn't that big of a deal. Birthdays didn't matter so much when you were an adult.

The rest of finals passed in a haze. She couldn't believe she only had one semester left now before she would officially be a geneticist. She was so close she could taste it!

Keeley had overloaded her last two semesters with classes so she could afford to take the summer off to finish her research in the lab. This was the first summer semester since starting grad school that she wouldn't be studying. It would almost feel like a real job.

True adulthood was rapidly approaching. She had been a student so long that she didn't really know what that was like.

The combination birthday/end of the semester celebration with her friends at the movies had been the only thing sustaining her through finals. She approached them in front of the theater with a wide smile on her face.

"What are you so happy about?" Ryan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because she's free for the summer, idiota!" Valentina chastised him partially in her native language.

"You don't know how terrible it is to be a graduate student. I don't get a summer break at all; I have to keep doing rotations, focus on writing my essays for residency applications, AND get ready for step 2 of my licensing exams."

She was so frustrated that she gave up on English completely and began ranting in rapid fire Spanish.

"Is she okay?"

"Medical students are never okay," Jennica said with a laugh. "Trust me, I've lived with one."

"Technically I'm part of the medical school too," Keeley reminded her. "Poor Val's life is a bit more hectic than mine and it's only going to get worse. I'm almost done but she still has her whole residency ahead of her."

Valentina fake wept dramatically and her girlfriends each took a shoulder to pat consolingly.

"I'm sorry I brought it up," Ryan said, stifling a laugh. "Come on, let's go get the snacks. My treat."

"You're an angel, Ryan," Valentina sniffed.

She couldn't afford snacks. She couldn't even really afford the movie but Jennica paid for her ticket because she wanted her to come on a rare afternoon off. Not being allowed to have a job really takes a toll on your finances.

 "We should get a jumbo bucket of popcorn to share," Jennica suggested. "You can still get Keeley whatever she wants because she's the birthday girl. I'll share my Twizzlers too."

Keeley clapped her hands together as she perused the menu. Those nachos were calling her name but the chocolate-covered cookie dough bits also looked amazing.

She sheepishly asked if she could get both and Ryan agreed because it was a special occasion. They all got sodas too so it was quite a feat getting all the food into the top row of the theater without spilling anything.

The movie had a pretty lame villain but that hardly mattered. There were some good funny moments that made up for it. The best part for Keeley was making snarky commentary with her friends and eating a week's worth of junk in one sitting.

Even though she spilled nacho cheese on her jeans it was still worth it. And those cookie dough bits were amazing. Why didn't they sell those anywhere but movie theaters?

Keeley had needed this. She was the type to recharge her batteries by spending time with people she cared about. Hanging out with friends was always her go-to way to destress.

After the movie they chattered on about what they had just seen as they exited the theater.

"I totally saw the twist with the villain coming," Jennica sighed in disappointment.

Ryan shrugged. "Well, yeah, we all did. At least they had henchmen who were actually realistic. 'I don't even like working here; they are so weird' is the kind of reaction someone would actually have when a gun was pointed at them."

"I liked that realistic touch too," Keeley admitted.

"I don't understand why you guys even like these kinds of movies," Valentina complained. She didn't get the appeal of superheroes since they weren't nearly as big a deal in Peru as they were in the United States.

"So you only came for the snacks."

"And to see you! You're always with Cameron," she pouted.

"And you're always at the hospital," Jennica countered. "It's only because we don't live together anymore. I barely saw you as it was."

She scowled, not having a response. Her friend was right.

"Don't worry; we'll have lots of fun at the bachelorette party next month. Right, Keeley?"

Keeley hadn't even started officially planning it yet. Ugh, she was screwed. How far out did reservations need to be made anyway?

"Right!" she said hastily. "Who all did you want to invite, anyway?"

"You two, Cameron's sisters, two sisters-in-law, and one of my actress friends. Including me, I think it's eight," Jennica said thoughtfully.

That wasn't so bad. Lydia's bachelorette party had been twice that size. Unfortunately Keeley still hadn't hammered out any of the details. She would need to start looking things up as soon as she got home.

"Thanks for including me in the conversation, guys," Ryan said sarcastically. They had nearly forgotten he was there because they were too wrapped up in their girl talk.

"Sorry Ryan!" they all chorused together before exchanging glances and bursting out laughing. Friends were such a wonderful thing.