Fractals

— Jackson, please hurry. I can’t be late for my shift.

— Sure, Mom. One minute…

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not the kind of guy who puts effort into skincare or impeccable outfits. No, this is all about style. And getting the perfect messy hair? That takes a master.

Wide grin.

— Jackson, last call, or you’re walking.

Usually, we barely even see each other. Mom’s a nurse and a single parent, so she picks up double shifts most of the time just to give us a life where nothing’s missing. Most days, we pass each other more than we actually sit down for a shared meal.

Except this week.

She managed to get assigned to day shifts this week, which means she can drop me off at school on her way to the hospital. The only mornings where our apartment suddenly turns into a speedrun challenge.

“I’m the easygoing one,” Ness, my best friend, always says. Her way of teasing me for following her everywhere while somehow keeping my smile intact.

She knows exactly what to do or say to wrap me around her finger. It’s always been that way.

And honestly? I can’t imagine my life without her in it.

We pick up my friend on our way to school. Her family has always been there for me whenever I’m alone, so it’s only fair Mom drives both of us when she can.

We never really have to say it out loud. That’s just how things have been since my dad died when I was a toddler.

The Headcliffs’ house has become my second home… or maybe my first, to be honest. I spend more time there, where life actually is, than alone in an empty house.

I spot her waiting at the corner and roll down the window.

— Hey Ness, hop in…

Mom smiles as she greets her.

— Good morning, Ana.

— Good morning, Miss Cooper. Thanks for the ride.

— You’re welcome, sweetheart. And please, call me Erin. It’s not like we haven’t known each other for years… even if we barely get to spend time together.

Ness nods, but I already know calling an adult by their first name is going to be difficult for her.

Mom’s the chatty one in the car. Sometimes it feels like being trapped in a police interrogation.

— Honey… since when has Ana become “Ness”?

The way she says it makes me blush.

Me. Blushing.

Unbelievable.

— Mom!

Erin doesn’t let go. She keeps digging because she senses something shifted. Mom smells emotional gossip the way sharks smell blood.

— Ana, since when does my son call you Ness? Did you ask him to?

My friend stays cooler than I’ll ever be.

— Almost a year, I think. It happened after I realized I never heard him call me when other friends were yelling “Ana” across the hallway. So he decided to come up with something more unique.

Mom never lets it go.

— And?

I can see Ness wondering how she’s supposed to answer that.

— And what?

— Does it make you feel special?

She lifts a shoulder slightly, like Mom’s looking for answers that don’t even exist. Meanwhile, Ness looked perfectly relaxed. Traitor.

— His friend, I guess.

— My best friend…

I wink at her and she grins back.

She’s so cute.

Once we get to school, we’re basically inseparable.

Maybe that could become a problem at some point, but we’ve never reached that breaking point. I guess it could happen if she ever gets a boyfriend or something…

So far, neither of us has ever minded sticking together.

Today’s my individual meeting with the guidance counselor. I’m gonna check what would give me the best chances of getting into a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting at the University of Texas. Living in Austin kind of makes it the obvious choice.

Now I just need to figure out how to improve my chances of getting a scholarship.

From that moment on, everything slowly seemed to fall into place, like pieces of a puzzle leading me toward my dream.

Of course, I got help along the way. But the one who truly made it possible… my biggest supporter, my constant cheerleader, my coach whenever I needed one, my light whenever doubt crept in, the shoulder I leaned on whenever life felt too heavy…

Ness never let me down. Not even once. I honestly have no idea how she manages to handle so much all at once, but that’s just who she is with me.

The best friend I could ever ask for.

The chosen family of a lonely guy like me.

The only soul capable of understanding mine and soothing it.

Sometimes, I feel like she believes in my dream even more than I do myself…

So discovering, a few weeks later, that Ness had chosen to follow me to the same university could have seemed logical to most people. We live in Austin, after all, and the University of Texas is only about a thirty-minute drive from home.

Yet…

She’s always been the creative one. The one able to see beauty in things I still stare at with doubt written all over my face.

Maybe that’s why she picked me in the first place.

Honestly, I’m still not sure if Ness became my best friend… or just decided I looked too socially hopeless to leave unattended.

Banana smile.

So this September, I’ll be starting a BFA in Acting and Theatre while she’ll be focusing on a BFA in Costume Design.

Both our parents agreed that Anastasia moving into my place would make more sense for classes and transportation.

This summer, we’re both getting our driver’s licenses and buying a second-hand car we’ll share.

Everyone agrees it’s the best way to avoid unnecessary expenses. Staying at home instead of moving onto campus means longer days, but with the car we’ll buy thanks to our summer jobs, it becomes way more affordable.

My scholarship covers everything, including tuition and textbooks. Ness got a partial scholarship covering the tuition fees only, which is already a huge help.

We’ve always had our own ways of dealing with life together.

Yeah, we still eat at her parents’ place most of the time. But more and more often, we’ve started organizing meals on our own. A mix of leftovers from our moms and student junk food the rest of the week.

I’m pretty sure that with her living at my place, the junk food ratio is about to rise dramatically.

Can two human beings survive on pizza alone?

We were probably about to find out.