The sun shone warmly from a clear azure sky down to the green-brown grass, slightly scorched from the heatwave in which we were. Summer haze drifted across the college playing fields as I stood just within the boundary, just past the fence. I gazed at the view, and heard faint strains of music come floating over from the opposite side of the area.

In glimpses as the haze varied in density, I now made out several cars, and beside these cars, people. The music came from their direction, and by the sound of it, was Michael’s.

I walked around the edge of our playing field, making use of the little shade the sparse shrubbery afforded. One bush, denser than most, rustled as I neared, as if affected by some zephyr of a breeze. Strange, I thought, on such a calm day…

A girl leapt from behind the shrub, and rugby tackled me to the ground. She sprang off, and I rolled twice.

Grinning broadly, she sprinted away. Grinning in a similar way, I made chase.

After fewer than twenty seconds, she stopped running, settling instead for a slow walk. I caught up, and put my arm around the slight, pretty blonde. "Yeah good to see you too," I said.

Alicia smiled, and flicked her long, dark-blonde hair away from her face. "Weren’t going to beat me though, were you," she stated good-naturedly.

"Well…" I stretched.

"Nope." Alicia grinned, putting her own arm around my waist. "Hey thought you weren’t coming."

"Yeah? What gave you that impression?" I knew exactly the answer.

"Hm, let me think! Perhaps the part where you told me that if there was music you weren’t even going to be here?"

"You know how I like your music, babe."

"Right. So how’s you, anyway? Not seen you since the end of term."

"No, I’ve been busy at my job, you know. Yeah I’m good. You?"

"Been better. Like when we were closer, perhaps?"

I sighed. "Yeah, it was great. Loved every second of it. Hey – whatever happens though, don’t you be going and forgetting me!"

"Forget you? How could I forget you?" Alicia’s eyes lit up for a second. "Got an idea," she said.

"Shoot."

"First one to the radio gets to play their music."

Although I had given chase, what hope did I have against the region’s champion sprint runner? Alicia had reached the player first, and had negotiated with Michael to put her style on. Nineties anthems never had held much appeal for me, yet somehow, lying on the bonnet and windscreen of Dave’s red Ford Escort, with Alicia beside, talking away the summer afternoon, I felt warmed, and more than by the blazing sphere above us. The sparkly tones of songbirds added nature to the scene, and I had never felt more at home than then.

As afternoon drew into late afternoon, and so into evening, the sun cooled, and the breeze lifted. The sky retained its hue, but was perhaps deeper.

"Come in with me?" Alicia rolled off the car.

"In?"

"It’s open for the night classes from five, and it’s five thirty already. I need to get my tutorial folder from my locker."

I sighed. "Your locker? You can go yourself."

Alicia got up, and without looking behind began to wander slowly in the direction of the building.

I followed, as she knew I would. "Wait up."

Having entered the college through the main entrance, we proceeded to cross the entire place to the stair on the opposite side.

It seemed eerie, as the silence rang loud in my ears. I knew my friend was feeling the same; the shady, empty classrooms where we used to learn, the deserted corridors, the barren and open lockers, once used by our peers. It had finished, and this was the last time we would come here. This was goodbye.

Not to each other, for we would all see each other again in two weeks, and once more for New Year. Two dances, and we knew that everyone would be there.

We arrived at the bottom of the flight of stairs that led up to our tutor group classroom.

"Race you?" Alicia challenged.

"Not on your life," I replied. "You remember last time!"

"Yeah, I do seem to recall something about that…"

"You ‘recall something’? Hm how about you raced me down the stairs, and then stood on my foot on the eighth stair from last?"

Alicia cocked her head on one side, and started up the staircase. "Nope, no recollection." She smiled an impish smile.

Our tutor room was, of course, on the top floor, and the furthest away from the stairs possible. As we neared, we saw that the door was closed.

"Looks locked, Al." I walked up to the door and pretended to try the handle. "Yeah, locked. Do you know if the cleaner has a key?"

"Too many times, Jon, too many times." Alicia opened the door herself. Walking in, she made her way over to the locker in the opposite corner. "Key, Jon."

I tossed her the key, which I had ‘borrowed’ from her pocket when we had met up earlier.

"Here it is," she said, pulling out a substantial file.

"Travel light, don’t you."

"Always."

It was late, and the haze that had been there since the morning had dissipated. The warmth, however, remained, as Alicia and I sat on the steps outside our college.

"There’s the dance." Alicia put her head on my shoulder.

"Yeah, and the New Year’s one."

"I’ll bring my boyfriend."

"I thought you two had finished?"

She smiled. "Yeah, then we got back together. What about you and Jen?"

"Too many jokes about our names."

Alicia kissed my cheek, stood, and left. And as the evening sun touched the hills, I knew this was it.