The Last Taste of Freedom

It was the last day of summer. A short eventful summer. A perfect 2 and a half months of working, partying, fun dates, fire works, and more partying.

We made it to Montauk in time for brunch. Sat down at the bar in John's Pancake House and ate until we couldn’t.

Ideas of what we were going to do varied, but who was going to tell us no?

It was us, a full tank of gas, enough money, and a beautiful day to be had.

Woke up on the couch. It was my turn for the couch since I got a bed the first two nights. Nothing out of the ordinary. Poured myself a glass of orange juice and went through Instagram. The guys woke up not long after.

Eggs were made, arguments were had, and eventually we left the cabin.

The beach was windy. She wanted to stay, but once I got out of the water I wanted to leave the overrated sandbox. Sitting next to the tourists in their rented beach cabanas that cost a week's worth of pay at my job for an hour of nothing but shade.

From the truck to the lodge was ordinary, but the doors to the lodge were locked. One of us knocked. A Scrawny Guy with a mask on from inside the lodge opens the door no more than a few inches.

Scrawny Guy

Yaa, saarrry were closed.

One of us

Wait-what? We have lift tickets.

Scrawny Guy

Yea, you’ll get a refund. Okay? sorry-

One of us

Wait-why?

Scrawny Guy

There's a virus going around. Turn on the news.

We parked in town and went for a walk.

Bought a shirt that my girlfriend said was ugly. It was fresh.

As the hours went by, the topic of tomorrow crept in as it normally does. School was on the schedule.

It was the last day of summer and we planned it this way, but it was bittersweet. Being excited for school, while not wanting August to end will always be a specific feeling of in-between.

Even with full time jobs and many plans, summer lacks much structure compared to the other seasons. The academic years on the other hand reign supreme in many other aspects. Most people would rather be working or at school and having their lunch break at the same time everyday.

Whether or not you have plans for that day or your plans are not to have any.

It's nice to recognize the end.

On the way home, in low energy, we stopped at a diner.

After we ate, my mom called asking me to pick up toilet paper. After the phone call we looked up what was going on with this virus.

That morning, at a random diner in Vermont, we ate a great meal. Not knowing something so frequent was going to become so foreign.