left behind

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!" we stood there, shouting with joy. Then we looked at each other and kept shouting, hugging, and hopping. My 5 former roommates were still beautiful and lively. Suddenly my long, dreadful journey to Iowa found its worth.

"What took you so long!!?!?" exclaimed Joel, hug-lifting me. I used to dislike it. It made me feel like a little child dependent on this tall, strong figure. But I didn't care this time.
"Is that a mint? I thought you got a piercing on your tongue in LA. Hey, you never know!" he said with his pierced lips. After finishing up his engineering studies, he wants to go to a grad school for Technical Theatre. Awesome.

"Hani so Yaaaang!" Alex and Nate shouted out and gave me a hesitant hug in the hallway, instantly bringing all the fun memories.
"How much did you miss me? Say, on a scale of 1 to 10?" Nate asked few days later and I hesitated. When he had told me about his drastic change, I wanted to fly back and listen to him so badly. But then, we'd forget each other, busy with our own journeys. His lifestyle has changed drastically and I can't wait to hear his new songs and great testimonies in 3 weeks.

"Stand up!" Alvin gently demanded and gave me a hug. We had been talking so constantly while I was away that I didn't feel like we were apart at all. And it was too early. But still, it was good to see him.

Seth had grown up. Funny, he's only 7 months younger but I could tell he had become even more mature within the past year we hadn't seen each other. All the traveling would do it.

Sam, Alice, Sae Mee, Vero, and the Shims were too familiar. I felt like I was coming back home to them after a short break. Had I ever left this place? Travis talking about...engineering stuff, Emily's sweet chitchat, Kate talking about her future with Nic, literary and honest chat with Laura and Sonya, playing a super random board game with Kelsey and Brit, and naming the zebra thingy on my cellphone with Alex. I needed this. Not all movie-oriented, warm and deeply caring people. I hadn't realized how much, how badly I had missed them until I saw them.
Then I was left behind and it was time to say goodbye again.

My former roommates and I stood in silence, trying to smile and avoid the tears. 3 of them will be student teaching next semester away from home--both where their family is and where their friends are. We each said a heartfelt prayer out loud, tightly hugging in a circle at 1am. But I didn't cry as much as I did at the LAFSC banquet. I will see them soon. So soon that I won't even remember why we had said a tearful goodbye.