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If there was one thing Eliza was good at, it was throwing parties. Her graduation party was no exception.
It had started around mid afternoon and was still going strong late that night. Or that morning, if you wanted to be technical.
That's why she was sitting on her balcony, after all, getting ready to watch the sunrise with her two best friends. The ones who had been by her side since childhood, who had seen her at her worst and still stuck around.
Jane and George.
Currently they were all cuddled together, Eliza sitting comfortably squished between the two of them. Jane's head on one shoulder and George resting against her other side. Eliza stared at the sky, thinking back on everything that had led up to this moment.
All the tea parties, all the temper tantrums, all the late night study sessions, all the hospital visits, all the days spent playing at the Creek, they all led up to where they were now. And the more Eliza thought about it all, the worse she felt. It wasn't breaking news that Eliza had been a horrible kid. She had been mean and bratty to no end, and quite possibly more spoiled than any other kid in the state of Maryland. Eliza had accepted this years ago, and had worked hard on becoming a better person. (She wasn't perfect, but hey, it's the thought that counts.) Yet sitting with the other two Tea Timers, Eliza couldn't help but remember how poorly she had treated them. It had been horrible. She had been horrible. (As horrible as any ten year old can get, any ways.)
"Eliza? You okay?" George asked, dragging Eliza back to the present.
"Why do you ask?" Eliza knew why the moment the words left her mouth. Her voice was thick and eyes filled with unshed tears.
"Is something wrong?" Jane lifted her head, staring into Eliza's face.
Eliza couldn't hold it back, blurting the words out in a rush. "I'm sorry."
There was a moment of silence. "For what?" George asked, voice soft.
"For everything. I was a horrible friend."
"Eliza, you weren't--"
"No, I really was, Jane. I ordered George around all the time, I ignored you all the time, I always made everything about me--"
"Eliza!" Jane said, grabbing Eliza's shoulder so that the two girls were facing each other. "Why are you bringing this up now? You haven't done anything like that since we were kids."
"But I never apologized." Eliza said, forcing herself to keep the tears from falling. This wasn't about her. “Even if it was all years ago, you both deserve an apology.” Quietly Eliza thought about all the other people she owed apologies as well. All the kids who she had teased and pushed around. (Though so many kids from the past had been scattered to the winds, it would be nigh impossible to try and find each of them.)
Jane sat there for a moment, hands limp on Eliza’s shoulders.
“You’re right.” She finally said. “We do deserve an apology. What you did hurt, a lot.” There was a beat of silence. “But, you’re not a bad friend anymore.”
“You’ve changed so much since then.” George said, taking Eliza's hand in his own. "We've seen that change first hand."
"And believe me," Jane added, "If you weren't a good friend, we wouldn't be sitting here right now." Jane smiled at Eliza. "But here we are."
That was the straw that broke the camels back. Eliza let herself crumple into Jane's arms. She still wasn't crying, but the emotions were washing over her, drowning her.
It was such a relief.
She had been so scared they would leave her the second they didn't share classes anymore.