Echos of Midnight Secrets

Intro

Let me introduce you to my group of friends. All four of us live in your typical cookie-cutter suburban neighborhood. We have been thick as thieves since we were teenagers.

Our friendship didn't end after school. We have been a support system through the ups and downs of life.

Michael is our stereotypical jokester. He loves to crack jokes to ease tension and even makes fun of himself. Nothing is off limits to what he will joke about. His hair may now start to show a little sprinkle of white, but his heart is still young.

Sarah is our fiery leader. She's the typical redhead, a little spitfire with a quick comeback but she's also one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet.

While we love to have fun, we must have the one person to keep us in line and that's David. He's the most serious and likely has an answer for anything. He's analytical.

Then there's me, Emily. I've been told my laughter could brighten the darkest day but that sounds a bit hokey if you asked me. More like something you'd hear someone say about the victim in a true crime case.

Even though we love to get together and have fun, life has become a bit of a rut. it's the same tedious thing. Get up, go to work, pay the bills, put out the fires of adulthood. You know. The basic boring shit.

I know we all feel it even though it goes as an unspoken thing. We miss our days of youth when we could spend time on our hobbies without feeling guilty.

We were all hanging out at Sarah's place as we usually do. On the TV was a reality show that was more background noise. You could feel the restlessness in the air that's hard to put into words.

Then one of my friends cut through the silence with a single question - "You guys remember the old teen center?"

It went quiet again as we all were lost in our thoughts about a time when life was more exciting, and the only stressful thing was whether we were going to pass Mr. Martin's math test.

That teen center had been our sanctuary, nothing could touch us there, we owned the world. I know I hadn't thought about it in forever. All the memories came rushing back.

Michael leaned in, that mischievous grin of his widening. "Imagine it – the dimly lit arcade, the walls covered in graffiti, and that ancient jukebox that belted out '80s tunes like it was still the coolest thing."

Sarah laughed a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "And let's not forget David's attempt at breakdancing. I swear I thought he'd break something for real."

David shrugged, that familiar half-smile on his lips. "Hey, I was just trying to experiment with the laws of physics, alright?" Always the scientist.

We all laughed fully emerging in the memories of our youth. We started swapping stories about our dreams, our adventures, and our unbreakable bond.

As the night progressed, we found the time passing fast.

We shared our stories and while we did, we started thinking that maybe for just one night we could revisit our youth. Our former glory days as it were.

I'm not sure who said it first, but the idea hung there for a moment while we all contemplated it.

Finally, it was Michael who said something.

"I say screw it. We should go back for just one more visit. Like a blast from the past. Plus, it'll give us a night away from our current lives."

It sounded crazy for four middle-aged friends to break into an abandoned building, but it also did sound fun.

I could use a good adventure in my life. I know the others felt the same. And so began our plan.