The next day at school, Alise met her best friends Emma and Sophie. Emma was full of energy as usual, talking about her plans for the weekend and laughing loudly at Max's jokes as he tried to make fun of the teachers. Sophie, on the other hand, had that calm aura about her, always ready to discuss the latest books she had read.
"Hi, Alise!" Emma ran up to her as soon as the girl entered the classroom. "Do you have any plans for the weekend?"
"Of course I do!" Alise replied with a big smile. "At least I plan to relax a bit. Maybe I would paint something? We'll see."
"You know, I think I'll go for a walk in the park," Sophie added, sitting down next to them. "It always helps me, especially when I have something to think about."
"And I want to watch some new films," Emma said, looking at Max, who was telling a funny anecdote. "Although I'll probably end up watching the same old comedies I know by heart."
Alise looked at her friends with warmth in her heart. Although she sometimes felt a little different - perhaps because of her passion for painting, or the fact that she sometimes felt the world around her didn't quite understand her - she knew that here, at this school, with these people, she felt really good.
Max, as usual, jumped into the conversation. "Okay, okay, but that can't be all. Something has to be done over the weekend. How about doing something crazy? A film night or something?"
"Max, please stop," Emma laughed. "Your 'crazy' plans always end up with us not seeing each other for half a day afterwards!"
"Only when it has something to do with food," Max added with a broad smile. "Without food, I'm the one who doesn't move!"
All three laughed out loud. This was their routine. Sometimes, after a day of classes and chores, they could forget everything and just spend time together. Alise didn't know how much of a part these moments would play in her life, but she felt that these conversations and laughs were something she would never forget.
The bell rang to announce the end of the lesson. The classroom began to empty and the students dispersed in different directions. Alise, Emma, Max and Sophie stayed by the door for a while, laughing at a silly joke Max had made.
- Hey, you know what? - Emma giggled with a twinkle in her eye. - Why don't we have a sleepover at Alise's tonight? We haven't done that in a long time.
- Ooo, I'm all for it! - Sophie said happily. - Alise's mum and dad will definitely agree!
- As long as Max doesn't scare everyone with ghost stories," Alise added, nudging him with her elbow.
- Me, never in my life! - Max feigned indignation, but everyone knew that was exactly what he was planning.
At the same moment, Grace and Lucas walked by, having overheard the last sentence.
- A sleepover? - Grace raised her eyebrows, curious. - At Alise's? Seriously?
- Seriously," Emma confirmed. - Do you want to join us?
- Hm... maybe. But only if it's quiet after midnight. I have a lot of studying to do this weekend," Grace mumbled, but a slight smile appeared on her face.
- And I'll come over if there's pizza," Lucas' good friend Alise chimed in.
- Consensus. I'll order pizzas and other snacks. Meet me at my place at 6pm," Alise announced.
They all laughed and started down the corridor together. The sky was unusually cloudy that day, and somewhere in the background there was a faint rumble of thunder. But Alise was not yet thinking about that. She had an evening full of laughter, conversation and friends ahead of her... the last such evening before everything began to change.