A Trip to Circle Lake

It all began the summer before their freshman year of college; a group of life-long best friends, on a mission to make this summer their best yet; to fill it with memories they would never forget before they each went their separate ways in the fall.

Each of them were different, but understood each other better than words can describe; four girls who were fresh out of high school, and ready to take on the world. There was Jessi: the oldest and wisest of them all, the intellectual. And then there were Elizabeth and Katie, two bubbly twin sisters who made up the back bone of the group’s friendship. And then finally, there was Ali who was shy and quiet, but completely herself with her friends. They wanted to do something fun for their last weeks in their hometown. Sadly, the best thing they could think of was a camping trip to Circle Lake just a few miles from Jessi’s house. The four girl’s had an amazing time at Circle lake that summer, they spent their trip swimming in the fresh lake and sharing their brimming excitement for college. They never expected that so much time would pass before they were reunited again.

Six years had passed since that trip, six summers had gone by that the girl’s hadn’t all been together. Each of them had moved on: Elizabeth was now engaged, Jessi was on her way to becoming a surgeon, Ali had just started her career as a high school teacher, and Katie had become a married house wife. So many things had changed over the years. When they went camping that summer, six years before, they had made a pact to keep in touch and never lose one another, but, much like it always does, life had gotten in the way.

One hot and humid June afternoon, Ali received an unexpected phone call, and when she picked up the phone, she was shocked to hear her old friend Jessi on the other end.

“I’ve been missing you guys so much lately! Do you remember that silly pact we made? Well, I understand if you’ve moved on, but I was just wondering if you’d want to get together with Katie and Elizabeth this weekend?” Jessi said with a remorseful tone in her voice, perhaps feeling sorry that so much time had passed since she’d take with Ali.

“Wow, it’s great to hear from you! And yeah, my schedules free, what do you have in store for us this weekend? Not another lame camping trip, right?” said Ali, hoping a camping trip wasn’t the plan.

There was an awkward pause before Jessi finally said, “Well, actually, I was planning another trip! It’ll be fun!”

A few days later, after finalizing the plans for the trip, they all met and Jessi’s and reluctantly made the drive out to Circle Lake. As quickly as they had disappeared from one another’s lives, they were reunited, and it was as if they had never been separated. That night they reminisced about everything they had experienced in their eighteen years together before they had gone their separate ways. They talked about their childhood, old teachers that they had, high school dances, and old boyfriends they swore they were going to marry back then. So many details of their past had been forgotten over the years, but the four of them also enjoyed being able to talk about the new events and accomplishments that had happened in each of their lives. It was like that lake were a time machine with a purpose of reuniting old friends.

The next morning as Ali began to wake up, she noticed something odd, and it wasn’t just the ancient tent they slept in, or the smell of the great outdoors, but it was that she felt young and vibrant and full of energy. She looked around at the other girls, sound asleep in their old sleeping bags. But something was different about them too, they all appeared younger. They each looked just like they had that first trip to Circle Lake; they all looked eighteen again!

Ali quickly started screaming for them to wake up, “You guys! Something weird is going on! Wake up! I…I think…I think we’re…eighteen again!”

“Quit yelling at me! What are you talking about?!”, Elizabeth retorted back, angry as a roaring lion that Ali had woken her up and interrupted her beauty sleep.

“Yeah, don’t be crazy, Ali! We’re all fine,” Jessi reassuringly said.

But once they were able to find a mirror, Ali’s suspicion was proved true.

“Jessi, you’re a doctor, tell us what’s happening!”, Elizabeth and Katie said in sync with each other, startled that they were now the eighteen-year old versions of themselves.

“I have no idea, don’t ask me! I’ve never seen anything like this before!” Jessi quickly blurted out, feeling bad she wasn’t able to assure her friends they’d be okay.

The four of them were unsure of what had happened, or how long their new youth would last, but they decided to spend that day enjoying it. They went swimming in the lake and spent their last day at the lake just as they had six years before.


They again brought up their old pact, and made a new promise to honor it; to always keep in touch. As they drove away from Circle Lake their youth began to fade, they were no longer eighteen anymore. However, that didn’t matter, what was important was their renewed friendship and excitement to be in each other’s lives once more.

The four of them never mentioned what happened at Circle Lake to anyone, but they now have a deeper understanding of friendship, after all, a circle of friends is round, it has no end.