I could smell the coffee, hear the grinders roaring as the created a fine powder of energy, and was entertained by the students as they buzzed about, mingling amongst their cohorts. My mind stirred with little flickers of the ocean. The way the salty air tasted and the seagulls cried to their tribe. There was an intense craving for this uninhibited freedom. My soul was grasping at the calm picture forming in my mind. As I looked up from a mixed group of happily chattering students I saw her, my closest friend. She seemed to notice me at the exact same moment in time. A large smile crept amongst both of our exhausted faces. We reached each other and in moments a plan was formulated "I need a mental health day" I proclaimed "Where are we going? What're we doing? Screw it...I'm over it" my friend laughed as we continued straight forward, out the large double doors, as if motion was propelling us in to our own quiet world. . "So...where are we going?" She asks "The Coast. I need to be free with the birds, sand, and eat at Mo's" She thought for a moment as her normal smile of bemusement played across her face. You could see that she was weighing her options. Does she go? Does she stay? After a few moments between my friend and I the answer was settled as her car came in to view. The air was crisp with the touch of a late autumn. The leaves stirred in tandem with a gentle whisper of a breeze. An energetic buzz culminated between the earth and us two girls. We were connected with the moment, transfixed on a soul search for tranquility. Our doors shut in sync as she swiftly turned the car over and hastily threw her old beater into reverse. Our mental health day was in play and not a single thought of the emotionally crippling week we had both endured was anywhere in our minds Locked in time that of our own we drove. As we ventured to the coast I found myself being half involved in our conversations and half enthralled with the color variat