User blog comment:Doctor Rivers/Passing of Time/@comment-25195920-20140814032221/@comment-25195920-20140814044327

Its not so much that relationships fade as they would have less in common. Think about, by the time her old friends catch up, Ruby would have been a Beacon student for two solid years, two years they won't have, good and bad. Ruby will be fully accepted by the others of her grade level and her old friends will have to deal with the fact they are new, they don't know as much, they arent as good and i can tell you from harsh experience that taxes a relationship. To give a real world example (yes from my own life, shut it), i left for a religious mission that lasted 14 months. While i only went to Southern Arizona and New Mexico for it (Georgia boy here) i learned a lot and had certain things change and develope while i was gone. I have been back for a couple months and quickly realized that i had little in common with the folks i used to hang with. While some of our shared interests and past experiences were still there and still gave us common ground we all had changed in the time apart. Its a similar and more drastic situation with Ruby and her old friends. Ruby will have experienced things and changed in a way they will not be able to comprehend, she's a team leader for example, and that will tax their relationship, likely irreparibly. Now, admitedly, Ruby has better social skills than i do so maybe she will be able to salvage things with her old friends where i couldn't but i doubt it will be as it was.