Britain was supposed to leave the European Union on March 29. That was pushed back until April 12. Now, with no exit agreement in Parliament, British Prime Minister Theresa May asked the European Union for another extension on Friday. If everyone is lucky, Brexit will become Brextension.

The Brexit circus has stretched on for more than two years and, like a student who never really came up with a topic for the final paper, Parliament struggled to come up with a way out at the last minute.

Predictably, it failed. May’s deal didn’t pass and the only things that lawmakers seem able to agree on is that they didn’t want to leave without a deal and that they needed more time to figure it all out.

A long extension, beyond the proposed June 30 deadline floated by May, would give Parliament time to hammer out an agreement and review various options and reset the toxic politics that have dominated Westminster over the past few weeks. It would also allow for a reset and a break from feverish attempts to find a solution by voting on measures that have already failed.

For the EU, a long extension is also the better option. A short one would only set the stage for more drama when it expires, threatening to repeatedly drag the EU into approving desperate pleas for more time every few months.

Even worse, a short extension would add to the chaos that European Union elections are already likely to bring. In her letter on Friday, May indicated that by asking for an extension, she was committed to participating in the elections as required. But an extension that expired shortly after those elections were held would, especially if pro-EU candidates were elected, set the stage for another clash and likely more deadlock.

One possibility, as floated by European Council President Donald Tusk, is a flexible extension that would allow Britain to leave the EU if and when Parliament reached a deal. For May, who is wary of agreeing to a long extension, that option would both enable her to avoid the characterization of being anti-Brexit while also giving lawmakers the breathing room they need.

In short, when EU leaders meet Wednesday to determine the fate of Britian's relationship with the EU, Brexit should become Brextension.