To Best Friend ( Story of How does a Friendship start)
I was always an introvert at heart, but meeting Jessica has changed my perspective on life. Let me tell you the story of how Jessica impacted my life and how a single necklace has forever captured our friendship.
I was never a big fan of being social. Ever since I was a child, I had always kept to myself. I think it stems from my parent’s divorce. They started out in love, and then after they had me, things started to change. I grew up watching them constantly fight. I think subconsciously, I didn’t want to let anyone into my heart because I never wanted to end up hurt like my parents. How could you go from loving someone one day to hating them the next? That was a question I never wanted to answer myself. So, I guess you could say that growing up; I kept a wall up around my heart. I never wanted to feel hurt or betrayed, but I never even considered all the good that could also come from love. The day I met Jessica, the walls that were surrounding my heart came tumbling down.
It was Junior year of high school, and as usual, I ate my lunch on the bleachers outside alone. I loved the fresh air and being able to watch the other students from afar. I took a bite of my turkey sandwich when I heard a voice next to me speak.
“The track team here is terrible, aren’t they?”
I peered over to see a short, blonde girl sitting next to me. I had no idea when she got there or how long she had been sitting there, but I just nodded in reply to her question.
“My name is Jessica,” she said. “What is your name?”
“Amy,” I replied.
“Nice to meet you, Amy,” she smiled. “I hope you don’t mind me sitting next to you, but this looked like the perfect place to eat lunch.”
“I don’t mind at all,” I say.
We started talking about Tommy Stevens, the only cute boy on the track team. Every girl in school had a crush on him, including Jessica and me. After we bonded over the only cute boy in school, we moved on to movies and music. It turned out that Jessica and I had a lot in common. We could practically be sisters. We loved the same movies, books, and even music. From that day on Jessica and I were inseparable. We ate lunch together, rode back and forth to school together, and even spent almost every weekend together at one of our houses; we usually rotated. We were even talking about what colleges we should apply for next year. I was so happy to find a friend just like Jessica.
Summer break came quicker than I had anticipated; when you have friends in school, the school year seems to fly by. Jessica and I were deciding what to do for summer break. After a few long talks, we had decided to take a road trip to New York City. Her dad had a condo there that was rarely used, so he told us we could stay there for the summer. I had never been to a big city. I had grown up in this small town in Maine and never really left the state. I was very much looking forward to our adventure. We left the city shortly after summer had started; it didn’t take us long to get to New York.
When we had arrived, we spent hours in traffic getting to the condo. I had never seen so many cars and people in my life. It was an eye-opening experience. After what felt like forever, we pulled into an underground parking lot.
“We will walk, take the subway, or take a cab while we are in the city. To drive around takes too long.” Jessica said with exhaustion in her voice.
“Yes, it definitely seemed like it took forever to get here,” I replied.
We step into an elevator, and Jessica presses the button for the “8th” floor. As we stepped off the elevator, I see the building has a very modern aesthetic. We get to the condo, and Jessica quickly unlocks the door. As we step inside, I see a beautiful place with floor to ceiling windows, lots of natural light, and a beautiful living area with hardwood floors.
“Wow,” I said, “This place is fancy!”
“Yes,” Jessica replied, “This place is my father’s baby; he has spent years fixing it up.”
We had the best summer, we went to concerts, went shopping, and ate at fancy restaurants. It was the best summer I had ever had. I didn’t want it to end, but like everything good in life, it came to an end quicker than normal. The last night in the city, we decided to stay in and have a low key night. We ordered pizza and watched a movie.
At the end of the evening, before going to sleep, Jessica told me to wait in the living room because she has something she wanted to give me. She disappeared into her room and, moments later, walked out with a small box in her hand.
“I saw this and wanted to get this for you; I feel like it summarizes our relationship perfectly,” Jessica stated as she handed me the box.
I slowly unwrapped the box and opened it; inside was a beautiful silver necklace with the centerpiece being a sideways heart. The inscription on the box reads, “To Best Friend: there are friends, and there is family, and then there are friends that become family.”
