Friends Forever

Sarah. She and I have been best friends since 3^rd grade. We trust each other with everything " crushes, fears, hopes and dreams, embarrassing moments, and secrets that we never told anyone else. We made so many new discoveries and memories together. We are sisters in every way but blood, and we’re going to be friends forever.

 

When Sarah and I were nine years old, we used to play soccer. We were both on the Junior B team of our town. After every soccer practice or game, Sarah would come over my house and we would make smoothies and eat ice cream sandwiches. Thinking back, I can still taste the rich strawberry-banana flavor coat my tongue, and feel the cold radiating off of the sandwiches, cooling us down after a hard day of soccer.

 

Hours later, when Sarah’s mom came to pick her up, we hid in the backyard, stealing a few more minutes together. We wandered deep into the forest behind my backyard, stepping over pine branches that fell during long-ago storms and wading through knee-deep piles of dead leaves. When her mom hunted after us, Sarah and I reluctantly returned to civilization. We hugged each other tightly, like we were going to be separated for years instead of hours, and promised that we would see meet again soon.

 

On June 18^th, 2007, Sarah and I officially became 5^th graders. That meant that we graduated out of elementary school, a tiny building with too-small chairs and yellowing wallpaper, and into middle school, the imposing and intimidating white-brick construction across the street. Sure, we were a little nervous and sad about leaving the school that we had known for four years, but our excitement over moving to a new school outshined all the negative feelings. As long as we had each other, everything would be just fine. “We’re going to be best friends forever,” we promised each other, linking pinkies and nodding our heads determinedly.

 

During the summer of 2010, Sarah and I would go to the beach almost every week. We built sandcastles and made moats to protect them from the incoming tide. We clambered over rocks and boulders, trying to see who could collect the most seashells. We walked hand in hand down the beach, occasionally kicking water at each other. Right then, with the golden sun beating down on our shoulders, the breeze blowing salt water into our faces, and the sun-bleached white sand sticking in clumps to our bare feet, everything was perfect. We were queens, and the whole world was our kingdom.

 

A few months ago, Sarah and my class had a field trip to Six Flags. It was the first time I had went there, and I was astounded by the huge roller coasters, twisting and coiling like snakes in the azure sky. Sarah, being a daredevil, immediately wanted to go on the biggest one. I was less excited, to say the least. But I went with her. After all, what were friends for? As the roller coaster cart started to climb the steep hill at the beginning of the ride, I felt sick. What did I get myself into? I wasn’t going to survive this!

 

‘I’m too young to die!’ I thought hysterically. Then the roller coaster rushed down the cliff, and I was too busy screaming to think. My stomach dropped straight down to the ground, making me feel nauseated and disorientated. The wind whipped past me, so strong it felt like a physical object, pulling my hair and clothes backwards. I gripped my seat until my knuckles turned white and my fingers began to throb. It was my lifeline " if I let go, I would surely be flung out of the roller coaster and die.

  Sarah and I just graduated middle school and are going to 9^th grade,

 freshman year, in the fall. For the first time in our lives, we don’t have any classes 

together. We probably won’t see each other at all except for in the hallways. We will both meet new people, construct new friendships, and make new memories, but we will always remember each other. After all, we are sisters in every way but blood. We’re going to be friends forever.