Forever Friends

Student Essay by Anna Clay

The vibrant display of flowers covered the ground. Bold purple, soft pink and light lavender flowers hid her. There was a faint sound of busy bees rushing around to collect their pollen, and the sweet smell of blossoming flowers filled the air. The purple petals tickled her skin. She giggled as her “bestest” friends yelled together, “ Ready or not, here we come!” Fluffy clouds passed on spring breezes, as her friends, Taylor and Skye, darted about gleefully, surveying each and every corner of the flower field. And for a fleeting moment, genuine happiness steered every feeling of gloom away.

    “I found you!” Taylor bellowed with Skye close behind. And before long, all the girls were rolling in the tulips, laughing so hard their stomachs hurt. It was obvious that nothing could ruin friendship, because they were six, and six-year-olds relationships are forever. Unexpectedly, the girls noticed that gray clouds were rolling in. It began to pour, and they sprinted for the gazebo, trampling several flowers as they continued.

    The sounds of her most fond memory faded, The last thing she heard was, “We are friends forever right?” Abruptly, the school bell interrupted Riley’s thoughts, as she dismissed her upset feelings. She passed dozens of middle schoolers in the halls. The loud chatter in the halls hit her ears as she thought of her past friends Taylor and Skye. She glanced briefly at the school’s events board. There they were. With happy smiles in their uniforms, her old friends posed for the cheerleaders group photo. The caption read, "Skye and Taylor, newest cheerleaders for mountain lion middle school!” Riley stared at the poster, but then quickly retreated in to the ladies’ bathroom. She tried to get a hold of herself. But the memories flooded her mind. She remembered her first day of kindergarten. The walls had pictures of cartoon animals, and the floors, to the teacher’s dismay, was covered in mud the kids tracked in.

    Riley was naturally a bit different than the other kids. Her locks of bright red hair, left handedness, and her thick Irish accent was a sign of how unique she was from everyone else. She watched as dozens of brunets and blonde-headed kids passed, unsure of how to approach to anyone. “Hi!” a shrill voice behind her proclaimed. 

    As she turned, the girl’s pretty eyes caught Her’s as Riley responded, “Hey, I’m Riley! I… I like your blue eyes.”

    The girl enthusiastically replied “Thanks! I like your red hair! I have never seen hair like that before. I’m Taylor, and over there is my friend Skye. Wanna be friends?”

    From then on, the girls friendship grew. They shared may of the same interests. For example, the fascination of Skye’s Neighbor’s grumpy cat, or their love for gymnastics. Each weekend, they went to their, “top secret lair”, which was behind the playground. They spent hours picking flowers, playing hide-and-seek, and preforming cartwheels and other tricks they learned.

    Riley remembered months after she turned the ripe old age of seven, the day thelittle green poster was nailed to the wall of her classroom. “Gymnastics Classes! Starting October 7!” the poster read in proud letters. “Taylor, Skye, come quick.” She said in a excited tone. Her two friends quickly attempted to read the advertisement but failed to.

    "What does it say?” Skye asked quietly. 

    “It says they have gymnastics classes after school!”Riley answered eagerly. 

    Taylor’s interest was instantly captured as she almost said in a yell, "We should sign up together!”

    The years after that blurred. Riley remembered hours and hours of practicing gymnastics, each one filled with priceless memories of her dear friends. The three quickly became the best at doing cartwheels, tumbles, and other tricks than anyone else in their elementary. Riley felt a sense of pride every time she performed a new trick in front of her class. However, after years of beings the best in elementary, the girls became middle schoolers, and everything changed.

    The first day of middle school begun. Riley sensed the tension in the air as she passed hundreds of kids. Taylor and Skye had a different first period than her, which she assured herself was fine, but she didn’t really have other friends. In fact, she realized that she didn’t share the first three periods with either of her friends. Upset with this new realization, Riley decided to distract herself by thinking of tryouts today. She knew that she and her friends were the very best the school had to offer. Additionally, cheerleading is any different than gymnastics, right? Each hour seemed to crawl by as Riley pondered if she could make it as a cheerleader. She felt herself began to fidget with the edge of her notebook. Her hands started sweating as she thought of what the head cheerleader had informed her at open house. “Sixth graders almost never get pass tryouts,” the word repeated themselves in her mind. As each second ticked on the clock on the wall, she questioned herself more and more.

    The school bell rang, that dreadful school bell. “Ready?” asked Skye in a happy tone. 

    “Ready!” Taylor and Riley repeated, even though Riley mumbled her response than anything. As the trio headed to the gym, Riley glanced at her friends, attempting to read their expressions. Maybe Taylor and Skye concealed emotions better. Or perhaps, they simply were not nervous in the first place. The next few minutes were a blur, cheer leaders introduced themselves. Each minute made Riley more nervous, as different kids, one by one, was estimated. Taylor

and Skye went before her. The cheerleaders seemed to like their tumbles and cartwheels.

    After each of their performances, they were escorted out of the room. And at last Riley realized she was alone, the last person. “Riley Collins!” one of the supervisor read from the list names. She virtually moved slow motion. The head cheer leader sighed and mumbled,

    “Hurry up.” The supervisor smiled and ask Riley to perform a simple summersault, something Riley had practiced to perfection. It all can down to this in her head.

    Months passed, and Riley found herself in a bathroom; alone. The memories of her failing each stunt at tryouts. The sensation of emptiness when she ran out of that gym.

    As she stared at herself in the speckled mirror, she questioned herself. Why did Taylor or Skye talk to her since tryouts? How come they were making friends, but she wasn’t? It was true that Riley didn’t approach them either, but still it was their fault, right.

    The bell rang to dismiss school. She missed an entire period. She pushed back her locks of red, dried her tears, and pushed opened the door from the dim bathroom to thebrightly lit halls. She walked in the now empty hallway. She reached into her locker, grabbing the necessary supplies. “Riley?” A quiet voice asked behind her. Riley spun around, and before could react two sets of arms hugged her. “I’m sorry,” Taylor said in a soft tone. 

    “Yeah,” Skye frowned, “I’m sorry you didn’t make cheer, and-“ 

    “Why have you guy not talked to me?” Riley interrupted. 

    “We.. we didn’t know how to after the tryouts. You seemed mad at everyone, and like you want us as friends anymore. The words rang with truth. She was being overdramatic, and probably rude. 

    “I’m sorry.” She mumbled with tears now streaming down her face. 

    “It’s ok!” Skye assured her.

    “Can we be friends again, cheer is fun, but not that enjoyable to replace a friendship.”

    “Of course!” Riley almost laughed. 

    “I think I liked kindergarten better than middle school.” Skye quietly stated. 

    “We should go to the flower field in honor of that!” Riley said as the idea hit her at the thought of kindergarten. And soon, the trio found themselves under blue skies with flowers swaying under them, laughing as past troubles faded.