Best Friends Forever

The day begins with the radiant sun embracing the earth with its ever-lasting rays. The chilling breeze settles as summer knocks on the door.

‘Hey Sam, I need to talk to you,’ Allie phones her best friend Samara.

‘Hey, baby girl, what’s up?’ a squeaky voice resonates from the other end of the receiver.

‘Are you free right now?’ Allie asks. 

‘Yes, of course, I am,’ Samara answers. 

‘Girl, I need to tell you something, I don’t know how you’re going to take it,’ Allie sighs and sits on her bed clutching the phone to her ear. She is eagerly waiting for a reply, however, she receives none. 

‘Sam, are you there?’ Allie speaks louder, ‘Samara?’

‘Wait, Allie. Let me call you back, my mum is calling me,’ Samara quickly answers, ‘She needs help with her flowerbed.’

Before Allie could reply, a loud beep was heard and the phone call ends. 

How am I going to tell her? Allie thinks to herself. 

Twenty minutes go by, Allie’s phone rings which she quickly answers.

‘Allie, I’m so sorry I didn’t listen earlier, but I’m all yours now,’ Samara huffs and puffs onto the phone, her breath echoes through.

‘No problem,’ Allie lets out an airy laugh.

‘So, what were you saying?’ Samara exhales.

‘I don’t know how you will digest this news,’ honesty laces Allie's tone.

‘What do you mean? Girl, just spill it,’ Samara rolls her eyes getting impatient. 

‘Promise me that you won’t freak out?’ Allie cautiously says.

‘Allie, I'm freaking out right now. You’re scaring me so please just say it,’ Samara feels sweat beads drip from her temple.

‘Promise?’ Allie holds the suspense.

‘Oh my gosh, Allie, fine. I promise now say it,’ Samara is getting frustrated. She doesn’t do well with suspense and mysteries. 

‘Okay, fine. Samara, I’m leav-’ a loud beep rings in Allie's ear and the call ends. Allie angrily taps on the screen only to realise the battery had finished. 

Really? She mutters to herself. She quickly grabs the charger pin and connects her phone. She waits 10 minutes before her phone restarts. 

She figures that instead of telling this news over the phone, she might as well meet Samara and tell her face-to-face. This sort of news is better revealed in front of the person. So, she opens the messages and texts Samara to meet her at their usual place. 

An hour later, Allie gets dressed and makes sure her phone is charged before she leaves her house to go to the nearby Café where Samara is going to meet her.

Allie walks into the cafe and waits for 10 minutes, however, there is no sign of Samara. She takes her phone out and is getting ready to call Samara when she hears her name being called out from outside. She curiously gets up from the seat and walks towards the door and steps out. She sees Samara frantically waving at her from the inside of a black BMW.

‘Allie, get in!’ Samara shouts. Allie feels herself getting annoyed, Samara is in her boyfriend's car, and now they aren't alone. Allie walks towards the car and leans over the window. 

‘I thought you were coming alone, girl we really need to talk,’ Allie whispers making sure the boys don't hear.

‘I’m sorry, they insisted on coming, I couldn’t refuse. Get in and let’s talk elsewhere,’ Samara whispers back. Allie sighs but proceeds to get into the car. She opens the back door and is greeted by a handsome face. She gets into the car and the blue-eyed boy smiles at her. 

‘Hello beautiful, I’m Kayden,’ he waves at her.

She smiles, ‘Allie.’

‘You’re gorgeous,’ the boy gawks at her.

‘Kay, take it easy, you’re going to scare her,’ Cody, Samara’s boyfriend, chuckles as the engine roars and he begins driving.

Kayden rolls his eyes.

‘Where are we going, babe?’ Samara asks her boyfriend. 

‘I figured we can all chill at the park, play a little game,’ Cody informs the group.

They drive for another 15 minutes until they enter the parking lot of a huge park. They all step out and Allie grabs Samara’s hand.

‘Sam, let’s talk,’ Allie utters in a serious tone.

‘Babe, let’s go get ice cream for everyone,’ Cody intervenes and grabs Samara by the waist.

Samara giggles, ‘Sure babe,’ she turns back to Allie, ‘Girl, loosen up. Let’s talk when I come back, okay.’

With that Samara walks away with Cody towards the ice cream stand.

Allie shields her eyes from the harsh sun-rays then follows Kayden and Liam, both Cody’s friends, to a clean patch of grass.

‘So, Allie, are you single?’ Kayden asks. Allie nods. She is clearly not interested. 

‘Can I take you on a date?’ He proceeds to ask.

‘Kayden, you reek of desperation. Let the girl breathe, bro,’ Liam mocks with a deep chuckle.

Kayden feels heat rising to his cheek from humiliation. 

Allie allows a chuckle to crawl out and she shakes her head, ‘He’s too straightforward,’ she points towards Kayden.

Kayden winks and runs his hand through his silky hair as he begins to take his shirt off. Within the next few minutes, Cody and Samara enter their visions holding ice lollies in their hands. Everyone grabs an ice lolly and they lay down on the grass.

Liam gets up and grabs a football from his duffle bag, ‘Who’s in the mood for football?’ 

‘Always,’ Kayden gets up whilst licking his ice lolly.

‘I want to play,’ Samara puts her hand up and gets up from beside Cody. 

‘Sam, we still haven’t spoken,’ Allie gets up.

‘What's the rush, baby girl?’ Samara cups her face, ‘We have forever to talk.’

Allie sighs. 

‘Let’s go play,’ Samara begins stretching.

Allie takes a deep breath then exhales.

‘Samara, I am leaving,’ Allie unleashes the news.

Samara sighs, ‘Fine, but I'll come to your house in the evening.’

Allie shakes her head, ‘No, I am leaving,’ her tone emphasises the ‘leaving’ part.

‘What do you mean?’ Samara raises her eyebrow.

‘I am leaving. My mum’s company is moving her to another country for a higher position. We have no choice but to move there,’ Allie informs her.

‘What?’ Samara panics, ‘No, Allie you cannot leave me. Why didn’t you tell me earlier?’ 

‘I tried, since morning, but we were being interrupted. The world just didn’t want me to tell you,’ Allie exhales.

Samara hugs Allie, ‘Please, don’t go. Let me talk to your mum. I can change her mind, I’ll help her find another job here. You know I cannot survive without you.’

Allie hugs her back, ‘I don’t want to go. You’re my best friend and I hate to leave you. How on earth am I going to survive elsewhere without you?’ She felt tears threatening to escape her eyes, ‘You know my mum is also helpless in this situation.’

Samara frowns and pulls away, ‘I wish I listened to you earlier,’ she scolds herself, ‘When are you leaving?’

‘This evening,’ Allie answers.

Samara’s eyes widened, she only has a few hours to spend with her best friend. Once again, tears roll down both best friend's eyes as they envelop each other in a long-lasting embrace. 

‘I love you so much, Allie,’ Samara whispers in her ears, ‘You’re my best friend and only mine, never forget that. You aren’t allowed to have any other best friend. Please, never forget me.’

Allie laughs, ‘I love you so much, Sam and of course not. Forgetting you will be like forgetting to breathe, it’s impossible. We are best friends for life, remember? No amount of miles will change our friendship, girl.’

Samara sighs, ‘You’re right. I’ll also travel to wherever you go and we will text and FaceTime each other everyday. We will update each other on our lives everyday, promise?’

Allie interlaces her pinky finger with Samara, ‘I promise, we will. Nothing is breaking our bond, Samara.’