Best Friends For-Never

It was the first day of middle school. My Papi and Nana always say that nothing in the middle is good. But I think I’ll handle just fine. That’s because I have my best friend, Shandra. Shandra and I are complete opposites. I’m shy, smart, and quiet, while Shandra has great ideas and is not afraid to share them. But opposites attract, right? Shandra does have great ideas, but the best that she shares with crowds are the ideas that I give to her. I don’t mind, though, it’s like I’m the brain and she’s the mouth. She does the talking for me. Anyways, Shandra and I promised to meet at the front of the school gates, so why don’t I see her? I don’t have much height, so I stand on top of the stone holding the flagpole, and I peer over the crowds of students. Spotted! I think as I notice Shandra’s purple hair streaks in the mass of kids. I hop off the stone and push my way through kids to get to my best friend. “Shandra!” I yell as I get closer. She doesn’t turn around. “Shandra!” I yell louder, practically in reach of her. But she still doesn’t turn around. I give her a tap on the shoulder, and she finally turns around. I tackle her with hugs. When I let her get up for air, I redden with embarrassment. This is not my Shandra. No wonder this girl didn’t turn around when I yelled Shandra’s name. I must look like a tomato now as I cringe and mumble “Sorry…” to the Shandra look alike. As I turn and walk away, I hear the girl and her friends laughing, mocking me, whining “Shandra, oh Shandra, where are you?” I grunt with rage and embarrassment as I continue my search to find the real Shandra. Then, as far away as could be from the school gates, I see Shandra. But I don’t see her alone. She’s talking with the popular kids, laughing like she’s known them since kindergarten. Which, by the way, is how long Shandra and I have known each other for. I double check that it’s really Shandra (not making that mistake again), then I tap her on the shoulder and give her a huge hug. “Shandra!” I say as she says “Emmy!”. Then we both say “I missed you so much!”. I notice that all the laughing and talking stopped between the popular group. Now, they are all staring at me and whispering behind their hands. I start to turn red again when Shandra pulls me over and says “Hey, I saw what happened over there with you and that other girl. I’m glad that you found other friends. I made new friends over the Summer, too.” I’m about to tell her that the girl over there isn’t my friend when someone from the popular group pulls Shandra away from me and whispers something into her ear. Shandra nods to the girl, then turns to me and says “Sorry, Emmy. I can’t talk now. Maybe we could try to catch up more at lunch?” She doesn’t even wait for me to reply before she leaves with her new ‘friends’. 

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As I tap my pencil against my desk, I think about what Shandra said earlier. ‘I’m glad that you found other friends, too.’ There’s just something about the way she said it that made me confused. Did she mean she was glad that she didn’t have to take care of me by herself anymore? Or was she trying to say that she just wants to just be friends. Or maybe it means nothing at all. While my teacher goes on with his lesson, all I can think is Shandra, Shandra, Shandra.

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Lunch time finally arrives-the four classes before it feeling like four eternities. After getting my lunch, I search for Shandra. It’s like a replay of what was happening earlier. I saw the girl I accidentally hugged, and she saw me back. She burst out laughing, turned to her friends, and pointed. But unlike earlier, I never did find Shandra-or the other kids from the popular group.

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I finally get home from my first day of middle school, and I’m in some mood when I walk in the front door. “Are you ok, sweetie?” My Nana asked sincerely. “Fine.” I reply as I stomp upstairs. “Do you want me to make you some tea, darling?” My concerned grandmother asks. “No!” I yell as slam my bedroom door shut. I never say no to tea. I flop on my bed and grab my phone. It’s 2:53, and I text Shandra saying “Hey, where were you at lunch today?”. Later, after I finish eating dinner, my phone dings. My notifications read, ‘At 7:32 PM, Shandra texted ‘Sorry, I was at cheerleading tryouts with The Squad during lunch. I didn’t reply because I went to one of the Squad member’s house after school’. That was it. That was the whole text. Shandra always ended her texts with ‘Love u’ or ‘See you soon’ or an emoji. Plus, Shandra never mentioned anything about cheerleading before. Also, what was The Squad?

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The next morning before the first bell rings, everyone is crowded around the school gates. I notice Shandra, or maybe it’s just her look-alike, and think, so now she goes to the school gates? Anyways, I push through the crowd to see what’s going on and notice that it was only the Shandra look-alike. I avoid all eye contact with the look-alike. But, oh, Shandra’s there, too. She and the rest of whom I assume are The Squad are what everyone is staring at. They’re all doing cartwheels and stunts; stuff Shandra was never into before. I recognize the other kids in The Squad. They are all the kids in the popular group. All of them wearing matching blue and gold cheerleader outfits, Shandra included. All the kids that are my “best friend’s” new friends. This is the most hurt I’ve ever felt. Even more than during The Great ‘War’ of Fifth Grade. I bet that’s where all this started. I'm Emmy Wu, and this is my story. Rather, our story. I am done with Shandra Chen.