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Nathan Brown

25 April 2017

Class Period

Never Forgotten

CH.1 Most people dont know what its like to constantly move around. Throughout my

childhood, my family moved 15 times in 20 years and the longest we ever stayed in one place

was eighteen months. I never had time to make long-lasting, meaningful friendships, but that

never seemed to matter to me when every school year it felt like there was a new city to explore.

My father was construction worker, a very stern man, and very straight to-the-point about

everything including both personal things and emotions.

When we lived in Bellevue, Washington, I had a best friend, Jamie, that I was very close

with. She and I could never be separated, we did everything together. We would always work

together on projects, spend all hours after school together. We never fought, and if we did, it was

over some small, petty thing. We just clicked with each other, we knew what the other was

thinking, we told each other everything, we we truly best friends, however, because of my

familys normal life, it could come to what seemed like the end.

Jamie, I need to tell you something, I said to her, fighting back the tears that I knew

would come.

Whats wrong, Emma? It was evident that she was worried, her eyes were wide and

glossy, brows raised, the true expression of worry like that of a mother when her child is hurt.

Im moving.
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Jamies look changed from worry to flushed of all life, the color drained from her face

and her posture began to slouch. Her head fell, her eyes stared at the floor and her hand came to

hold her neck.

Well you dont have to leave You can stay with us, we have an extra room, youll

live with us yeah

She was already going through plans in her head to keep me with her, but the reality was

neither of our families would even think about allowing me to stay or her to go.

I cant stay. I was getting teary. She hugged me so tight I could feel my insides being

crushed.

Where are you going? Is it close? Can I visit a lot? she asked, with tears starting to roll

down her cheeks, she wiped them off with her jacket sleeve.

Were moving to Louisiana I dont think well be able to see each other often I

told her, trying to hold back my emotions.

She looked down like she was about to start bawling, so I pulled her to me and gave her a

long hug. We comforted each other the best we could as we were both falling apart.

Our walk home that day was quieter than usual. Jamie and I lived on the same block so

wed always walk home together after school and usually we would talk about anything and

everything. This time it was quiet, Jamie held her head down and I looked straight forward, both

of us not saying anything. On the inside, I was feeling terrible, like I was falling apart. I knew by

Jamies behavior, she was feeling the same.

Once we got to her house she just gave me a look of disappointment and hugged me for a

long time. She walked silently into her house and I stood there for what felt like a lifetime. I
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contemplated following Jamie in and trying to talk to her about it, I desperately wanted to tell her

how I really felt about this whole situation - that the last thing I wanted to do was leave her. It

was my fault for my best friends sadness and I wanted to fix that. It was then that I realized I

forgot to tell her when I was leaving. After a few minutes of thinking over my jumbled thoughts,

I started to walk home where I was met with my parents who were just about ready for dinner.

My dad made dinner that night, and we all sat as a family around the dinner table

discussing our days and other semantics. My older sister, Charlotte, talked about her friend

drama and how this person did this to that other person because of something someone told

them about this thing between her and this fourth person to My parents just smiled and

nodded pretending to listen and understand. When Charlotte was finally finished, my parents

turned to me, So Emma, how was your day?

I wanted to burst out saying they were ruining my friendship with Jamie, but I held it

back, It was fine.

I thought to myself, I wasnt fine, I was awful, it was their fault my friend was upset and

their fault I was emotional, it was their fault we had to leave and their fault my life was ruined.

Everything was their fault.

Are you sure it was just fine Emma, nothing significant happened at all?

I gave a sigh, It was just fine until I told Jamie about us moving and she practically

broke down, we hardly talked the rest of the day. At this point I was getting worked up and it

was harder for me to hold back my emotions.

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Im sorry to hear that Em my mom paused for a moment and looked over at my dad,

she had a look in her eyes of what do I say? She turned to me again, But you know we have

to do this you father got an important contract down in-

I know. Its all about you and dad, where you get work, what you do, what this family

does revolves around you, I cut her off, why cant we just stay here? I said, getting up to go to

my room with tears running down my face.

I ran to my room, slammed the door, and laid down on my bed to hide my crying.

~~~~~

CH.2 I woke up the next day feeling exhausted, my eyes were puffy and the bags under them

made me look deprived of all life. I just laid there in my bed until my parents came barging in

telling me to get up before youre late for school. I wasnt in the mood to talk to them because

of how they were ruining my life by taking me away from my friends, especially Jamie.

I got ready, sluggishly walking around and moving like I didnt care about anything (at

this point, I didnt). Usually Jamie would be already sitting on her porch waiting for me by the

time I had walked over, but today she was nowhere to be found. I rang her doorbell and waited.

There was no answer after a few minutes, so I just continued walking to school. I was met by my

other friends and classmates at the front entrance to the school and we walked to class together.

There was still no sign of Jamie. I tried to text her but I still was left with no response, I asked

other classmates and her friends if they knew what was up, but no one was able to give a solid

answer.
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Jamie was never late or absent from school, shed only be absent if it were serious or if

she were sick; and from yesterday, besides the obvious, she seemed fine.

I had to stop worrying so much, she was just probably running late or got food poisoning.

I went to first period homeroom and worked on homework for other classes to distract myself.

After fourth period I had lunch, I was walking to the cafeteria and I saw Jamie sitting alone in an

empty classroom, eating her lunch and reading a book from her favorite author, Stephen King.

She looked up from her book and gave a half smile, that smile someone give when they are sad

or hurting but try to hide it.

Where have you been all morning? I tried texting you and none of our friends knew

where you were.

Im sorry, she said, I didnt really want to go to school with and be forced to be

around all these people like this. The idea of my best friend leaving is making me all moody, but

Im sorry.

Dont do that to me again. You think Im okay with this? I dont want to move and I

lashed out at my parents last night because of it. Im leaving next weekend, so we need to hang

out with each other as much as we can.

And thats what we did, mostly every day. We were doing something up until the day I

left. There was nothing that could separate us, we would go to the mall or see a new movie, she

took me on a bike ride to our favorite places in the city like the Seattle Center, Pikes Place, and

the Glass Garden. Wed get lunch together most every day, no one could come between our last

couple days together.

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This lasted almost two weeks from the time I had told her about me leaving and the day

when I actually did.

My family was leaving for Louisiana on a Saturday. Jamie and I had hung out the Friday

night before, we had gone to see a movie based on one of her favorite books. After the movie, we

walked back to my house. We were chitchatting, laughing, talking gossip, the usual

middleschool girl talk. We were so happy, we almost forgot what was happening the next

morning. We got to my front porch and her demeanor changed, her laughing and smile stopped,

both of us changed in this way. We werent ready to have our friendship end like this. She gave

me a hug and I hugged back, her grip got so tight I felt like I was suffocating. She told me shed

come by in the morning to see me before we left.

~~~~~

CH.3 The morning of our move was very strange. I woke up around seven oclock to my dad

pulling into the driveway with a moving truck and my mom bringing boxes out to the yard. I

mulled out of bed and put on what few clothes I had that werent packed away, I put my hair in a

ponytail because I didnt want to deal with getting ready all that much. Just as I finished eating

some fruit, I heard my parents welcome Jamie as she was walking up to the front door. I ran over

and gave her a big hug, almost tackling her to the floor. Once we got our bearings straight again,

Jamie asked if there was anything she could do to help out.

Can I help you move your stuff into the truck, or is there anything else you need, Em?
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I need you to convince my parents to stay, I joked, or cause enough problems so we

wont leave for a while.

She gave a little laugh before heading upstairs to move boxes from my room. All

morning we worked on packing up the remainder of my things in boxes, we found old pictures

and knick knacks from things wed done together through the years weve been friends and

reminisce on the good times wed been through.

I was digging through a pile of junk from my closet separating trash from stuff I wanted

to keep, I had found an old picture of Jamie and I at the county fair. We were standing in front of

the Ferris Wheel holding cotton candy bigger than our heads with huge smiles on our faces. I

smiled while looking over the picture, reminiscing over our friendship.

Hey Jamie, remember this, when we were messy little kids. I said with a little grin.

Haha, yeah I remember that day, she replied with a smile, my face was all sticky from

the soda and cotton candy we got all over ourselves.

This remembering our friendship and the good times we had brought a somber feeling

over the room because of our realization that it would all come to an end today.

My room was the last with anything in it, Jamie and I finished packing everything in a

few hours and moved all the boxes down to the lawn for my parents to load in the truck. We sat

on the porch together and talked about how we would call each other every night and send each

other post cards. Talking about this somehow relieved the pain of knowing that there was a good

chance we wouldnt see each other in person for a very long time, if ever.
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After a little while of sitting and talking, my parents yelled over to us that it was about

time for us to get going. I gave Jamie a hug, tears running down my face, I dug my face into her

shoulder.

Promise well call each other every day and see each other over summers? I asked her

in a broken and choppy sentence. I promise, she replied, promise me youll call me when you

get to your new house and tell me all about it and your new friends and whats down there?

I promise Ill tell you everything, I told her.

~~~~~

CH.4 Our daily talking only lasted few months. Despite what I badly wanted, I knew it

wouldnt last very long. Eventually our daily chats were every few days, then every weekend,

every other weekend until eventually it seems like we lost interest in trying all all together. It

wasnt until after college when I moved back to the Seattle area that we would see each other

again. When we got together again, it was just like we were kids again, we started talking about

everything that happened in the time Id been gone. The thing I couldnt most wrap my head

around was the fact that even though we had stopped talking and we hadnt kept our promises to

each other, we were still friends. We continued our friendship as if it had never been interrupted

by my leaving.

Those years when we werent talking, the years of me continuing to move around, I

forgot about our friendship more and more. Making a new life every time I moved, new places,

and new friends, it all made me slowly forget. And Im sure she did too. What two people could
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possibly keep a consistent and connected friendship going when you dont see each other

regularly for six-plus years, while there are thousands of miles between you? The fact that we

were able to pick up right where we left off amazes me, and I couldnt be more thankful for our

friendship.

Now, both of us out of school and starting our new lives in the real world out of college,

we still talk and see each other every week. We plan to go on a summer trip together, weve even

talked about weddings and all the cliche stuff people do in movies. No matter what we plan or

say what we want to do together, Im just glad we hadnt forgotten each other in those years we

were apart.