My Besties

I was looking for somewhere to fit in. I was in 7th grade a Thurgood Marshall Middle School. After homeroom, there was Literacy class, a useless part of my schedule that everyone had to take. It was mandated by the new superintendent to get students to read on their grade level. But I was beyond my grade level and there was a class for us too. "Post-High School", or PHS, they called it. I was in Honors classes and so were a lot of people from my homeroom and all the other Honors classes.

First, I met Kendalisia. I call her Ken for short. We had to form reading groups and Ken was the only other girl in my group. The books our group read were boring so we found time to talk. Well, I found time to talk. I asked Kendalisia just about any question I could ask: her favorite foods, television shows, her love life (for a 12 year old, ha!). To this day, when we speak of how our friendship started, Ken says, ”You were so friendly. And you just talked and talked and talked my head off to the point where I just couldn’t be mean to you.” I’m glad I never stopped talking. I’m glad we never stopped talking.

Next, I met Quaashie. She was in my homeroom too. We’d chatted a few times in passing and I found her interesting. One thing I definitely found cool about Quaashie was that she was a cheerleader. But she wasn’t mean or snooty like the ones portrayed on television. After one of our afterschool dances, we traded pictures we took with our telephone numbers scribbled on the back. We began talking and I felt us growing closer.

Soon, I began to wonder “Who is my best friend? Ken or Quaashie?” Upon my contemplation one day, I was walking to lunch and I saw them walking, chatting and laughing together. I smiled and walked up to them, realizing that I didn’t have to have just one.