She remembers it as if it was yesterday even though it was 17 years ago...
Walking in class on the first day of school, catching up with everyone she missed during the summer, when the soft voice of Ms. Jones broke through the chaos and alerted the children that there was a new student joining the class who had just moved there from Japan. There he was, a boy who was tall for his age, skinny with the look of uncertainty and fear upon his face. No one really paid attention or took much notice, but there was a girl who was giving her full attention, watching the boys demeanor and taking note of how frightened he appeared. This girl was by no means shy, she was bossy, up-front and in your face. Personality for days and seemed to draw people in. She wanted to be friends with everybody, and what she wanted, she usually was successful in getting. Big personality from such a little person.
The boy quietly made his way to the back of the classroom and took the empty seat in between the 2 class bullies. He was quiet and tried to keep to himself. The class went on and it seemed like everyone was falling back into the swing of things. Eager minds, eager to continue learning and playing. There was a commotion at the back of the classroom as Evan and Zach proceeded to throw paper balls and erasers at the new boy. The new boy sat there silent. The only emotion clear on his face was fear.
This went on for the last 30 minutes of class and as the bell rang and the children began to file out of the door, the spunky little girl remained in her seat and as Evan walked by she stuck her foot out and he went crashing to the floor. Zach walked by and she picked up her Jem and the Holograms thermos and threw it at his back. Neither of them uttered a word as they walked out of the classroom. She felt accomplished and proud of herself. She wasn't afraid of any boy and believed in protecting those who couldn't or were unwilling to help themselves.
The new boy had yet to leave the classroom and was collecting his papers from the desk. The girl looked back, gave him a shy smile and left the classroom for recess....her favorite part of the day. Outside in the sun, jumping rope and playing hopscotch with her friends, she was always aware of the little boy sitting against the fence, too shy to ask to join in. The PE teacher called a dodge ball game to order. They chose captains and the captains began to choose players. Of course since no one really knew the new boy, he was picked last. The new boy and the girl ended up on the same team. She noticed that he looked like he would rather be anywhere other than where he was at that moment. She gave him a reassuring grin and the game was started.
She noticed that Evan who was on the other team was taking special interest in the new boy, and not in a good way. Whenever he could he would hurl the ball as hard as he could at the new boy and in the spirit of team unity there was always someone on her team to shield him or gently push him out of the way. Now, the girl noticed Evan doing this and her blood began to boil. Evan didn't take the time to get to know the new boy so she couldn't figure out why he was being so cruel to him. The first chance she got, she grabbed a ball and hurled it at Evan and he was removed from the game. Now they could play in peace.
The game ended(the girls team lost) and recess ended. The afternoon went by fairly smoothly other than the brief argument that ensued between the girl, Evan and Zach as she told them that they should learn some manners. The last class ended and as they were walking out of the building the girl heard a small voice behind her.
"Thank you" she turned around and noticed that it was the new boy and it was the first time she heard him talk all day.
"For what?" the girl asked.
"For being nice to me." he said as he looked at his shoes.
She didn't quite understand because she hadn't really interacted with him, they shared awkward reassuring smiles throughout the day and she asked him to join in at recess, but she just thought she was doing the right thing, behaving how her parents had always taught her to behave.
"You're welcome!" she smiled at him showing him her missing tooth.
"My name is Yuta" the boy smiled back at her.
"I'm Sierra. You're going to be my friend" she stated matter-of-factly, not giving him a choice...after all, she was bossy.
He just looked at her and smiled and waved as he walked towards the car that was waiting for him. Sierra couldn't help but feel like she had made a good friend and as she waved back and skipped to her mom's car, she couldn't wait to tell her parents all about the shy little boy who she declared as her friend.
....and that's how it started, but wait...the story isn't over yet.....
That is the true story of how I met my best friend. I can't believe that I still remember every little detail about that day, and if that day had never happened, I don't know where I'd be today. I told Yuta that I was going to put "The Story of Us" up on my blog in sections, starting with how we met and touching on different milestones that we have reached together. I think this will be interesting for me and for him...a way to see how much of everything we really remember, and to possibly have it written where we can share it with other's in the future (hint...hint!).
.....see ya when the next page turns....
Sierra
