I run to the edge of the field.

Eve…Eve and I were best friends. We were always together from kindergarten on. The way we met was during class pictures. Eve hated taking pictures and I hated it to so we refused. Our teacher forced us to do it, putting us next to each other hugging and smiling.

One day I’ll have to thank her. If it wasn’t for that, Eve and I would never have become friends. After that we were inseparable, every class picture we took we were hugging and smiling just like kindergarten. We started hanging out during lunch, sleeping over each other’s houses. It was the beginning of a wonderful friendship. I don’t think either of us realized it, heck no one did. It just happened.
The grass scratches my feet


Then we hit puberty and the hallways of Jr. High and there we went boy crazy! All that came out of our mouths or went through our heads was, “Brad Pitt…” that or, “Tom Cruise…” what or my personal favorite, “Leonardo DiCaprio what?!” Instead of doing homework our parents found us looking through teen magazines and yearbooks to put hearts around our crushes.

The thing that screwed us up…James Thorson. He was the cutest boy in the 7th grade and we were both all over him. One day while we were riding home on the bus for a sleepover at Eve’s house we looked at our yearbooks for our crush. We both searched for the same page, the same side, the same row, the same picture.

Half of the heart was my red and the other half was her pink. We were so angry at each other but it was too late to cancel the sleepover so we would just have to grin and bear it. Yet from the time my mom left us to the time we went to bed all we did was talk about him. And talk…and talk, and talk about him some more, we were addicted!

Unfortunately for our friendship he did like one of us, me. Even though we both swore to lay off of him his nice tidy looks and handsome features won me over and I agreed to date him as long as Eve didn’t find out. As much as I wanted to strut out my handsome boyfriend I had to keep him secret. But finally after weeks of quiet dating someone found out and told Eve. She was so pissed at me…and we didn’t talk for weeks.

But not having each other as friends…was just like a huge chunk missing from our lives. I missed her, and she missed me.

I open the gate.



We began in high school. As freshmen we were always apart and had none of our classes together so it was lucky we stayed friends. Tenth grade year is when it happened for us. For some reason, somehow, we got together. I remember the exact day. November 14, 2004. Eve had just broken up with her boyfriend, Todd Jennings, because he had cheated on her five times. She was so pissed at him and she started ranting and screaming and then she just fell into my arms. She cried for a few minutes while I tried to soothe her then somehow…she we just kissed. I don’t know how long it was but all I remember is…that it was the best moment of my life.

I sprinted out of her house running home wondering what had really just happened. Were we dating now? I couldn’t be like that… I wasn’t. The thoughts of a confused and scared teenager. We didn’t speak to each other for about a week. Then we saw each other in the halls and decided to cut class. We went to the park and ate our lunches then talked and talked and talked. I missed her friendship but now we both wanted more.

We dated secretly from then until senior year. No one knew everyone thought that the boyfriends that we kept breaking up with were just jerks…it was all perfect, until our anniversary, the day that we first kissed. We were celebrating in the back of the restaurant that we both worked at. Neither of us thought anyone would see us. It was just a little kiss but Alisha’s dad worked there and she was going to visit him. We both tried to smooth things over but Alisha ran out as fast as she entered.

I walk through the rows and columns.


When everyone found out we were isolated. Both of us tortured in the classes we didn’t have together. I hated it. I just hated school, going home too. My parents…my Mom was accepting but suddenly Dad started bringing around every friend who had a son my age and introducing us. Most of them politely laid off when I told them about Eve and me but others just harassed me, calling me names. Then one day Eve just…I don’t know what she was thinking. She had flyers posted for a “diversity” club that she had created. On the flyers were guys kissing guys and girls kissing girls. There was a huge ruckus at school, our principal even scolded her.

The next day I heard a couple people talking about the meeting. What they were going to do if they went to the meeting. I didn’t do anything I her go alone. I didn’t want to just go with her. If I had gone they wouldn’t have dared to do anything. My Dad was mad but he was still a cop and he wouldn’t have stood for any nonsense. My Mom was a lawyer so even if he didn’t prevail. But I was so afraid. I could still earn back my reputation. But it was one that wasn’t worth having. Just some thing that existed in the minds of myself and superficial others. I heard the next day that she had been shot. No one came to the meeting but when she was walking to her car someone probably assaulted her; by the marks on her body, then raped her, and then shot her.

I look at her headstone and lay flowers down.