We were stepping in puddles walking in the rain on our way to the bus stop on the first day of 9th grade. Well, I was more running than walking. I had to take huge steps or jog to keep up with Tara. Tara was this girl that lived two houses down from me, and she was a sky scraper! She’s not so nice to anyone though. Ever since she found out her younger brother Kevin had cancer four years ago, and is still fighting it now, she lost all life in her, and takes her anger out on almost everyone. For a while now, I have been a victim of her anger, and finally, I couldn’t take it anymore! I wanted to start over, to be friends, and a new school year was just the way to start my new friendship. I wanted to really talk to her, ask her how her summer was, what classes she has. So I was jogging. I was calling her name but the wind whistled over my voice. When she did hear me, without even looking at me, she ignored me and walked faster. I started jogging a bit faster, almost running. The rain was thrown toward me as I picked up my pace, but she still didn’t stop walking. I called her name even louder and now running. I ran with my eyes closed because the rain stung my eyes as it pounded into them. Before I knew it I ran into her with a big bump almost knocking me off balance. She turned around and yelled in such a tremendous voice, “What the heck do you want from me?” I was speechless, and couldn’t think. She truly did scare me. I stuttered for words, but nothing came out right. She gave me this horrible look with sadness in her eyes, and then pushed me with all her might on the ground into a puddle and walked away. Speechless again, I got up, soaked, a bit hurt, but mostly angry. I thought to myself, Fine! If she wants to be miserable, and have no friends at all, that’s her problem! I don’t care! I give up! I marched to the bus stop, wet and annoyed. By the time I got there, I realized that the bus already left. I hated Tara even more now.

I started to walk back to my house to change my soaked clothes, and for my mom to drive me to school. Walking back, I was thinking to myself, why did I want to be her friend to begin with? The only thing she does to me is call me names, and beats me up like she does to everyone else. What was I thinking? I was almost to my house. I was three houses away. As I approached where Tara lived, I noticed someone on her steps. The cars were gone in her driveway, her parents were at work, so who was that on her front steps? It was Tara. I didn’t even really care why she wasn’t on the bus until I saw her face buried in her hands. She was crying…loud. Still remembering that I hated her, I walked over to her she didn’t look at me but she knew I was there. I asked with pity in my voice ,”What’s wrong Tara?” She looked up at me with her same sad eyes as before now just filled with tears and said through sobs,” I don’t know how I could go back to sch- I can’t go ba-“ She wasn’t finishing her sentences, her crying was tuning her words out but I continued to listen anyway although I was still mad. “A few weeks ago over summer break…” I looked at her eyes as she talked as they filled up with tears again. “Kevin died.” Forgetting that I was ever mad at her without saying anything I hugged her…and she hugged me back.

I comforted her and talked about the things with Kevin that she couldn’t talk to with anyone else. She told me stories about him like how in the hospital all the nurses and his friends in there through him a birthday party and he got tons of game cube games and played Tara and he won every time. In a little more than an hour, she was smiling and the rain was gone. She had someone to talk to, to hang out with. Someone to call friend…




The end