JMS Winner: Irreplaceable

My irreplaceable friend Jaimee. Can you imagine losing your best friend? I don’t have to imagine it because I’ve experienced it with my old elementary friend. She was all you could ask for in a friend. She was funny, caring, thoughtful, trustworthy, smart, and all of the above! My life was  almost perfect with her, until it wasn’t. I can still remember that very day when it all crumbled away.

It was the first day of school in third grade. My new teacher was Ms. Yi. She was a very kind and calm teacher. I began that year with no friends whatsoever. I was all alone.“Time to make new friends,” I thought. But how? Back then I was never any good at making friends since I was always so timid. 

My first day was intimidating, even so I surprisingly made it through! I honestly thought I wasn’t going to make it because of all the newness. New teachers, new people, new rules, and a new classroom! On top of that, I was at least expecting ONE new friend. NO LUCK!. However, I can’t blame anybody for that since I was an introvert who didn’t socialize. Before I move on though, you must hear what happened to me in recess.

So every class in my old school had a play area in which they’d be assigned to every week. This week my class had to play at a basketball court. I was obviously too bashful to play, so I had no other choice but to sit down on an empty bench that was right next to the court. I mean right next to it, I could have gotten hit with a basketball! I sat down and gazed at the sky hoping time would go faster, but it didn’t. I mean, who wouldn’t want time to go faster in this situation? I had nothing to do. The most I could’ve done was stand up and go to the restroom. Woohoo! How fun! 

As I was gazing out into the sky I noticed a blurry figure from the corner of my eye approaching the bench that I sat in. It was a girl. A girl whom I hadn’t seen before. How do I know it was a girl? Well, right before she had a chance to sit down I turned to see her. She looked around my age. Short straight thin hair and skinny. I quickly turned around before she had a chance to notice me. I wanted to start up a conversation with her, but couldn’t brace myself to do so. 

RING! The bell rang. Finally, for a second I thought time had stopped, seeing how slow it was going. I walked up to my classmates to wait for Ms.Yi to pick us up. As I silently stood there, I noticed that the same girl that was on the bench was in my class. Who was she though?

The rest of the week she and I sat at those same benches, right on the same spots. The following week, however, she had some scrumptious looking chocolate chip cookies. My stomach grumbled as I hadn’t yet eaten that day. I pretended as if I didn’t notice the cookies to take my mind off them. 

“Do you want a cookie?” she asked. 

I immediately said “Yes.” Not only to eat, but so I could finally start up a conversation. We talked non stop, starting to get to know each other more and more until the bell rang. It was the first and definitely not the last time I would get to talk to her.

That year, my third grade class went on a field trip to an aquarium. Inside there was a gift shop filled with beautiful items and souvenirs I would have wanted. However, I had no money. My teacher took us in and let us wander around. I stood there thinking about what I could have bought if I had the money. As my class and I left the shop, Jaimee caught up to me and gave me a beautiful blue fiber-tip pen with a narwhal on top. I loved it! But what I loved more was that she thought of me and decided to purchase me something that could have been hers instead. 

“Thank you,” I said gratefully.

The following weeks seemed to fly by now that I wasn’t alone, now that I was with someone I could finally call “friend.” That year was a blast! It was by far one of the best years I had experienced. Jamiee and I really built trust upon each other and started to share one to many secrets. Shhh!

Fourth grade…

It was time for fourth grade! I didn’t care about the students I would be with or the teacher I would have. I cared about the friend I was hoping to keep and the friends I was hoping to make. I didn’t make many new friends that year except for Yanelly, but that’s a whole different story. I got stuck with a teacher named Ms.Corona and JAIMEE was in my class! Fourth grade was either going to be just as great or even better than third grade. Spoke too soon!…

Toward the last semester everyone did online learning due to COVID-19 and Jaimee and I began to grow apart. Neither one of us had any way to communicate with each other so we stopped talking. Then the same thing happened in fifth grade. We had the same teacher yet neither one of us talked. Once again I felt lonely. A feeling I wouldn’t have ever thought of experiencing again after creating such a strong friendship. Sometimes though, I start to think, was all I did with her worth it? Yes, there were many fun times. However, was it worth spending time with her for it all to end so suddenly? My feelings are mixed up. I don’t know what to believe.

Even after this tragedy, I’m faithful that one day I will see her again. To remind myself I made a wise choice being her friend. No matter how long it takes. To this day I’m as optimistic as possible and hoping for the best. Now I’m in the sixth grade. I’ve made new friends and met new people. Thinking deep down I question myself: Would I even have friends now if I wasn’t her friend then? Because she showed me how to be a friend, by being a true friend herself. Now, I help my friends out whenever help is needed, and care about them as much as she cared about me.

Although I have many awesome friends, there was just something special in Jaimee. None of my friends will ever reach her impeccable standards. She is irreplaceable, and I hope she thinks the same about me too.