Hi my name is Paulina Fisher. I’m 13 years old, head of my class, and my best friend is Lauren Hershiwitz. She’s been my best friend since kindergarten, and ever since we’ve been inseparable. She’s a little off I must say, but she always makes me laugh and smile when she starts singing Stereo Hearts in English class with me. She starts laughing causing her blinding blonde curly hair to bounce up and down with her.
Then her sea green eyes light up when the teacher turns around and says, “Mrs. Hershiwitz what are you doing with Mrs. Fisher?”
“Nothing Mrs. Achard, just copying down the notes,” she says assuringly.
“Are you sure you’re listening Mrs. Hershiwitz? Because you seem to be laughing with Mrs. Fisher over there aren’t you?” she asks in response.
“No Mrs. Achard you must have been mistaken because I haven’t at all been laughing with Paulina over there, I’ve just been sitting here copying down notes,” she tells Mrs. Achard in her reassuring voice. She always was the best at acting goodie two shoes around teachers.
“Oh I guess I have been mistaken then,” Mrs. Achard says in an apologetic voice, and continues on with her lesson completely ignoring us as we talk and laugh the whole period. Yeah Mrs. Achard might have a masters degree, but she still doesn’t have a clue about what goes on in her class, while she’s not looking. Good thing me and Lauren talk, and take really good notes, so when a test comes around we cram all the material in our head just so that she doesn’t get too suspicious of what exactly we’re doing in class. But over all Mrs. Achard is really nice, she gives us candy everyday, gives us as little homework as possible, and makes learning in our class fun, when we’re actually listening. But lately I’ve noticed there’s something really off about Lauren. I don’t know what but there’s something off. She’s been acting really weird for the past couple of days. I just can’t put my finger on it. Oh my gosh I love those paintings on the wall, I think as I turn my head towards them and keep walking then suddenly I feel my hands letting go of my books, and I fall flat on the school floor in extreme pain.
“Oh my gosh Paulina I’m so so so so sorry,” Ariella a girl with brown curly hair, dark blue eyes, and freckles tells me.
“What, what happened?”
“Paulina,” I hear Lauren scream, and then everything went black.
“What happened, where am I? WHAT HAPPENED?”
“Paulina,” I hear Lauren’s calm soothing voice in my haze. “Paulina you’re in the hospital, Ariella tripped you, you had a panic attack with all the people and pain and blacked out.”
“Oh I knew that,” I say with a fake smile holding my hands on my hips n straightening my back trying to look just a little bit taller.
“Yeah sure ‘ya did,” Lauren says laughing.
“So how long was I out Laur?”
“Um… I would say about a month, six days, seven hours, twenty four minutes, and fifty five seconds.”
“About?”

“Well sorry I missed my best friend while she was sleeping in the hospital for that long I stayed here the whole time and got a tutor to come here to catch me up on my school work, so I counted a lot.”
“Awe you did that all for me?”
“Your my best friend why wouldn’t I? You’d do the same thing for me right?”
“Yeah I would wow I just can’t believe you stayed here all this time, what did you do for food?”
“Well…”
“Well what?”
“If I tell you this you can not tell a single soul not your parents not your other friends not a teacher not even your dog can hear this got it?”
“I swear I won’t tell.”
“Paulina you have to swear on your life you’ll keep this secret to the grave.”
“I swear I will not tell another single living soul as long as I shall live on this earth.” I said trying to stretch my back putting my hands on my hips.
“Ok fine well… see when you were out cold someone came to visit you. Someone from our school I forget who, but anyways they looked at me said you should really stop eating all that junk food smiled at you and walked away. And I know it shouldn’t of taken it really personally but I did and then I decided from then on I would stop eating junk food and food all in general.”
“I’m confused why wouldn’t you eat?”
“Because I don’t wanna eat.”
“But why not?”
“Because I don’t want to.”
“You’re not telling me what I think your telling me Lauren right?”
“No I am I’m telling you the truth.”
“Oh my gosh lauren don’t do that it’s not ok…”
“I DON’T CARE IF IT’S NOT OK!!! And besides this hasn’t been the first time someone was mean to me over the years a lot of people were saying that about me, but I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to get caught up in my problems.”
“Laur but I do we’re best friends we’re a team we stick up for each other you fight a battle I fight that battle with you I do want to get caught up in your problems and you’re not fat your skinnier than me.”
“No I’m not gosh Paulina stop lying to me I know I am and you don’t have to say that just to try to make me feel better I know it’s not the truth.”
“But I am telling the truth I wouldn’t lie to you about something like this.”
“Yeah sure you wouldn’t Paulina it’s ok I know what you’re thinking it’s really just fine.”
“No it’s not you need to get it into you’re mind that your not fat because you’re not and to tell you the truth sometimes I’m a bit jealous of you because you’re so smart, and funny, and nice, and skinny, and pretty.”
“you’re such a liar I have to go I’ll visit you later ok?”
“Wait Laur don’t go.” But it was too late she had already walked out the door and was running down the hallway, and I was all alone.
Your best friend. Someone who means so much to that you’d lie for someone you’d cheat for someone you’d take a bullet and straight up die for, because if you lost them you wouldn’t be able to go on without their help. What do you do when you have to keep a secret for them that could make them end up in their coffin? What if you swore not to tell? What if you want to help them but all you can do is stand back and watch them crumble at your feet? What do you do then? You want to do everything you can, but your powers are so limited. You feel almost as helpless as them, you feel alone, scared worried, fearful, anything but ok. You think what would happen if they left you forever? That’s how it feels to hear that. And Laura actually came back the next day. I guess she really did take her word for it. And with her I saw the movie titanic, some chips , and a card.
“Laura are you ok,” I asked.
“Yeah fine why?”
“You brought me a movie, chips and a card you hate all of those.”
“No I don’t.”
“Yeah you do, you hate movies because it annoys you to sit still you hate cards because you think they’re to tacky, and you hate chips because when you were seven you saw u guy eating a moldy chip from the floor on the train to new York city.”
“You know me to well.”
“Yeah I know too much about you.”
“Yeah I know.”
“Oh so anyways why did you bring stuff you absolutely hate?”
“Because I knew they’re your favorite stuff and I’m a good friend to be willing to do them.”
“You’re the best friend I could ever have.”
“Yeah I know you to.”
“So are you really gonna watch Titanic with me?”
“If that’s what you want to do then yes of course.”
“Awe your such a good friend.”
“Yeah I know. I’m always the best of the the best. Now you really wanna watch Titanic?”
“YES!!! I’ve wanted you to watch it with me since I was 7.”
“Ok whatever you say. Starships are meant to fl-yyy, and then touch the sk-yy.”
“What?”
“Oh it’s a song by Nicki Manage, know the famous girl wrapper songwriter?”
“Yeah yeah yeah I know but why are you, you’re so weird.”
“I know it’s one of my better qualities,” Lauren says smiling with her head up high and her hands on her hips, typical weird Lauren. She then turns on the tv, and starts looking through the movies there, while singing: “Starships are meant to flyyy and then touch the sky oh oh oh oh.” I laugh and roll my eyes as she’s doing it. Finally she found the movie, selects it and presses the play button. The day after that I was released from the hospital they said to be careful, to have someone help me go around classes carrying my books, because I was on crutches, and then just to take it easy and not go to gym for a while. Today I’m back in school I see Lauren and she immediately runs up to me and hugs me as tight as she could. I was half happy because she missed me so much even though the last time I saw her was a day ago, and half gasping for air because I couldn’t breathe. Little did I know the day to come.
“Hi Paula, pretty cast I’m so sorry about what happened to you,” Cindy Piccorelli says in a very sarcastic voice.
“Oh no it’s fine it wasn’t her fault.”
“Well yeah have fun in that cast, bye.”
“Bye.” Well that was weird and somewhat mean I think to myself. I look over to see a group of boys pointing and laughing at me, I wonder whats so funny, oh wait maybe they’re laughing at how a walk. My walk’s so weird even with the crutches I look weird I’m really starting to hate this day.
I know Lauren sees them and sees how sad I am so she says, “Hey don’t mind them they’re boys, and boys are always stupid no matter who or what they are.”
“Yeah I guess you’re right Lauren.”
“Paulie I’m Lauren I’m always right,”she declares giving me the same smile, and look of confidence that she always has.
“So… what do we do now,” I ask.
“Um… go to class like you would because this is a school Paula gosh you really were outta it at the hospital.”
“Yeah I know I was, couple of weeks lying in a hospital bed, doing absolutely nothing can, really get to you.”
“I could tell, now let’s go to class.” First class I have, Spanish ugh it’s so boring and I don’t even know what everyone’s saying by now Mrs.Huntley’s saying stuff in Spanish something Matematicas in the Septima hora, and I give her a look like what are you talking about so she’s gives me the packets I’ve missed and tells me to come up during lunch to catch up. I’ve always loved the way Spanish sounded even though I never understood it, I always thought it sounded so cool when people were talking, typing, and singing in Spanish. My cousin’s really really really good in Spanish, she’s in honor’s class in Spanish, and getting straight As, but then again she’s in honor’s for all her classes I don’t know how she does all that, and has time for lacrosse, and friends. Personally I would never get into honors in Spanish they’d say Me gusta corer in el invierno and I’d think what are you saying? Sooner or later I realized I’ve been thinking for too long in my weird daydream, and that the period’s almost over, so that means Lauren has to take me to my next class before I get trampled by the large crowd of students pushing everyone and everything out of their way just to make it to their class in time.
“Where are you taking me we passed my next class Lauren,” I ask.
“We did? Wow I’m smart,” Lauren says while turning back the other way.
“Yeah I know you’re the smartest person I know,” I reply, and we both start laughing.
“So which class do you have right now,” Lauren questions.
“Bruno, and you passed her again.”
“Oh… Psh I knew that,” Lauren says half laughing and half blushing.
“Sure you did,” I say.
“Welcome back Mrs. Fisher— I presume you will have some catching up to do right,” Mrs. Bruno questions.
“Yes Mrs. Bruno,” I say in an annoyed voice, she really is annoying at times.
*************************
Finally I got out of school. I didn’t think I’d make it out alive. My mom comes in.
“Honey I have some bad news.”
“What kinda bad news,” I ask in a suspicious voice. I wonder what happened – My mom never calls me honey unless it’s really bad.
“Um… well there’s no easy way to say this but you know how grandpa was really sick right?”
“Yeah like a year ago from Cancer, but then he got better since the Cancer went away right?”
“Yeah, but ok let me just come out with it, grandpa died last night.”
It was like someone hit me with a thousand knives over and over again. My grandpa I didn’t see a lot, but when I was little I used to cherish the ground he walked on, I was meaning to visit him again sometime this month but, now… “No, no this can’t be happening,” I said stumbling back in terror. “No this isn’t happening, you’re lying to me this is all just a big joke and I’ll wake up, and everything will be fine, and I’ll be off my crutches, and grandpa will be fine and everything will go back to normal.”
“I’m a afraid not honey, he’s gone I saw him die right before my eyes.”
“Wait… what are you talking about?”
“*Sighs* Take a seat honey let me tell you the whole story.” “Ok so I went to visit you’re grandpa, you know since I hadn’t seen him in a while and I wanted to say hi. Then when I came in he was collapsed on the floor and since no one was home I called 911. When they got there they confirmed that he was dead.”
“Wait where was grandma when all this happened? She lives with him right?”
“Yes, but she was at the store when it happened the police said he was out cold for at least an hour before I got there. Oh and the wake’s tomorrow immediately followed by the funeral don’t forget ok?”
“Ok.”

END OF PART 1