Story #23 - For Natalie

Hello everybody! Today is my friend Natalie’s birthday. She will be turning seventeen. I have known her for five years now. We first met in seventh grade, and now, after eleventh grade, we are still good friends. For her birthday, I told her I’d write a story about her. So here's the story!

Title: For Natalie
Warnings: none (occassional sappiness?)

Summary: A tribute to Natalie, one of my best friends.
Length: ~1,100 words
Notes: First person point of view, past tense. Genre is tribute.

For Natalie

               

          Natalie has red, curly hair. Come to think of it, she might be the only redhead that I know well. She’s certainly the best! She has very long legs and is a ballet dancer. She also plays the piano, something I would love to learn to do. Her taste in music is very different from mine, but we have some songs that we both like. This might not still apply, but I remember one point in time when we both liked “Hey, Soul Sister” by Train. And we both like the Beatles; I once lent her all of my mom’s CDs. Also, Natalie made me a mix CD for my birthday once. I liked almost all of the songs on it!

Natalie has a great sense of humor and I’ve joked with her plenty of times. We’ve talked about loads of things. As always, there are so many memories in our five years of knowing each other that there’s no way I can mention everything in this short piece. But I can still write a snapshot of everything we’ve been through. I’ll do my best to try to get across the feeling of our friendship, one memory or experience at a time.

*

If someone wanted an idea of my friendship with Natalie, all they’d have to do would be look in my school planners over the years. Natalie likes to write in them. My junior year planner, for example, has “Buy Natalie –insert food item here- Day” written every Sunday. For example, “Buy Natalie Edamame Day” or “Buy Natalie A Veggie Burger Day.” Pop Tarts are a popular food item (but not as good as my toaster pastries, of course – a popular argument, I mean, disagreement).

One of my planners – sophomore year, I think – has days like “Give Natalie A Hug Day.” And many of them have doodles, of course.

*

I met Natalie in seventh grade. We had CORE (history and English) and science (biology) together. I Natalie through a mutual friend, but I didn’t really get to know her very well until the second quarter of school, when I sat behind her. We had lots of poking wars, and had fun stealing each other’s pencils and participating in other mature, seventh-grader activities. With the passing of pokes and pencils, a great friendship was born. J

*

We were lab partners in biology in ninth grade, and again in eleventh grade. (We also had science together in seventh grade, and that was also biology. I guess Natalie, biology, and I go well together.)  In ninth grade I’m pretty sure we made a child together – it was a genetics lab. We tossed a coin to find out what traits our “child” would have.

In eleventh grade, AP Biology, we were lab partners the whole year. We also sat next to each other in science. It was really nice always having someone to depend on and talk to and joke with, and to steal pencils from.

No, really, we’re over the whole pencil-stealing poking thing. Really.

*

At the end of eighth grade, as our graduation trip, we went to Six Flags. I went with Natalie and had a great time. I remember slightly hyperventilating in the line to scary King Kong (I had never been on a roller coaster quite like it, and I was frightened). After the ride, I was totally fine. Natalie dealt with my craziness quite well. We also went on Medusa. Next year, we will hopefully go to Disneyland together for our high school grad night. I can’t wait!

*

Natalie and I have had a lot of strange conversations throughout our five years of friendship. Many of these are through email and text messaging. Underwear drawers and old people (separate conversations!) have been mentioned.

We have also talked about boys and books and college and homework and teachers and everything under the sun. Sometimes after school if my mom can’t pick me up I would go to Natalie’s house, hang out, and talk. I hope we’ll make many more weird conversations in the future!

*

When I think of Junior Prom, I will probably always think of Natalie as well. Not just because I was with her and a group of other friends when we went out to dinner, but because she is part of the reason I went to prom in the first place. We were talking in science one day about prom, and whether or not I’d be going, and I said, “I promise I’ll go to prom.” I kept true to that promise, and now I promise Natalie that I’ll go to the Senior Ball, too!

*

I haven’t always had classes with Natalie. Yes, in seventh grade we had CORE and science and PE, come to think of it. That’s the most classes that we’ve ever had together. In eighth grade I don’t think we had any classes together. In ninth grade we had science together. In tenth grade we didn’t have any classes together, but we stayed close. We ate lunch together and had time to hand out then. Also we hung out outside of school sometimes. Then, in eleventh grade, we had French and science together. I had a lot of fun with Natalie in all the classes I shared with her. We came up with clever nicknames and teamed up against another friend in French, honing our insults. We were lab partners in science, and hung out in PE (oh, the barely-remembered fun of the middle school endurance runs!). I hope I’ll have classes with Natalie senior year, but I know that even if I don’t, we’ll continue to be friends.

*

Last year, I had just gotten back from Europe the day of Natalie’s birthday party and I was too tired to go to it. This year, I’m away during Natalie’s birthday again. Natalie, I swear this isn’t on purpose! One of these days I’ll be here for your birthday, even if it’s your 30^th! Or your 18^th. I hope you have (had?) a wonderful day, and I hope you’ll have a wonderful year. I’m really glad that I got to know you, and that we’re still great friends. You’ve been a part of my life for so long now, and I imagine that you’ll continue to be a part of my life later on! We can still have odd text conversations when we’re in college, and hang out during the summer, and whatnot. But before that we still have all of senior year to rock. Again, have a great birthday! You’re a wonderful friend! J