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MENTAL HEALTH | FRIENDSHIP
The Friendship That Slowly Faded Away
We knew each other from kindergarten but now we work in the same building and we’re total strangers
I met Anna in kindergarten. On the first day of class, I sat in my square on the carpet and cried. Face red. Eyes swollen. Nose sniffling. Anna stared impassively into the camera like a robot. A photographer went around, snapping photos of every single student, then delivering them as mementos to the parents a few days later. I got a copy of my photo, as well, randomly, as Anna’s photo. I guess they thought the crying one and the robotic one were the same person.
That was the first time we were confused for each other. It continued through elementary school, middle school, until senior year of high school. We attended the same schools and had the same classes. We were both studious and quiet. It didn’t help that we both wore our hair in ponytails, wore the same white sweater, and walked next to each other all the time. People constantly called us by the other’s name.
We were stuck together at the hip. We did our science projects together and worked on our math homework together. We visited each other’s house. We passed notes to each other in the hallway between classes in high school. I decorated…
