Remember That Time

Remember That Time

“And some say his ghost still haunts these very woods,” Jamie whispered, her flashlight in hand casting an eerie glow on the underside of her face. The campfire we all sat around popped and crackled. “That story wasn’t even scary, ghosts obviously don’t exist. Duh,” Lisa says as she wraps her blanket a little tighter around her small frame. The night air smells like smoke and pine trees. The moon is especially bright, almost as if it were celebrating the first day of summer with us. As I look around at the people I had spent the last four years with, I realize that this would be one of the last times I would get to talk with them; laugh with them; be with them before we all left for college in the fall.

“Hello? Earth to Sam!” I see Bret waving at me from across the fire. “Are you okay? You totally zoned out.” I blink the haziness of nostalgia out of my eyes and smiled, “Yeah I’m fine. Just thinking about how much we’ve been through.” Suddenly everyone is lost in their memories of spirit days and late night car rides. “Guys, remember that time when we drove to the pasture at five in the morning just to watch the sunrise?” Clara exclaims. “Or what about that time we dumped 83 packets of purple kool aid into the school pool?” Jason added excitedly. Soon everyone was adding in their favorite stories from various past shenanigans. Again I was left alone with my thoughts, watching my best friends sit around the dancing flames, reminiscing about the past.

Suddenly I am back in the halls of the school and it is the first day of freshman year. People crowd the hallways, standing by the lockers chatting, walking to their first class, standing by the windows looking for a friendly face. Being a new kid in school is never easy, but being the new kid in high school is even harder. As I walk up to my homeroom class, my stomach ties up in knots and my palms begin to sweat a bit. “Stop it. You’ll be fine. They’re just people. You will find friends,” I mutter to myself as I gingerly open the door.

I get through the doorway only to turn left and walk straight into a bookshelf. Books topple to the floor as I quickly try to pick them up and keep the rest from crashing to the ground. “Well that is definitely one way to make an entrance,” I hear someone say. I look up and see a girl with shoulder length, mousy brown hair and freckles scattered across her cheeks. “Hey I’m Jamie.” I stumble to my feet and awkwardly shake her hand, “Uh I’m new. I mean...my name isn’t new, its Samantha, but just call me Sam.” Jamie smiles a perfectly straight-toothed smile, takes my hand, and leads me to a table where there are a few other people sitting. “Guys this is Sam. Sam, meet the gang,” she says.

I met Jason, a tall, skinny boy with curly black hair and a love for computers that I will never understand. And I met Clara, a red headed girl who can name every capital city in Europe. I met Lisa, a petite blond girl with a secret obsession with all things Renaissance-related. And, lastly, Bret the captain of the school tennis team and boyfriend of Jamie. “Hey Sam, you should hang out with us today!” Clara suggested enthusiastically. At that moment I realized that making friends would be a lot easier than I thought.
The people that I sat with at that table in homeroom have been by my side ever since then. I don't know what I would do without them. I gaze over at my friends gathered around the slowly dying fire and I smile to myself. The day I met these incredible people will always by my favorite memory. I feel a nudge on my shoulder and turn to my left, "Sam, remember that time when you attacked a bookshelf on the first day of freshman year? That was classic!" Jamie laughs. I chuckle along contentedly with everyone else, "I'll never forget it."