Talk To The Stars

Friend Like Me

TRIGGER WARNING: MENTION OF CAR ACCIDENT. DEATH

Loosely based on the song from the film/ musical "Aladdin"

The day Rose died, raindrops pelted my windscreen relentlessly; smearing harsh streaks of blue and orange across the midnight reflection clouding my field of vision as I frantically rushed to see her one last time.

But I was too late.

She was gone, and it was all my fault.

If only I had answered my phone, she wouldn't have got in that car to see how I was, to make sure that I was okay. If I had gone to that party as I promised her, we would be downing shots by now, laughing gleefully at nothing at all. My arm would be around her slender shoulders as she called for more drinks, her voice slightly slurred from the alcohol.

But now she was gone, and I'd never see that radiant smile again.

Maybe I should start from the beginning, way before that fateful night last September. Let me take you back to the first day of high school.

The day I met her

It was a warm autumnal day when our English teacher paired us together to do a newspaper article on deforestation. Of course, me being shy and cripplingly awkward didn't really acknowledge her at first. Until our hands accidentally brushed together and we simultaneously looked up. I was greeted with a charisma that I have never seen before, and doubt I will ever see again.

Everything about her was beautiful. She lit up any room that she entered with a cheeky grin and bubbly persona. Originally from Liberia, she had these gorgeous thick dark braids that fell past her shoulders and mysterious eyes that stared right into my soul.

Every guy at our school was in love with her. They never said anything, nobody ever announced their undying love for Rose but you could feel it whenever she entered a room.

You could feel the passion, the underlying desire that coated every word that any man ever said to her.

Any man, and me.

Because, yes I was in love with her.

And yes, I am female, get over it.

I guess you could say she'd never had a friend like me before. She'd never really had any friends who were different.

She was a social butterfly, first on the guest list to every event, any event. Her world was a whirlwind of dress shopping and makeup and being out late at night having fun with her friends.

Then there's me, the closeted bisexual who'd rather spend the evening at home cuddling with a movie rather than out raving all night.

But I loved her, and I know that she loved me.