Irhaboggle Pride (2022) Gaylor Swift's Version

It's Nice to Have a Friend

"My gloves! Where are my gloves!" Little Lola Perry stopped dead in her tracks when she realized that her gloves weren't in their usual spot in her backpack. In fact, they weren't anywhere in her backpack! She ran back inside to ask her teacher, but he wasn't able to find them either. She ran back outside, eyes searching the snow-covered sidewalk for any hint of red or green against the white. Nothing.

But then, a blue and silver glove was suddenly shoved under her face.

"Huh?" She looked up to see...Susan!

"Wanna wear mine?" Susan asked, already in the process of removing her gloves to give to Perry.

"Oh, no! No! You should definitely keep them! So your hands don't get frostbite, or something!" Perry said, quickly waving her own hands.

"But what about yours?" Susan asked, tilting her head.

"I...I'll be fine. It's not too long of a trip home."

"Hmm...Well, my house is closer. Wanna hang out?" Susan extended a hand to Perry again. "We can even hold hands the whole way back, so I can try to help keep you warm until we get there!"

Perry was touched, eyes widening. Then a smile slowly spread across her face as she nodded her assent. Yeah, it sounds like fun!

Then suddenly, they were playing video games together, a pillow fort and blanket tent protecting them and their hot chocolate as they playfully passed one another notes and drawings between rounds of the game. One of the notes Perry gave Susan read, "It's nice to have a friend!" It was the start of a most beautiful friendship! And when winter turned into spring, they didn't hang out any less often than they did during the winter.

Next thing they knew, it was a warm, summer night and they were lying beneath the stars in a field behind Perry's yard. Maybe Susan's house was the first one they spent time at, but it didn't take long for them to start alternating. Each girl pointed to a star and pretended to draw a new constellation. Susan and Perry had both noted how funny it was to look at actual constellations and realize how little they resembled whatever they were supposed to be. For example, Ursa Major didn't look that much like a bear, so now the two were painting their own pictures in the sky.

"Perry?"

"Yeah, Susan?"

"I...I think you're my best friend."

"Really?"

"Really, really."

"Oh...Me too..." Perry turned on her side to smile at Susan. "I hope we can stay this close forever and ever!"

"Me too," Susan smiled back at Perry. "I don't wanna fly if you're still on the ground. And I'm only me when I'm with you!"

This was a mutual feeling. Even though Susan could drive Perry crazy half the time, the other half she was only trying to let the other girl know just how much she meant to her. They were just two smalltown kids living in a crazy world, trying to figure out what was or wasn't true. The one thing that remained constant through it all was each other. Neither girl ever hid tears, secrets, or deepest fears from the other.

"Nobody gets me like you do," Perry once said. "I'm only me when I'm with you!"

"And you know everything about me," Susan nodded. Both were in agreement, they couldn't imagine life without each other. When they were with anyone else, sometimes it felt hard to be themselves, but not when they were together!

ooo

Then they were 16 and suddenly, neither of them was the little girl they used to be. Perry was maturing and preparing for college and Susan had since started identifying as nonbinary. Lafontaine, their surname, was their new name. But, because this was a fairly recent development for them, they were still a little worried about it. They weren't worried about their identity, no, they were confident that they were nonbinary. The question was just how everyone else would take it. They weren't out to anyone yet. Not even Perry.