IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU

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Beverly Morris was exactly what you would expect a girl like her to be. Golden, wavy locs of hair flowed over her shoulders and down her back, her blue eyes glimmered in the sun, and her rosy cheeks had an identical dimple on each side when she smiled. From such a young age, she was considered perfect. She had two parents that loved and doted on her with every waking breath, she was encouraged to participate in whatever her heart desired, and above all else, she was kind. When faced with adversity, which was hard to come by for the sheltered girl, she always chose the side of good. That was how she came to meet her best friend, Robin Buckley.

It was fourth grade. Beverly was nine, she knew the difference between right and wrong. Despite her young age, she could witness the actions of her peers and judge them into either of those two categories. Robin hung from the monkey bars, her legs kicking with each swing. She had a grin plastered on her face, her brown hair pulled back into two messy pigtails atop her head. Beverly remembered it vividly; it was an important, shaping moment of her life. The cohort of fourth grade teachers were chattering in the front corner of the playground, likely counting down the minutes before they were doomed to spend the remaining hours of school surrounded by stinky, sticky kids.

Before anyone could notice, Robin's next move fell just short of the final bar that she had been reaching for, and her small body plummeted towards the ground. For Robin, the fall felt like forever, but for the spectators, the thump came immediately Robin missed the final bar. Because the monkey bars were one of the playground's most popular attractions, the group of kids waiting on the platform broke out into laughter. All for Beverly, who peered out behind the chuckling children and quickly gave up her spot in line to assist the girl that had fallen to the ground. When she approached her, Beverly saw Robin with a quivering lip and a skinned knee.

"Are you okay?" Beverly asked, kneeling down beside her in the woodchips while another student took to the monkey bars, having had enough with the waiting game.

"Move!" The boy shouted as his legs dangled in the air, quickly approaching the two girls. Beverly stood quickly and pushed his legs, which led to the boy swinging back further than anticipated, and a chain reaction followed of the kids in line falling back on one another after the first attempted to dodge the shoed feet flying his way.

"Let's go to the nurse." Beverly said, turning back to Robin. She offered the embarrassed girl her hand, then led her to the group of chattering teachers, who had only looked up when they heard the sounds of children falling over one another and shouting.

"Can I take her to the nurse?" Beverly asked one of the teachers, still holding Robin's hand tightly. She stepped to the side, being sure to keep their hands locked together, and gestured to the oozing kneecap that Robin adorned. The teacher nodded and dismissed them before following the other women towards the growing pile of children on the structure that hosted the monkey bars.

Robin and Beverly were unlikely friends. When entering high school, Robin tried for band, and Beverly tried for cheer, and they both made their respective teams. Robin took accelerated classes, while Beverly focused on her social life. The blonde had a roster of boys by the end of their sophomore year, while Robin could count the number of people she had interacted with that week on one hand. Despite their differences, the girls never felt separated by their societal standings. They continued their late-night dance parties, occasional bowling dates, and everything they had deemed a tradition in their friendship.

Beverly's higher social standing was quickly weaponized by the girls. At any jab made towards the less popular companion of the duo was met with a tirade from the blonde, who was typically true to her younger self and remained kind and soft-spoken. The biggest difference between the nine-year-old and the fifteen-year-old was that now, Beverly had the junior varsity cheer squad to back her up. While she maintained the image of the sweet girl next door, the freshmen and sophomores would scurry around to her bidding, just to keep on her good side.