3/17/09
5:42 p.m.
H,
Do you remember the day that we met?
I was taller than you then, and you had braces, and you were the only person to sit next to me at lunch.
Even in the beginning you found me first.
You gave me that silly smile, the one that I still can't help but smile back at. Even just imagining it from memory.
We talked about unimportant school things. Like how Rachel Gilliam was dating Tyler Parks and how gross it was that Joey what's-his-name picked his nose during math class.
I didn't have a lunch, and do you know what you did?
You handed me the other half of your peanut-butter sandwich.
And your container of strawberries too, not knowing then that they are my favorite.
When I shook my head, you insisted.
"Everyone should have a full stomach after a long day."
You were right, of course. You've always been right.
I used to kind of hate you for it sometimes.
No—not hate. I could never hate you like that.
Annoyed? Yes, that's better.
I was annoyed with you about it.
Especially when Ryan Tracey would shove you in the hallway and I felt like punching his face. And you would drag me away, telling me over and over again that it was okay.
"Besides, have you seen him? Come on, little goose. You wouldn't stand a chance."
Yes, I know. I'd say back.
I've always been too confident for my size. And you knew that.
You knew a lot of things about me. Most of them I didn't even realize myself.
Like sophomore year when you told me how pretty my hair looks in the sun.
I didn't get it. What's so pretty about brown?
"Everything." You answered simply.
I've never told you, but that mattered to me.
Even if it never did to you.
-L
