Orchid Friends

Chapter 1

They say true friends last a lifetime and I think that's so true. We make friends through our life and sometimes we lose them along the way, but other times they follow us through our entire life. I met Terry  when I was a child. My family had just transferred from California to New York and it was really tough changing schools and leaving your friends behind, but the moment I walked into class and sat next to Terry we connected for life. We went through a lot, having some happy moments and some sad moments and even living far from each other but still remaining good friends.
My name is Dalia and my family is from Italy but they immigrated many years ago and kept their Italian traditions at home. I grew up eating Italian food and speaking Italian at home .I lived in a small area outside of New York, called Ridgewood. It was a nice area where we all pretty much knew each other. The houses were all next to each other with many blocks of streets full of trees and squirrels running around. It was an area where there were some Italian shops and in the summer there were block parties where all the neighbours cooked and shared their food and danced in the streets. I attended the local elementary school, where I met Terry.  Terry came from a family different than mine. Her parents were divorced and she had step brothers and sisters. She lived with her mom who was very young and loved to go out dancing at the weekends. As a child Terry  was a tall skinny girl with short blond hair and big green eyes but growing up she bloomed into a beautiful girl with long blond hair and a body that all the girls envied and the boys dreamt of holding. She broke many hearts during the years. Going to high school was a big change for me because I was always the shy and quiet one and Terry was the complete opposite. I was the one who studied and wanted to go to class and Terry always seemed to find a way to drag me out of school.  Terry never did anything without me by her side, we went to all the cool parties and hung out with all the cool kids and always dragged me away from my books to go have some fun. Looking back I realized that without her I probably would have been a nerd and hung out with the nerdy kids and I wouldn’t have had so much fun through my high school years. Even if I went to parties and had fun I always kept my grades up and never gave up on my dream to one day study at the university of London.  The last year of high school I applied to various colleges  but never really told Terry because I knew she would never understand. Every time I brought up the conversation of our future after high school Terry always seemed to blow me off.
“Terry, soon we are finishing school, what are you going to do?” I asked her one day as we were getting ready to go to a party,
“I think we should move to Vegas and become strippers" she answered laughing
“ I’m being serious, can you try to be serious for once" I said tossing a brush at her
“ I don’t know, but the other day my council called me telling me that I won't be graduating this year” she said shrugging her shoulders. “ it seems I need 6 more credits and that means I need to make up three classes, so it looks like I will be here next year.”
I couldn't believe what she was telling me I didn’t have the courage to tell her that I had applied to colleges far away because I knew she would be upset. So I decided to keep it to myself until I got the responses from the colleges I applied for.
“ That’s a bummer,  so is Mike going to be at the party tonight.?” I changed the subject to avoid saying anything more.
“I hope so that’s why I am going to look really hot tonight so he will notice me for sure!” answered Terry as she was getting dressed.
Mike was a guy that Terry went out on one single date and she fell in love, but he never asked her out again. I never understood  what she saw in him because he was older with a receding hairline and not handsome at all, but she was crazy about him. She used to make me follow him and go to the same parties just to get a glimpse of him. Terry had no problem in getting guys to look at her but for some strange reason Mike was just not interested and that made her go nuts.
The party was at  Parrots Night, a club we went to every week and met up with friends. As soon as we walked in Terry went to the bar , just like always,  to get drinks. I walked around saying hello to people I knew and doing small talk, but after awhile I didn’t see Terry  so I decided to look for her. I went to the bar and she was sitting there talking to a blond guy.
“Terry, everyone is asking about you” I said as I took a sip  of her drink
“ Dalia, this is  Louis" said Terry pointing to the blond guy sitting next to her
“ nice to meet you" I smiled
“ Hey girl!” he yelled
“ I’m going to our friends" I said picking up her glass and walking away
Terry always did the same thing when we went out to a club. She drank until she was drunk and either I drove her home or she ended up in some guy's house she had met that night. Terry loved to have fun. She always said that we had to have fun now that we were young. I liked to have fun too, but I wanted more in life. I never saw myself staying  in one place. I wanted to travel and see the world. I wanted to have a career and have a good salary. Terry and I were different in many ways but I think that’s what made us be so connected. Our differences made our friendship exciting and we never were bored of spending time with each other.
“Where's  Terry?” asked Annabelle a friend whose birthday we were celebrating that evening.
“ she's talking to some guy" I said shrugging my shoulders
I danced and talked most of the evening and not once did I see Terry. I decided to go look for her and walked to the bar but she wasn’t there. I then decided to see if she was outside and I saw her sitting on the sidewalk talking to the same blond guy. I walked over to her and saw she was drunk.
“ it’s time to go home Terry “ I said helping her up
“ I’ll take her home" said Louis
“ I think it’s better I take her home, have a nice night" I said walking Terry to my car
Terry fell immediately asleep in the car and I drove home quietly with my thoughts.
The next day I got up early and decided to go for a run at the park. Terry was dead asleep on my bed. I was too tired to drive her home and decided to bring her here like I did many times.
“Mom I’m going for a run, Terry is sleeping in my room" I yelled as I was leaving the house
“ ok, Va bene" yelled my mom. She always had to put an Italian word when she spoke and it made me smile all the time.
Running always cleared my thoughts so I did it when I could. The park near my house was small but it was enough for a quick run. There were many trees and some basket ball hoops where a lot  of guys went to play. There were swings and slides for kids and benches around where older people sat and enjoyed the view.  The park was near the high school  I attended and everyone met up there to hang out. Today I just wanted to run and listen to music with my head phones. I ran four laps and then decided to go home, but just as I was leaving the park someone yelled my name.
“Dalia!”
I turned around and saw a group of guys from my school.
“hi” I waved
“ wait, I need to talk to you" yelled Theo , a boy who was in my math class.  We really never had a conversation it was mostly hi and byes and waves.
I walked over to him , “what’s up?” I asked
“how are you ?” he asked smiling. Theo was very handsome,  he had dark hair and beautiful green eyes. He was built and was in the school football team. He also had all the cheerleaders chasing him. I actually was surprised  he was talking to me.
“ I’m fine” I said shyly
“ listen, I was wondering if you wanted to go out tonight?” he asked
“me?” I said without thinking. He wanted to go out with me when he could go out with all the hot girls around him. I couldn't believe my ears.
“ yes, you! I know you're probably wondering why I’m asking you now, well I guess I never had the courage to. Today I  saw you alone without Terry and I  don’t know , umm, so will you go out with me tonight?” he said looking straight into my eyes.
“ well, I am not going to lie, umm, I am kind of shocked you're asking me out but ok, let’s go out!” I said looking down at my feet.
“ great! Give me you're phone, I’ll give you my number so you can send me your address, I’ll pick you up at 7, is that ok?”
“sure” I said as I handed him my phone.
He then handed back my phone and smiled, “see you tonight!”
“see you later" I said walking away. I couldn't believe what had just happened.  I was going on a date with the hottest guy in the school. I ran home and straight to my room to tell Terry.
Terry was drying her hair as I entered my room. I grabbed the hairdryer from her hand and grabbed her and started jumping up and down, “what the fuck, Dalia, what's your problem ?” yelled Terry
“ Terry, oh my God! you're not going to believe who just asked me out on a date tonight! “
“ who?”
“Theo ! He said he never had the courage to ask me before, but today he did! I don't get it, why me?”
“oh Dalia, I’ve been telling you for years, you are hot, guys like you! You are just stupid and think no one likes you, you’re always saying you're fat and you always think  guys prefer me. Sweetie  now you know that's  not true, shit, Theo is fuckin hot! I’m jealous “ screamed Terry laughing as she hugged me
“ oh, we need to go to the mall! I need a new outfit!” I shouted as I jumped into the shower.
We went to the mall and after hours of trying on different clothes, I finally agreed on an outfit which was a pair of black Jean’s with a silver and black blouse. I didn’t feel comfortable wearing a dress on our first date. We then went home and Terry helped me get ready. At exactly seven p.m. the doorbell rang. I opened the door and there he was with a red rose in his hand. He was wearing a pair of blue Jeans and a light blue buttoned down shirt. He had on white sneakers and his hair was sleeked back and is green eyes seemed brighter than ever. He smiled and handed me the beautiful rose
“ hello beautiful, are you ready?” he smiled
“ yes, let me grab my bag “ I said as I went inside and got my bag sitting on the sofa. Terry was behind the door and I looked over to her and smiled and walked out the door.
He was a complete gentleman walking me to his car and opening the door for me. As he drove he put on music softly and we chatted about school and various classmates. We arrived at a restaurant and before coming out of the car he looked over to me,
“ I hope you like Greek food" he said
“ yes, I do.” I smiled
The restaurant  was called Ophelia and it was full of people, they sat us near a beautiful tree with many white lights. It looked like a magical place. There were many trees around with white lights and beautiful plants, I felt like I was eating in a botanical garden. We ate and he told me about his family.
“ I have two brothers and a sister, they are all older, infact  I have three nieces and nephews. We are pretty close. My parents are hard workers here at the restaurant “
“ here?” I said surprised
“ yes, this is my family's restaurant,  Ophelia is my mom, I didn't tell you before because I didn't want you to be nervous “
“ oh! I see, it’s no problem,  but I imagine they are all spying on you trying to get a look at me” I said laughing
“ actually I forbade them to come out of the kitchen" he laughed
“ do you bring all your girls here for your family's approval? “ I smiled
“ actually,  you are the first, I never bring girls here, and I don’t really date a lot of girls, as everyone thinks at school” he said looking into my eyes
“ I find it hard to believe,  you have all the cheerleaders throwing themselves at you, and I have seen you with many girls in the hallways at school” I laughed
“ so you have been looking at me at school,  and here I thought you didn’t even care I existed “ he said
“ I observe a lot and I notice a lot , and honestly how many girls you have dated is not my business “
“ Dalia, I really don't date so much, I don’t want you to think my reputation is real, I just let people believe what they want about me, the people I care about know the real me and I hope in time you will know that person. “ he said grabbing my hand kissing it
I was in a romantic dream and I felt like I couldn't wake up.