My Almost Best Friend

I want to tell you about my new friend.

She went to academy with me in the CHURCH SCHOOL BLUES days.

She was in my class.

She hung out with some of the people who had bullied me.

So I thought she was against me too.

We recently met again on Facebook.  And we have been chatting.

It turns out that she would have liked to have been my friend then.

But I wouldn't speak to anyone.

She told me that people thought it was by choice that I was silent.

That I wore pretty clothes and had beautiful hair and acted like I wanted nothing to do with anyone.

She didn't know that I was silent because I couldn't get the words out,

couldn't meet anyone's eyes,

because I was ashamed.

She didn't know the secrets that I kept, didn't know my story.

She didn't try to know because she didn't dare.

I was scary in my aloofness.

And I didn't know she would have been my friend.

I didn't know she would have liked to have had a friend who was imaginative,

creative, and unusual like me.

I didn't know she would have liked to have been friends with ME.

We didn't know.

I think the moral to this story is that not everyone is against you, although it may seem like they are.

We weren't young and stupid.

We were just young.

We lacked the perspective that we have now,

where I might have been able to better discern between my enemies and possible friends

and she might have been able to see past my sphinx-like exterior.

We are busy catching up now.

I would like to introduce her to you.

Her name is Lynda.

She is a singer and a music teacher.

We're going to do some creative stuff together.

This is Lynda's website.  Visit it if you like kids and music and karaoke.

Pictured above: Me (left) and Lynda (right).  We happened to be standing together in the class photograph, but I'm sure I never said a word to her!