Jane Nichols and Halle Adams had been together for as long as they could remember. Their mothers had met through a book club when the girls were both barely one and had set them up on many play dates. They began to grow up together, playing outside all day in the warm summers of Texas, and shopping at The Woodlands mall as the weather cooled down a bit. As they got older they were together more often then they weren’t. The two were practically like sisters and to them there was nothing better then that. As they were now entering there last year of junior high, both vowed that they would stick with each other and not let anything tear them apart.
...

It was August 14, Halle and Jane’s first day of school. Halle woke up to the sound of her mother using the blender downstairs in the kitchen, and her younger sister whining about having to get up. She slowly retreated out of bed and gradually made her way to her closet where she pulled out her first day of school outfit. She couldn’t believe that this was the first day of her last year at Knox Jr. High. But at least she and Jane would finally be the oldest in the school! After getting ready and grabbing a quick bite to eat, Halle ran three doors down to Jane’s house to wait for the bus.

“Can you believe it?!” Jane shouted as soon as Halle walked in the door. Halle jumped and looked up at her friend.
“Oh, I know, only one more year until we move on to the big high school!” Halle squealed, both girls jumping up and down. After their burst of excitement they both calmed down and walked out, looking in the mirror as they passed. They looked at each others reflections and saw how much they both looked alike. They always had. Halle and Jane both had straight brown hair, although Jane’s was shorter, and the same piercing green eyes. But Jane was much taller then Halle, something she had always teasingly given her grief about. But both girls were confident in there appearances, unlike some of the other girls at school that obsessed over the way they looked and tried too hard to be something they weren’t. Both girls then picked up there bags and headed out the bus climbing on right before the doors closed.

After a long day of school, filled with catching up with old friends, new teachers, and even some homework, both girls tiredly flopped down in chairs at Halle’s kitchen table for a snack of cookies and fruit that Mrs. Adams had layed out.

“So, how was your first day?” Mrs. Adams asked the girl’s eagerly.

“It was fine.” They both responded in unison.

“Okay, so I guess I won’t be getting much out of you two today.” Halle’s mom replied, glancing at the girls, and then quickly glancing away when Halle looked up. Mrs. Adams hurriedly walked out of the room and Halle had a confused look on her face when Jane looked up at her.

“What’s wrong?” asked Jane, curiously.

“I don’t know, but don’t you think my mom was acting weird?” Halle said.

“I didn’t really notice it, maybe she’s just tired?” Jane tried.

“Ya, I guess.” Halle responded, unconvinced, and both girls got up and Halle walked Jane home to finish her homework. When Halle returned home ten minutes later her dad had just gotten home. After a quick hello and a nod to Halle and her sister, Amanda, he went straight to their parent’s room and the two of them could hear the faint murmur of their parents discussing something. What was wrong? Halle thought. She went up to her room to finish her homework and take her mind off whatever was troubling her parents.

That evening at dinner Halle’s parents were still acting strange and the family was oddly quiet. After five minutes of a painfully awkward silence Halle’s dad cleared his throat and looked up at his wife across the table.

“Girls, I received a call from your Aunt Debbie today while I was at work.” Mr. Adam’s started. “And she had some unexpected news for me.” He continued. “Apparently your Grandma Rosie has been feeling sick for a while and today your aunt finally convinced her to go to the doctor. The doctor diagnosed her with a type of rare blood cancer called Myeloma, but it was found very late and there is not a very good chance that she will survive. Her immune system is weak as it is and this might be it for her.” He finished.

Across the table Halle’s mother burst into tears as Halle and Amanda sat there with their mouths hanging open still not having comprehended what their father had just said. Mr. Adams just sat there with his head hanging low. A few minutes later after the family had calmed down a bit, Halle’s mother spoke up.

“Girl’s your father and I have been talking and we think that this might be a good time to move to Vail to be closer to your grandmother and the rest of our family.”

“What?!” Halle shouted. Then remembering the situation that her family was already in, she quieted down and let her mom continue.

“Your aunt has an apartment next door to her that is for sale and we talked to our realtor earlier today about renting it until your father could find a job and we could find a house. I know that this will be hard on you girls but we have to do it for your grandma.” The table was quiet as Halle got up and ran in her room. She didn’t want to cry in front of her parents, she knew it would just upset her mom even more. As Halle cried herself to sleep all she could think about was having to tell Jane the next day.
…

It was lunch and Jane and Halle were sitting together at a table in the middle of the clustered, smelly lunch room. Halle had been quiet all day and Jane was worried. But she had known her long enough to know that Halle is not the kind of person to bother when she was upset. She knew that if she just let her be she would come out and tell her on her own.

“Um Jane, there’s something I have to tell you.” Halle stammered. It was the first time that she had been even remotely nervous to tell her best friend something. “My Grandma Rosie is really sick and we have to move to Vail, Colorado to be with her.” Halle blurted out as fast as her mouth would let her.

“Wait, you’re joking right?” Jane asked hesitantly.

“I wish I was!” Halle started bawling. She put her face in her hands, trying to muffle the sobs and ran to the girl’s bathroom with Jane following shortly after. “Jane how can I be moving?! I’ve lived here my whole life and how am I supposed to get used to a place as different as Colorado!?” Halle shook as she kept on sobbing and Jane put her arm around her best friend.

“I’m so sorry Halle everything’s going to be okay and this is what is best, especially for your grandma.” Jane said as she desperately tried to hold back her own tears. “And I’ll be here for you no matter what, don’t forget that.

The girls went over to Jane’s house after school to hangout. Mrs. Nichols had already known about the move and gave Halle a very sympathetic look when she walked in the door. The two friends went up into Jane’s room and talked for awhile. Both cried a little bit, but it was hard for them to grasp the fact that Halle was actually moving, especially Jane, it was even harder for her. How was she supposed to live over a 1,000 miles away from a friend that was so close to her it was like losing her right arm? After an episode of crying Halle went home to hear the rest of her fate.

At home Halle found her mom in her room, on the floor crying. She knew hoe hard this was on her and so she tiptoed in quietly and sat next to her mother. As Halle put her arm around her she quickly wiped away her tears and got up. Halle’s mom then told her that their house would be put up for sale the next day and they were trying to move as fast as they could. Halle tried to listen very carefully, but her mind was off somewhere else. She had never moved and she didn’t know what it was like or what to expect. What if she was made fun of or couldn’t find any friends? These thoughts scared her and she pushed them out of her mind and refocused back on her mom. “I’m so sorry that you have to go through this sweetie, but it’s for the best.” Of course, thought Halle. Of course it’s the best, at least that’s what everybody was saying. Halle just had to tell herself that.

3 Weeks Later


It was the day of the move. Or d-day as Halle and Jane liked to call it. They both had been dreading this day and had stopped talking about it at all two weeks ago. But they did spend every possible waking moment they could together having plenty of sleepovers, and remembering countless memories. Both of the girls were now lying on the floor of Halle’s empty room looking up at the ceiling.

“Wow.” Jane said. “It’s hard to imagine this room filled with all your stuff.”

“Ya like all the books everywhere.” Halle responded.

“Ya or all the trophies from all of our soccer seasons.” Jane added. Both girls were silent, cherishing their last moments together for a long time. Then Jane stood up and went out in the hallway. She came back in with what looked like a big book. Halle sat up and Jane set the book on the ground between them. Halle picked it up and realized that it was a scrapbook. On the front was a picture of the two of them that Mrs. Nichols had taken of the two of them at the Houston Rodeo one year when they had been younger. Halle opened it up and found many more pages of pictures. The two of them both leafed through them and the tears began to come out. By the end of the scrapbook both girls were hugging each other and crying. Then they hears a car horn beep and they both solemnly walked downstairs and outside onto the big lawn. The adults had already said goodbye and the rest of the Nichols family was waiting by the car. Halle and Jane gave each other one last hug, but before they went there separate ways Jane leaned over and whispered something in Halle’s ear.
“I’ll be here.” And with that they both turned and walked opposite ways, the words still ringing in Halle’s ears and turning on Jane’s tongue.