• It was windy for a summer day. I didn’t like the summer, mostly because it was so hot here in California. I rolled around a lot in my sleep, thinking about what tomorrow would bring. My last day of high school. I was officially going to be an adult; my life was finally going to change in a big way. In a good way. I thought I had it all planned out. I woke up this morning, freezing from the AC that was on all night. I really didn’t want to get up though, but at the same time I was ready to go to school in my pajamas. Could this really be it? Had all those four years really gone by that fast? Amazing what could happen in a short amount of time. For a moment I stared at the clock, and then I stared at myself in the mirror. I haven’t really changed, well at least nothing I noticed. You know how sometimes they say right before you die your entire life flashes in front of you? I was having that feeling right now; except I was sure I wasn’t dying. It seemed as if just yesterday was the beginning of the school year. I rushed to the door, with my coffee in one hand and my backpack in the other. My hands were trembling as they touched the knob to open the door. I stood in the warm June air, took a breath and started walking toward the bus stop. I waited, smiling and thinking about the past year, today, and the next year. It’s been almost an hour, I must just have lost track of time I thought to myself. It didn’t occur to me until a moment later, that the bus was only a few inches away from me. I also noticed something else; I wasn’t at the bus stop. In fact it had been only five minutes since I left my house. All of a sudden, I looked at my hands and all around me all I could see was water. Had I been crying? It hadn’t occurred to me what just happened. The wind all of a sudden felt colder, and the street became louder. Sound of screams, crying, and panic. I walked over to the bus and I heard someone, possibly a student yell “I think she’s dead!” That’s when it hit me. I was trembling with fear. My hands and feet couldn’t stop moving. It all came back to me now, while I was sitting in the hospital room. I felt a cold hand touch mine, and I looked up to a pale face that said “I am okay, thanks for helping me”. My face was wet again, and warm. Except this time I was smiling. She was “okay”. I helped her? My eyes were blurry again, just like they had been this morning.
    The street was empty, except for me and another school girl I recognized from my class. She saw me before I noticed who she was. We were never really good friends; in fact we hated each other. To be friendly I waved at her, but she just stood there and stared. That’s when the bus came. I couldn’t see her eyes on me anymore, which for a second was a relief. Then I realized the bus stopped too. I went over to where she stood and saw her pale, bloody leg. I saw her eyes again. They didn’t look the same as they were a few minutes ago staring at me. They seemed much darker. I felt pity and guilt at the same time. She looked scared, confused and in pain. That’s when all of a sudden something inside of me snapped. I had to help her. That’s all I could think. I wouldn’t let someone’s life end this way. No not today. Not ever. I could hear her voice, except it was more of a chirp, because she was having trouble breathing. She said “ W-what hap-happened? Wh-where am I? Help me!” Even though it was about 95 degrees outside, she was shivering. I yelled as if she wouldn’t be able to hear me “ I’m here! You will be okay!” I had faith, I knew she would. My hands slipped a few times, and I wasn’t sure if it was from my tears or sweat that drowned my face and hands. Shocked, I went over to her quickly and pulled her out slowly with the help of the bus driver. I called the ambulance right away. Before they could come, I comforted her as much as I could and told her she will be okay. Remembering what I had seen on T.V the other day, I quickly ripped a piece of my clothing and applied pressure to her leg. I couldn’t remember anything else after that because I fainted. Ever since, we were best friends. We shared our story to many, and we never knew how much we actually could learn from each other. It was nice to see her warm, pink face again. She always asked me “What day was it again.” I would always answer that it was the last day of school, not the last day of your life, but only the beginning of our friendship. We always laughed at that, but we truly knew inside how much that day really meant to us.