It was a perfect life. I had everything a person could ever want; I was popular and had a best friend that would be my friend. Forever. I felt pretty and loved; I mean, who wouldn't? Those puny sixth and seventh graders just looked at me with a shiny glow, letting me know that I was their role model. The eighth graders just glared at me, envying my luck. I was a straight A student and even was invited to be in the cheerleading squad. I mean nobody ever gets invited to cheerleading squad; a person's even lucky if they get in. I was under royal treatment. I was totally happy!! Or so I thought.

[ Flashback ]

Here is my story.
"Come on, Kilae! Let's go!" said Tracy, my best friend, as she waved her hands wildly, her brown hair bunched carelessly into a ponytail. As the engine of the shiny, red Chevrolet Malibu roared to life, I ran to Tracy trying to smile as I reminded myself what a horrible day it was going to be. My mom hopped into the brand new leather car seat and waned her neck to the backseat where Tracy and I were excitingly chatting about Sim. Just to tell you, I think he is the hottest boy in the whole world!! He has these sexy, clear blue eyes and the most amazing smile! "Scuse me." Mom said as she cleared her throat loudly and looked at both of us in the eye. She looked at us seriously and asked, "Where are we heading?" We looked at each other and paused rolling our eyes sharply turned out heads and exclaimed with a confident, but sassy tone, "Duh, the MALL?!?"

"Helllooo!!!" We exclaimed as we both stared at Mom like she was alien while I was giving her that don't-embarrass-me-in-front-of-Tracy look. She turned around the face the road and inaudibly muttered, "teenagers..." and sighed as she leaned over to drive. The car jerked forward and we headed toward the mall. Again, I reminded myself about how much Tracy was going to drag me all over the mall, talking about how she looks good in anything. I forced a cheery smile on my face talking about the perfect dress- I really didn't care at all- and groaned. Tracy flinched, but that was it. Then, she went on and on about how she was going to do her hair and eyes and cheeks.. and on and on and on. I tuned her out and stared out the window, watching the perfect white houses with all the same nicely mowed lawns, Victorian style gates, and to show off; a new shiny, expensive car. They raced pass the windows like a movie; showing the same scene over and over again. I started to feel a little drowsy and started to dip my head as I fell in and out of sleep as Tracy chattered on and on. The car smoothly slid into the parking lot and the engine sputtered to a stop. Tracy snatched my hand, still chattering, and started to drag me toward the entrance of the gigantic mall so that we wouldn't be seen with Mom; well, at least until she catches up with us. Going at full speed, Tracy headed toward the escalator seeming that it moves faster, therefore, getting us more distance from my mom.

Suddenly, Tracy stopped dead. I had no idea she had stopped and at the rate she was dragging me, it might as well, have been a sprint. Well, what I am trying to say is that I, unknowingly, collided into Tracy. We both fell straight down on that cold, white floor, facedown. Tracy immediately resumed her position after standing up and brushing off her clothes, ignoring what just happened. Curious and just a little mad, I grumbled and got up staring at her in disbelief, shaking my head. Tracy's sharp gaze landed on a figure at the other end of the mall. It looked, closer, curiously and grinned. It was Sim! I thought about how lucky we were to meet him at a mall like this and I grabbed Tracy and dragged her toward his direction. Tracy halted and yelled, "Hello! We have to think of something before we go up the hottest guy in the world!!" Unfortunately, Tracy had yelled a little too loud and the whole mall, or at least it seemed like the whole mall, heard. Coolly, like the totally smooth guy her was, Sim came up to us and smiled his prefect smile, with his brilliant white teeth showing, and looked Tracy in the eyes and said, "Did you call me? I think I heard my name." If humans could melt, Tracy would have definitely melted right then and there. She opened her mouth to say something but nothing seemed to come out. Sim chuckled and asked Tracy out right then and there!! It was so unbelievable! These are the exact words he said, "You know, Tracy, I've always admired you from school. Why don't we go out to the movies on Saturday?" Tracy finally managed to get something out of her mouth saying a muffled 'sure'. As soon as Sim left, she squealed in delight just as Mom came bursting in, telling us that we should not run away like that because it was dangerous and blah, blah, blah. We just stood there smiling, not listening to a single word Mom said. She looked at us with a funny look and then proceeded to shop with us.

After that incident at the mall, Tracy started to really lose contact with me. She was usually doing homework with Sim (although I highly doubt they were actually doing homework), going to the movies with Sim, or even just hanging out with him. By the time we actually got to "hang out," it was a weekday sleepover (not weekends; they are reserved for Sim). I started to actually feel lonely. When the day of the sleepover came, I waited for hours looking at the clock. Ever hour I paced back and forth, waiting for her. The phone gave a loud "DING" and I jumped. I dashed towards the annoying phone and grabbed it. I yelled in a frustrated tone, "Is that you Tracy?!"

"Yeah, well sorry I couldn't make it. We'll have the sleepover next week?" Said Tracy calmly as guys chattered in the background, one probably Sim.

"Is that all you're gonna say-" I was CUT off!! I slammed the phone down with rage and told myself to calm down. This is probably the only time that this will happen, I thought to myself. The next week crawled around the corner and the same thing happened. And the next and the next. Then, I finally gave up. I saw Tracy less and less, we only said "Hi" in halls. Maybe once a week. That grew to just once a month. I was feeling really lonely without anyone to talk to.

One day, I just started to silently sob in History class. Nobody could see me except that girl who sat by me in class. She nudged me and asked me if I was okay. I said, "No" and sadly shook my head. After that day, Mandy and I, that girl in history class, began to see each other more often. At first everyday during history class. Then I, I started to eat lunch with her. That feeling of loneliness went away when Mandy and I slept over at each other's houses. We even went shopping together! There was only one problem. Mandy was..well, to put it in a nice way-not so popular; much more frequently known as a dork. You see, as I hung out with Mandy I became less and less popular. I didn't know what to do.

Bursting into my room and disrupting my thoughts, Tracy came in red-eyed and crying. Her tears flowed and made a wet spot in the carpet. Alarmed I asked, "What happened? Are you okay?" Her words came out as blubbers as she tried to explain that Sim had broken up with her. She ceased her crying and told me that she wanted me to be her best friend again and that she was sorry that she ever dated Sim. She begged me again and again.

Now, I was in deep Kim Chee. My mind exploded as I tried to decide which person to be friends with; Tracy or Mandy. I knew that with Mandy, I'd still have fun but not popular anymore. With Tracy, I would be popular again and still have fun. Well the odds were against Mandy and I decided to become friends with Tracy again. Besides, I get both advantages of having fun and still be popular. But then I remembered that time way back in seventh grade when I wasn't popular at all.

I remembered I had a lot more fun then because I didn't have to worry about what people thought about me. I remembered the time when I carelessly and joyously played with my friends. I now remembered that Tracy had ditched me for Sim and the pain I went through. Now, I remembered everything.

I decided that being popular wasn't worth it at all. I told Tracy that she wasn't a "real" friend. She called me cruel names and marched out of my room. I smiled as I thought of how much fun I would have with Mandy. I called her up and spontaneously told her that she was a real friend. She sounded surprise and I could "hear" her smile. I smiled a very big smile and it traveled through the phone lines, the smiles growing into a bigger one.

All that, I knew she was my best friend. Maybe even forever.

End?