Best Friends Forever

Thursday, September 20, 2012.

It was the first month of school and they got a new student. The teacher told them that it would be a girl from Nairobi, Kenya, and that she would be spending the year with us.

On that day, Victoria met the girl who would later become her best friend, a small 8 year old girl with chocolate-brown skin, light brown eyes and a shy personality.

Her name was Makena.

She met Makena at recess and they played together and ate lunch together everyday. After about a month, they started having frequent playdates and even sleepovers on weekends. They even went home from school together some days.

They were on cloud nine, but then at the end of second grade, Makena had to go back to Kenya and said she may not be able to come back. It was really scary for Victoria to think her best friend might not come back. But two months later, Makena came back and after their sleepover, it was as if she never left. Years later, on the last day of fifth grade, Makena told Victoria she was moving to Plano. Again, they had to be split from each other. Two years later, Makena moved back and became Victoria’s neighbor, except Makena was homeschooled meaning they wouldn’t be going to high school together. 

Even now, six years later, they’re still best friends and hang out almost every day. Their families always spend holidays together—like Christmas and Thanksgiving—even spending Kenyan holidays together like Jamhuri and Mashujaa Day. Six years of friendship and they’ve made each other better people. They’re always happy and keep each other in check. Most importantly, they’ll always be in each other’s lives.