Juxtaposition Sequence

They had met as young students in school, neither one realizing what was to come in the future. A friendship had come about by means of simple communication. They had first met as classmates, and eventually became an important part of life for each person. They grew up together through many different experiences and situations. Sharing these times of maturation with each other made them feel as though each was there for the other, creating a friendship of trust and respect. Once complete strangers, and seemingly entirely different types of people, had now been made close friends.

Years passed and their friendship became even stronger. They had started out visiting with each other on rare occasion, and had wound up seeing each other just about every weekend. A bond began to form between the two that was closely comparable to family ties. Both felt that a friendship had been created that exceeded any other they had ever had. These boys had become best friends over the time they had spent with each other, and considered each an important influence in their lives in general, as well as in the actions and decisions they made day to day. They were able to share anything with each other. There was nothing they felt that they couldn’t say.

Yet as time went even further, something became different. Neither knew exactly what was happening, but and underlying force has begun to change what had been formed. Somehow, gradually their relationship began to change. Their lives had seems to go in different directions, one was busy with his obligations, and the other with his as well. Neither wanted to loose touch, but it seemed almost like an uncontrollable result to growing up.

It was the first day of high school, and it was nothing like he had been used to. Swarms of upperclassmen filled the halls, some almost knocking him over as they bumped past. He had been so accustomed to functioning with others as a group in middle School, that now, having to rely completely on himself only made him feel more insecure and alone. The huge high school building was ominous in itself, and probably didn’t need anyone in it at all to keep his nerves on edge.

All day he had been craving for that old sense of community that had helped him through the more rough times of his middle school days, but this feeling didn’t exist in the high school, and he knew that it wouldn’t be coming back. Those days were over, and he realized that independence and self-reliance would now be major focus points throughout his next four years. All this was intimidating on the first day, but he also had a sense of gladness that he was maturing.

By the end of the day, high school didn’t seem to him as much of a threat, but more of a good learning experience. In this kind of an environment, h would be better suited to work with others in the real world. He looked forward to his high school experience, and felt as though something stood before him, that would help shape the rest of his entire life.

"Happen to have a few extra bucks you can lend me there, buddy?" he says to his friend as he notices he didn’t have enough money to pay his lunch in the school cafeteria. "Sure," says his friend, and hands him the cash. Without any gesture of thanks, he takes the money, and pays for his food.

"So, how is everything?" he asks, seeming hasty and unconcerned. His friend begins to explain recent occurrences, but notices that he’s not being paid any attention. His friend’s attention has been taken by another person walking by, and was now left walking alone. Eventually, his friend found the place where he had decided to sit down, alone. "Now, what was that?" he asks again.

"Nothing, nevermind. It wasn’t important."

"How’s school?" he says again in the same short tone. Again, his friend answers the question by beginning a detailed story of what had been going on lately. Looking toward the ground, he explains some problems that had been bugging him for the last few weeks. But to his surprise, when he raised his head again, he found his friend standing up, and talking to another one of his friends. "I’m gonna go, I’ll see you later on, I guess," he says. And with that, the two left.

He was left sitting alone, contemplating the quality of their friendship. He felt used, and quite disregarded by one of his closest friends. He sat there in a stupor for a few minutes, surprised by the actions of his once very close friend, and determined that there was nothing left to do but to get up and walk away.