𝔹𝕠𝕤𝕠𝕞 𝔽𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕤 𝕋𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔼𝕟𝕕 (a true story)

This short story is dedicated to my dearest and most wonderful best friend. Thank you for your unfailing love and support as well as never-ending encouragement.

I love you to peices, Sis! I haven't the slightest idea what I'd do without you!! Thank you so much for putting up with my silly Scottish dances and Irish slang. Thank you for being my friend when no one else cared. Thank you for reading all my stories and making flower crowns with me. Thank you for everything ❤

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"Alright."

I thought to myself as I took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

"First day of Ballet. How hard can it be?"

So uhh- I was wrong. I was very, very wrong. 100% incorrect. The moment I walked through the studio door, the ballet mistress was yelling orders and French words and saying things that I didn't even understand.

I spoke a little bit of French but not THAT much...

I kept receiving dirty looks from all the other girls.

I didn't know why until I caught a glimpse of myself in the ballet mirror and realized I had hay and flowers all in my braids. Everyone else had their perfectly tucked hair I a bun behind their head without any hairs sticking out. Meanwhile all my whispies were sticking out and I looked like I'd come from the rodeo!

Yes, I got mean looks from everyone there.

Except one girl.

She was tall and quiet (unlike me who was waving at everyone and desperately trying to find someone to talk to) and had brown eyes and dark hair (unlike my greenish-blue eyes and auburn hair) and didn't seem to have a friend or friend group like all the other girls did.

I was smiling and making my way to her when mistress told us to be quiet- in some French word that I don't even remember. And she said that we would be receiving our order and places for the dance we'd be learning for our recital.

I wondered if maybe that girl could be my friend... I had never had any real friends before. I had only had a handful of acquaintances and they all betrayed me or abandoned me or told me I would never be wanted or loved... but I had my imagination. My imaginary friends were pretty fantastic.

Though I still wished for a true, real friend.

My thoughts were interrupted when Mistress moved me to my spot next to one of my classmates. I looked up to see who I'd be partners with for out cute, little 5th grader, Snowbird dance. And my big eyes got even bigger when I saw who was standing on the dot next to me.

IT WAS HER!! THE ONE I HOPED COULD BE MY FRIEND!

She looked like she wanted to say hi but I could tell she was shy. I wasted no time in introducing myself!

"Hi!! I'm Paisley! Paisley Brooks! But I'm getting adopted soon so my last name will be Brooks-Hall. Though you can just call me Paisley!" I stuck out my hand in front of her and she shook it and laughed quietly.

"Oh! I'm Brylie."

I smiled so big and admired her name. I had never liked my own Scottish name much but hers was so pretty!

"I like your name!!!! Ya know, in French it means Noble, Strong and Gift from God! I wish I had a pretty name like yours! Mine means... Church cemetery in Scottish..."

She looked just a wee bit confused...

She smiled after a moment of processing all I had just said. "How old are you?"

"Eleven and a half." I stated, proudly. "What about you?"

"Twelve." She said, with a smile.

The first class ended and the next week I went back, happy to see my new friend.

As the weeks went on we became closer and closer.

After the recital I moved to a different ballet school but we stayed in touch and eventually I had my very first sleepover at her house. We not only watched illegally taped Broadway musicals on YouTube but also performed them by ourselves in her bedroom, pretending we were Kara Lindsay and Kristin Chenoweth. We sang and laughed until we cried!

"Is it weird that I want to learn the entire choreography to Newsies?" I recently asked her.

"Sis you're not the only one." She replied.

And you can bet we have memorized most of the dances together.

And even now, four years later, I can truly tell you that I found my dearest bosom friend.

Some of the conversations we have are just plain iconic-

Me:

Brylie... there's an angry

mob after me. We

might have to break out our mad

karate moves.

Her:

My dudette, I have two questions.

1- what did you do this time

2- WHAT KARATE MOVES

Oh and we can't forget this one

Her:

Would you happen to know where I can find a giant iron on of Ben Platt

Me: UM. I'm not even going to ask why.

And the best one-

Her:

I am just a wee bit forlorn.

Me:

As am I. Cometh to my residence, bringeth snacks and showtunes. I have dogs and fluffy cows to snuggle so we can get un-sad. Does thou understandeth?

Her:

And this ladies and gents is how you know you've found a real friend.

We will always be there for each other, no matter what. We always teach each other things and help better each other. For instance, I've helped her not be so quiet and be more outgoing and she's helped me not be so intimidating when meeting new people. I also have promised to teach her how to do some of the Scottish and Irish dances my family does, such as The Dashing White Sergeant, The Swiss Lassie, and The Eightsome Reel. And she's promised to show me how to cook better and to do fancy makeup. Isn't it wonderful when two strangers who are so different become such magnificent and close friends? I can't imagine my life without my dearest friend.

And to this day, we still talk about the meanings of our names...

And perform our own Broadway shows.