ONE MORE...........
True Friends by Shanna Michael
Once upon a time there were two best friends named Tara and Karly.
Tara was seven but Karly was nine. Tara lived in a huge 20-room house
while Karly resided in a small two-bedroom trailer. Two different races
and two different life styles, but yet the best of friends were Tara and Karly.
Most people said that Tara was a foolish little girl for playing with such a low
class person. Others said Karly was lucky. The ones that really knew the truth
were the ones that said, "Children don’t care what their skin color is. They just
want a friend. Let the girls play."
So play they did. Every day Karly and Tara would meet in the same place, under
the same tree, at the same time.
But one day Tara wasn’t there, so Karly began to worry. She thought about what
the towns’ people had said. "Maybe she doesn’t want to be my friend anymore!"
she said as she turned to go home alone.
"Karly wait!" yelled Tara as she came running. She was in tears and out of breath.
She apologized for being late then explained, "I’m moving to a bigger city. My father
says this one’s too small."
Karly was very sad about her best friend moving. "Where are you moving to?" she
asked not believing what she was hearing.
"California," replied Tara. "My father wants to live in a big city like Los Angeles or
San Francisco. Not this small town anymore. I have to go pack. My father said 10
minutes and that’s it." Tara hugged Karly then turned around and ran home sadly. All
Karly could do was sit down and start crying. She knew she was losing her best friend,
but she didn’t want to admit it to herself.
The next day was moving day. Tara was so sad she didn’t want to talk to anyone,
not even her maids, which was unusual because she was always giving the maid orders.
But not today. Not now.
Karly was sad but she still had her friend Kate to talk to. Kate was Karly’s age and race.
But Tara had one thing Kate didn’t, loyalty. "Never trust Kate because she will lie to you,"
Tara had warned Karly.
The next day when it was time for Tara to leave, she sat in her limo by herself waiting to
leave. Finally the limo pulled away. Tara was bored with no one to talk to. Her parents
were in the first limo, and the maids and cooks were in the last (third) limo with the movers
following close behind. Several days later they arrived at their new house.
As soon as they went inside, Tara started unpacking and telling the movers where to put her
bed and dressers. She tried to be polite but was in such a foul mood for having to leave Karly
behind. After organizing she went to get changed for dinner.
After her boring dinner, and getting ready for bed she decided to write a letter to Karly.
It read:
Dear Karly,
Things have been really boring lately. I’m still wishing I could be with you, back in Maryland. California is so hot and so boring to a seven year old. I haven’t met anyone new yet, and I am having a horrible time without you. My new house is so big I got lost on my way to the bathroom. One of my maids had to come and escort me to the bathroom then back to my bedroom. You’re so lucky. Not having to worry about getting lost in your own house. Well, how’s Kate? Has she learned to keep a secret yet? Will you tell her I said hi? Thanks.
BFF,
Tara
Karly’s house received that letter, yet not quite Karly. Kate got a hold of it when
she came to visit one day, and she added a few words because she was getting
tired of hearing Tara this and Tara that. So she tried to copy the handwriting
exactly and then added, "Black people are stupid, you are very poor, and I hate
your house." Just to make sparks fly.
When Karly finally received the letter she read it and was so mad/sad she began to
cry. She cried for at least an hour. Then she decided to write and tell Tara how she
felt. It read:
Dear Tara,
I thought you were my best friend. I thought you were different from all the others. But no, you’re a rich little snob just like the people here. BFN (Best Friends NEVER)
Sincerely,
Karly- your ex-best friend
When Tara received the letter, she began to cry. Her best friend hated her and she
didn’t understand why. She decided to call Karly.
The phone rang at Karly’s house. "Hello, Karly speaking," Karly answered the phone.
"Hello, this is Tara," Tara replied not knowing what to expect.
"Oh it’s you. The back stabber!" replied Karly with hate in her voice. "Why did you
call? I have a real friend over."
"I don’t know what is wrong with you, but I’m not a snob. I wouldn’t care if you had
a million dollars. You’re still the Karly I love to play with, and that’s all that matters to
me," corrected Tara.
"Then why did you write that little blurb in the corner of your letter?" questioned Karly.
"What blurb?" Tara asked.
"The one about black people, me being poor, and my house maybe?" Karly told Tara.
"I didn’t write anything about black people or you being poor. Cause I know beauty is
not what’s on the outside but what’s on the inside," clarified Tara.
After talking about it for a while, Karly apologized for everything and asked Tara who
wrote that blurb. Tara asked her if Kate had been near the letter, having no real reason
for her suspicion. Later when confronted Kate confessed to everything.
From then on Tara and Karly always wrote back and forth as two best friends should.
And what happened to Kate? Well she never had a real friend because of how she was
and the fact that she was always trying to ruin people’s relationships.
