Two Types Of Friends

KristytheCorgi

There are two types of friends. The real friends and the, dare I say, fake friends. Real friends stick with you when you are having a difficult time, and fake ones desert you. I will tell you two examples in  two short stories of each type of friend.

I was a bored-of-Adventurers fourth grader. Sick of baby-talking counselors and Jump for Joy honors. All I ever wanted to be was a Pathfinder, like my fifth grade sister, Diana. She went on Lock-ins, campouts, and honor days without annoying parents taking pictures and monitoring what you did. This was her first campout, and I was sure going to miss her!

She had told us not to come visit, but I was missing her so much, and Mom and Dad were so proud of her, that, you know what? Maybe visiting was not such a bad idea after all. So, much to Diana’s dismay, itty-bitty annoying Kristy came to her “much needed” rescue.

The Pathfinders were starting a fire. I wanted to help, so I passed twigs to my sister to put in the fire.

“Kristen,” Diana pleaded. “Can you not help us? This is my Pathfinders, not yours!”

But why would an ambitious fourth grader stop? I mean, my friend Rachel always helped, and her sister was one of those almost-in-high-school Companions.

So I, not bothering my sister’s pleas, skipped towards the soooo cool tent of hers that she was sharing with some other girls, one of which her name was Cassidy. In the tent rain-fly, there was a blue camping chair, and next to it, the most beautiful and satisfying stick. It was long and dry and slender and it was whittled carefully so that all the bark was gone.

Oh, I thought. The perfect stick! It might be too big, but a snap in half will do just the trick!

So I grabbed the precious stick and gave it a satisfying snap!

I will never forget how good it felt. Diana was going to be so proud —

“Hey!” I heard someone yell. 

Uh-oh. It was Cassidy. I was in big trouble!

“Hey!” she continued. “You broke my stick! You shouldn’t be breaking people’s sticks, you know.”

I looked up at her enormous structure as I left the stick and ran into the safety of my parents while Cassidy scolded Diana for me breaking the stick. A few years later, Diana told me that after that, Cassidy stopped really being friends with her because I had broken her stick. That shows that Cassidy, after all, was not a true friend. 

That was an example of a “fake” friend, now here is one about a real friend.

It was my first campout without my parents, a.k.a., my first Pathfinder campout. I felt so proud walking into the small bus that was set aside especially for the sixth graders. I was a little bit upset that my new friend Sabrina wasn’t coming until the next day, and I was a little annoyed at the exasperating Renee that was loud and wouldn’t stop talking. (Today, she is a very dear friend to me.) 

So between singing loudly and rolling our eyes at the boys that always wanted to play Uno, I noticed a girl that seemed rather lonely. I noted that her name was Leslie, and that she seemed, well, rather friendless. She seemed quiet, and kept going to her mother, who was a counselor in our Companion group. I decided that she seemed nice, and that I wanted to make friends with her.

Well, let’s just say that things didn’t work out. I tried, I really did, but she did everything in her power to avoid me, and frankly, be super nice to all the other girls but me. Leslie was nice, and she had a lot of friends, more than I did in that Pathfinder group. 

Leslie hated letting me have turns. Our guest speaker had brought a bunch of animals, including a baby squirrel, which Leslie was hogging. Finally I approached her to have a turn with the squirrel. 

“After her,” she would say, and then another girl came, and when it was my turn, I would ask again, and she would repeat, “After her.”

The same thing happened with a few other things, but overall the weekend was pretty good. I became really good friends with Renee and Sabrina, who just so happened to be in my tent. We had several adventures and bug-bites together, after hikes and Pathfinder honors. It was a weekend full of smiles and giggles.

Friday, Sabbath, and finally Sunday appeared around the corner. We had all noticed an old stable-like shed in our campsite, derelict and moldy, and we all wanted to see at least around it. Leslie and her friends included. Several girls asked to come too, and Leslie agreed. I asked too, wanting to see as well what was around  the shed.

“Can I come too?” I asked, hoping that she would agree.

“No,” Leslie frowned. “Not you.”

I quickly turned back, my eyes brimming with tears, when Sabrina just so happened to pass by.

“Are you going?” Sabrina asked.

“No,” I managed a shaky smile, my heart beating wildly. “She doesn’t want me to.”

Sabrina didn’t look too happy. She turned to face Leslie. “You’re gonna let her come, right? No, you are gonna let her.”

I don’t remember if I was watching or not, but I know that Leslie refused. 

Sabrina angrily walked back to the tents behind me, taking long steps until she caught up to me.

“Leslie’s annoying, right?” I commented.

“She’s actually one of my best friends, so,” Sabrina responded to my utter shock.

That was an example of a good, true friend. To think that my friend confronted her own best friend is something that today I find amazing. I never asked Sabrina to do anything, but instead of doing nothing, she did something, and one that I will never forget.

 I hope you enjoyed those stories. They are very true, although I changed everyone’s names, even my sister’s.

Share your stories too! I want to know your experiences too!