"Bondage"

‘What’s your happiest memory? Sort of like, if you wanted to conjure your patronus, what would you think of?”

“Well, I kind of think that memories are skewed by how we feel at the present time. If I’m in a good mood, then my whole life is filled with happy memories. If I’m in a bad mood, then I can’t think back to a time I was happy.”

“But there’s always that one memory that sticks out from all the rest. The time you thought to yourself, this has to be the best day of my life! Regardless of how you feel, that memory always stays with you.”

“I guess the memory that stands out for me was when I was in model congress. I was in the club for four years, but never got awards for the speeches I’d written. Then my last year, I finally won an award! I was so happy to be recognized for something that meant so much to me. It was a good day, maybe the best. What about you?”

“We went to Starbucks. I remember it was crowded, so the only seats left were the ones in the way front by the windows. I asked her, “If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be?” which brought on a series of other character revealing questions we shot back at each other. In the hour or so we were there, I felt closer to her than I did to a friend I’d known since the first grade. We walked back to school singing Simon & Garfunkel’s “Old Friends,” but stopped, remembering that we weren’t, but feeling like we were. That was when I started trusting her. That was when she became my best friend. That’s my happiest memory so far.”

( “Aw, that’s so cute!”

“Fuck you.” )

“...Did we just, bond? I didn’t think we could do that.”

“Me either man.”

I have lots of casual friends, a small group of close friends, and one best friend. It’s suddenly occurred to me that out of all these people, I’ve had conversations like this with very few of them. So, I’m setting a goal for next year, which is to hopefully get closer to my friends at school just by talking with them the way I could with you then. There are so many people I want to know better, and I only have three years left with them! I blinked, and last year was gone. Here’s to hoping the next few years will slow down a little!