🖐️My Friend Slapped Me
How getting hit in Junior High led me to the best friendships👫👬👭
😞I will never forget the lunch period when it happened. I was maybe 2 months from finishing the 8th grade and progressing to high school.
🌭🥪🌮I was part of this group where we sat at the same table every lunch. As usual, was eating the cafeteria nachos which I loved so much. They had the best fake cheese and I would devour it. So good!
😪😥😢😭During this lunch period, I was sitting between Marisa, the leader of the group, and Holly. Marisa was making fun of me and my nachos. Being mocked was an unfortunate normalcy amongst this group and I had developed a regular routine of shrugging it off in person and crying to my mother about it at night.
✊Although being the target was normal, this day was different. I was fed up. This time, I stood up for myself and responded, “Shut up.”
😱I remember the clear silence at our table in the noisy cafeteria. I felt a sting on my left cheek. Marisa slapped me. I guess my response meant I was asking to be hit. I sat there in disbelief with my hand on my cheek and my jaw dropped. The group roared in laughter while I sat in shock. To continue the hilarity, Holly slapped my right cheek.
🤐I was mute for the rest of lunch.
😪😥After that incident, I immediately stopped hanging out with that group and floated from friend to friend and group to group until I graduated from the 8th grade.
👬👫👭I entered my high school on the first day full of fear because I did not know who was my friend. From my Freshman to my Senior year in High School, I was part of a group of friends that grew every year.
🏋️♀️🚴♀️🏄♂️🏌️♂️By my last year, the group had exploded and had no boundaries. Anyone who wanted to party with us was welcome. We went through happy and rough times together. It was one of the best years of my life. We were completely aware that we were making great memories that we did not want to forget.
😍Now, in 2018, we are about to have our 20 year high school reunion and I can still brag about the unchanging love I have for my friends who live on the other side of the country.
🎁... and it all began with the most unexpected gift - a slap.
💘❤️💓I could not be more grateful.💓❤️💘
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