“Nice to meet you.”
The same lie over and over. I repeated it solely to please the strangers on the other side of the handshake. The only person I was actually interested in meeting was the beautiful boy on the other side of the room.
As everyone continued meeting and greeting, I made my way to him. I knew who he was. I’d heard a great deal about him from my cousin because they were best friends. I guess I just never expected he would be so pleasing to the eye.
Finally, my hand landed in his. His hand was strong, but soft and it swallowed my tiny fingers. His smile was wide and full of sincerity. His eyes were steady and set on mine.
“Meet to nice you.” It took us both a second to recognize his mistake. As he tried to correct it, I just kept giggling. The harder I laughed, the bigger his smile got.
That was his talent, one of many I’m sure. From what I saw of him, he loved to make people happy. To make people like me, smile. And he was a skilled expert at it too. There was never a dull moment when he was around.
He lit up a room effortlessly. His presence was enough after a while. He was like lightning. He never went unnoticed and his act was always followed by his deep wholehearted laugh. And I had the biggest crush on him.
I never got to know him like I wanted to. And even though we only had a few conversations, his death still devastated me. It was unexpected and terrifying. He was always so lively and vivacious. I can’t even imagine him lying in a wooden box buried under ground.
Tommy died March 30th, 2012. He was driving home one night and got into a wreck. His car flipped over into a ditch. The saddest part? He was only 17-years-old. He had a life. He had a ton of friends because he was impossible to dislike. He had a family just like everyone else. He had a girlfriend and a lot of talent. He was a great student and an excellent football player.
Why did it happen to him? Why was he the one to die? It’s not fair.
I never got to go to his funeral. That’s probably why I have such a hard time believing that he’s gone. It breaks my heart and it’s so difficult to understand.
When I first found out, I was afraid to cry. All I could think about was my cousin. How was he dealing with this? This had to be really hard on him. Why did I feel like crying? I had no right to cry. So I held it in as long as I could. I didn’t want to tell anyone. I didn’t want to take the risk of breaking down. I just wanted to be strong for him.
I tried my best, but my friends knew me better than I thought. One of them confronted me. They asked me what was happening and I gave in. I bawled because I just couldn’t stop it from spilling out of me. But my friends made me realize it was okay to cry. And that’s what friends are for. They’re a shoulder to cry on when you just cant keep it all in.
I had never realized before how much I needed my friends or just how much they meant to me. I took them for granted and assumed they’d just always be there when I needed them. This incident made me realize that they could disappear in a split second. They helped me deal with my loss and made me realize how much they could help me with if only I’d let them.
Our student body has been hit hard this year, but it has made us all closer in a way. We have all come together to support each other. It’s important to show each other that we care. And it’s important to know that you have friends who care and will support you through any situation.
Tommy’s death affected me in an odd way. It made me think I was alone. That everyone I knew would someday leave me like he left my cousin. But then my friends showed me that they would be there for me no matter what and they would never let me go. They showed me what friends are for.
