Day 65 - Annie

Annie was in a class (called something lame like, Scholastic Abilities Studies) with me our freshmen year. I didn't really know who she was until I was dating David and he took her to Prom instead of me. He had asked her before we even met and he assured me they were going as friends. Annie asked me if I was upset that David was taking her to Prom. It was the week before Prom, but it was still really nice of her to ask and I told her I trusted them both. Although they both asked me if it bothered me, neither of them offered to change the plan. I was jealous of Annie because she came before me and because in my eyes they remained close friends.

By Senior year, I was more of less over that silliness, but it was the only memory I had with Annie. The first Monday back to school after I broke up with Keith, I had to make-up an essay quiz in English and so did Annie. Ms. Fritchey sent us to an empty room and gave us the hour. Annie was upset, so I asked her what was wrong. Through tears, she explained she was having family problems and she's been dealing with them for a long time. I don't remember the details, but at the time I couldn't believe I hadn't had a clue beforehand and was beyond impressed that Annie was doing so well under the circumstances. I was still a mess from the break-up and would burst into tears for the smallest reasons. I know it showed and Annie asked what was wrong. As I explained while crying, she expressed her shock and sympathy. We both agreed we didn't need to write the essays and spent the hour talking. (Afterwards, we gave Ms. Fritchey a condensed version of our decision, and she agreed; she was fantastic.) Annie was a huge help, because I didn't have many friends who weren't also really good friends with Keith. It made the break-up more complicated, but it also made me hold back things that I needed to talk about. I hope I offered a similar new ear for Annie.

That hour changed me more than many hours in my life. It made me more trusting and believe in the kindness of relative strangers and start to allow that God may indeed have a plan. It was a perfect example of how things happen for a reason.