I remember when Jade and I met, it was the beginning of year ten. Throughout secondary school I had been friends with Sofia and now she had moved. In reality she was only about thirty kilometers out from here but regardless she was going to a different school. So within me was this newfound loneliness, I'd never been very social in the first place, but without my best friend I didn't know what I was to do. For a long time I didn't speak to anyone anymore, I simply drifted from one environment to the other, and inside of me a lot of emotions gathered together that I was unable to release. I don't know why I chose to behave that way, why I refused to make any friends, but it was how I chose to spend my time. After a period like this, I met Jade.

Jade and I had already known of each other at this time. She was Sofia's girlfriend, and Sofia had told me several stories about her. Hearing about their exploits was very interesting to me, maybe because my own life had always lacked romantic drive, and hearing that my best friend was doing well made me feel happier. Despite this small connection between us, we were never properly introduced, and we never reached any point of contingence. It took until she approached me to cause any sort of spark. At this time I had been overwhelmingly lonely for so long that in some part of me I believed that it was always meant to be this way. But now, looking back on it, I was being very melodramatic and childish.

I wasn't uncommon for people to try to talk to me while I walked home. Whenever people see a girl walking home alone, especially one like myself, they seem attracted to her. I don't know. Usually it was men who tried to make a connection, but eventually it was Jade. Although I had intended to quickly go home, I found that I didn't want to stop talking to her, so instead we walked in circles around the streets for the entire day. I don't think I've ever experienced anything like that again. In only one conversation we learned a lot about each other, and we got along as well. It was like I had treated life as a coin, and grown tired of one side of it, and only now did I discover that there was a second side I had never seen before.

This is what I'm remembering now, as Jade and I travel down the aisles of a grocery store, collecting ingredients for lunch. We check out and leave the store, heading back to Jade's house once again.