There
was a sad and lonely girl on Devyn Street, who needed a friend more
than anything else. Her name was Lauren.
Little
Lauren cried every night after prayers and lights out. She prayed
that the good Lord would send to her a good and loyal friend, one
that would never leave her, even in the worst of times.
“Please
send me a friend,” Lauren prayed, “and I promise I'll be a good
girl.”
One
night, before bed, Lauren noticed something sitting on her bed; a
teddy bear, tan with shades of brown, with a stitched nose and beady
eyes. She ran to her bed for a closer look. There was a handwritten
note with the bear, which read, “Your new friend. Jordan is his
name. He is yours forever.”
Lauren
hugged the teddy bear close to her. “I have a friend.” she said.
“I'll never let you go.”
For
years, Lauren and Jordan were inseparable. They did everything
together, from morning to night, everyday. In the morning, they would
get up from bed and tidy their room. Lauren would share her breakfast
with Jordan, then let him him use half the crayons and the paper for
their play time. After lunch, Lauren and Jordan would both use the
mat for their nap time. When Daddy came home from work, Lauren made
sure he also greeted Jordan.
On
the first day of school, Lauren took Jordan with her. The teacher
told Lauren, “I'll let you carry your doll this time, but from now
on, it will have to stay at home. School's for people, not dolls.”
Lauren
protested. “He's not a doll; he's my best friend in the whole, wide
world.”
The
next day, Lauren cried at school. She was not allowed to bring Jordan
with her. “I want my Jordan.” she told her teacher. “This isn't
fair.”
The
teacher sat Lauren down. “You may not have Jordan now, but when you
get home, he will be waiting for you. While you and he are apart, why
don't you tell your fellow classmates about you good friend? We can
even draw pictures and write stories about Jordan. When the day is
over, you can tell him all about your day, and show him the pictures.
I bet he would love that.”
“You
think so?” Lauren asked.
“Why
don't we give it a try?” Teacher took Lauren to the table with the
rest of her classmates.
They
all painted, drew and shared stories about their best friends. Lauren
learned that she was not the only one who had someone special waiting
at home. Many of her fellow classmates also had friends they could
not bring to class; dogs, cats, fish and other assorted pets. She
stopped crying and learned to have fun instead.
When
she got home, she ran to her room, with her drawings in hand. She
spent the rest of the night telling
Jordan about her day. Every day,
after school, she would tell Jordan everything first, then tell her
parents at the dinner table about her day.
“You
won't believe what happened at school today...”
As
the years progressed, Lauren's connection to Jordan deepened. She
turned to him as a safe haven, a solid rock in the turbulent ocean of
life. Jordan was there for her when she broke a tooth, when she fell
of her bike, when she got in trouble at school, and when she came
home crying from the insults her fellow students threw in her
direction. Jordan was there for her when she fell ill, or felt
terrible. Jordan comforted Lauren when her Grandma died from the
cancer, and when her family moved away from everyone she knew.
Jordan
rocked Lauren to sleep after the difficult, cross-country move, and
during the transition to Lauren's new schools, first middle, and then
high. She held onto him tightly after her first crush, Bradley,
humiliated her in front of the whole sophomore class.
She
whispered into Jordan's soft and fluffy ear, “I know you'll never
call me such horrible names, my friend. You know I'm not what Bradley
said I am.”
Lauren's
problems with the bully Bradley did not end there.
As
high school wore on, Lauren withdrew from her so-called friends, even
from her parents at times. No matter how withdrawn she became, Lauren
would still tell Jordan every thought, every fear and every feeling.
When
the seniors were told to bring with them one thing that they value
most in the world and present it in-class, Lauren did not hesitate to
bring Jordan with her. It would be the first time she would bring him
to school since that one day in Kindergarten.
She
held Jordan close to her. “I want to show the Bradleys of the world
that you are my best friend, now and forever.”
Some
students stopped and stared at Lauren as she walked by with Jordan in
her arms. Some pointed, others chuckled. She did not care what they
thought of her or her best friend.
“I'm
sure some of them will understand.” Lauren assured herself. “They
can't have all forgotten the importance of a soul mate.”
At
lunch, Lauren sat at the table reserved for the loners, her usual
space in the hall. She placed Jordan in the seat next to her. It was
the first time she had let go of her friend. Had she seen Bradley
only feet behind her, she would have held tightly onto Jordan, for
both their sakes. By the time she saw Bradley and his obnoxiously
orange shirt, it was too late.
“What's
this?” Bradley asked. “Is he your boyfriend?”
Bradley
grabbed Jordan before Lauren could react. “Hey,” Lauren shouted,
“put him back.”
“Him?”
Bradley shook his head. “You think this thing is alive, do you?”
“He's
more alive than you are.”
“Oh
yeah?” Bradley whipped out a pocket knife. “We'll see about
that.”
He
stuck the edge of the blade into Jordan's chest, near the left arm.
Lauren gasped in terror. “No.”
“I
don't hear any screaming.” Bradley laughed. “I guess he isn't so
alive after all.”
“Give
him back.” Lauren cried. “He's my friend.”
“You
mean ex.” Bradley pulled the knife down, slicing through Jordan's
stomach and all the down to his stubby legs. His stuffing protruded
from the gaping wound. Some of it fell on the linoleum flooring.
Lauren
could not believe what had happened before her eyes. She knelt on the
floor to collect her friend's cottony innards. “Please let him go.”
she begged Bradley. “You have no idea how much he means to me.”
“You
want him back?” he asked. “Then you're going to have to do
something for me.”
“No.”
she cried. “Just give me back my Jordan.”
“Not
until I get what I want.” Bradley said. “I'll see you after
school, in the gym. No one else will be in there. We'll be alone. No
pain, no gain. Be there or your buddy bites it.”
Lauren
wanted to run home, and leave the school forever. She wanted to hit
Bradley, and teach him a lesson, but she also wanted Jordan back.
She
could not concentrate on her next class. She wondered what she would
do for her in-class presentation, with Jordan in the hands of the
enemy. She felt terrible. Jordan had long protected he, though she
failed to protect him.
“Wherever
you are,” Lauren thought to her self, “I hope you will take care
of yourself, my friend.”
She
prayed to the Good Lord. “Lord, help Jordan. Let him return to me
safe and sound, and I promise I'll be a good girl.”
Lauren
walked slowly toward the classroom, where she and her fellow
classmates were to present their items. She noticed a large crowd at
the head of the class. They were all inspecting something which was
on the tables, which had been set-up for the presentation.
One
of the students noticed Lauren and motioned to her. “Come up here
and take a look at this cute thing.”
Lauren
walked up. She nearly fainted when she saw Jordan on the table. He
looked as good as the day Lauren had gotten him, so many years
before. There was no visible sign of the place he had been sliced so
cruelly by Bradley, except for a discoloration in the fabric where
the cut had been. Lauren seized Jordan and hugged him tightly.
“I
thought I'd never see you again.” she said. “I'll never let you
go.”
The
teacher walked in and told everyone to sit down. “I was hoping to
have all the seniors here for this presentation.” the teacher said.
“But unfortunately Bradley won't be with us today. As some of you
may have heard, he had an accident with a pocket knife. This is why
we don't allow students to have weapons on campus. It's too easy for
someone to get hurt, and he did. He cut himself from below the left
arm all the way down to his leg. He'll miss graduation, and all other
ceremonies, just because he was disobeying rules. He'll be fine,
though, since the injures were minor; just a scratch and a ruined
shirt. They could have been a lot worse, though.”
Lauren
looked at the discoloration on Jordan once more. She noticed that
Jordan had been expertly repaired, that the cut was sealed with a
single thread, with an obnoxiously orange hue to it.
Lauren
smiled. “That color looks much better on you than it did on
Bradley.”