“It feels like August was just yesterday,” I told my dad in a disgruntled manner. “I just wish it didn’t have to end so soon.” I continued to toss and turn in the car; I just couldn’t seem to find the right position. Was it because it was so hot? Or was it because it was the last day of school? I didn’t think so. The root cause of my problem seemed to be something much deeper than that, I would go as far to say, as deep as the Pacific Ocean.  
“Everything will be ok. I know it’s not that easy, but just know that you can still stay in touch with all your friends.” He continued to drive on, seemingly unbothered since this day was normal for him.  
My dad was always good at comforting me. I knew he had good intentions in saying that, but it just made me feel more downhearted and miserable.  
I saw all the luscious, green leaves that were a normal sight during the summer season. The sun was out, the birds were chirping, and it was the last day of school. On this day, these things seemed unpleasant to me. The sun felt as though it would melt my face off, and the birds’ “screams” gave me a headache. Normally, I thought to myself, this would be a day in which people would be excited and joyful. At this point, I envied those people. This day for me was not one of those ones. Rather, it was one of the worst days of my life imaginable.  
*** 
I ran. I ran as fast as the wind and my legs would take me. After sprinting and sprinting, I was so tired and out-of-breath. Once I reached the daunting, green door, I felt as if I would faint. Luckily, though, I was able to push my way through and enter the wide and vast hallway that I had come to cherish and love throughout the school year. In comparison to the happy and warm mood that was usually present, it now seemed so somber and cold.  
I hurried to my locker, lifted my backpack off my shoulder, and took out the books I needed for class. It never dawned on me that that would be the last time that I would go in there. My locker was one of my best friends. It was there for me when I needed my homework, notes for a lesson, or even my phone to contact my parents about when they would pick me up.  
After a while, I turned around. A tall, blonde figure with dashing, hazel eyes seemed to be waiting for me without my notice. My face soon lighted up with smile (Why wouldn’t it? It was one of my favorite people ever!). Nicolle seemed to be in a bubbly and bright frame of mind. She was just one of those people where her emotions would be contagious to others she was around. This being so, her presence instantly made the day a little bit better.  
We soon went to our classes. I didn’t really have many classes with Nicolle, so we resorted to spending all our time together during the break and lunch. Today was a half day, so there was no lunch or break. The last time I would be able to see her after the morning was during the farewell event in the gym and at yearbook signing, the last event of the day.  
The time flew by in a flash. Class after class was filled with “Have a good summer!” and, “Can’t wait to see you next year!” Those phrases made me feel empty and depressed inside. It was a statement that made me realize what was happening was real. The moment I had been dreading for the past few months was finally a reality, and I didn’t seem to be mentally prepared for it. The last hour was slowly approaching, and I just wanted to stop time then and there.  
However, that’s not how this world works. In the last five minutes of my last period, I slowly packed up my things and made my way through the door looking as if I was carrying a heavy weight in my heart. My feet dragged along the ground, trying to hold me back from getting to the gym that seemed so far away. The slick floor of the middle school hallway tried to help push me forward, but I tried to resist with all my might. Unfortunately for me, the floor had won this battle.  
Once I reached the gym door, I could smell the salty sweat that wafted through the air that came from the average middle schoolers. The enormous, green bleachers were out, and it seemed as though half of the middle school student body was already gathered and sitting on them. The group of eighth and seventh graders were very daunting to my little sixth grade self. My fellow sixth graders didn’t bother me as much. Once I entered the room, I could feel every eye slowly and attentively watching me as if I were a zoo animal. I knew that I was late and there was no way of remaining incognito. Once I spotted my group of friends in the crowd, I quickly made my way over, not wanting to be in the limelight any longer.  
“Hey!” Nicolle said to me as I sat next to her. She gave me a quick smile, and then turned her attention to Mr. A who had a microphone in his hand and was standing in front of the stage.  
“Hey.”  I still thought everyone was thinking about me and how late I was. I turned my head from side to side. Nobody was looking at me any longer, they were all now looking at Mr. A. That was a relief for me. I straightened up my back and turned my attention to the front of the stage too. It appeared that I just made it in time; the speech was just about to begin.  
The speech seemed to go on forever. He talked about how this year was a great year and how he was looking forward to what amazing things were instore for next year. He even had a PowerPoint with some pictures of us. It was nice to see all of us being happy and being able to remember the memories that we made. However, Mr. A did like to talk a lot, sometimes too much.  
After a little bit, Nicky (my nickname for her) and I started to look at each other with an uneasy look in our eyes. There was a big clock in the gym that made known to everyone what time it was with its hands. It was just within the last hour before it would be dismissal time. Both of our eyes said, “I wish this speech would go on faster.”  
I gave a sigh of relief when it was finally over. Truly, he only spoke for 10 minutes, but that was still too long for me. I didn’t care now; it was the last event of the day: yearbook signing.  
Everybody got up from the bleachers, and then we all hurried to receive our yearbooks. The stomping and running of the kids sent a shocking sound wave throughout my ears. I winced at the sound and tried to cover my ears with my hands. Once the herd of elephants got their yearbooks, I went to go get mine.  
 I took a couple of minutes to flip through, trying to find what I always look for first in the yearbook, my school picture. I found the section with the sixth graders. I hoped that my yearbook picture wouldn’t look as bad as it had done in past years. My hair was always in my face, and the photographer never captured my amazing smile. However, this year was different. I stared back at the reflection. She was pretty. She had the ponytail that she always wore with a brightening smile that would make anyone blind; she looked confident in herself. 
Nicky sat next to me too. She looked over at my yearbook picture. “Your picture is so good!” She then turned to look at her own picture. “Mine looks so bad. Hold up, why does my hair look like that? My smile too? The photographer did me so dirty.”  
I sighed. “What are you talking about? You look so good in that photo.”  
She gave me an awkward smile that looked as if she didn’t believe me. She shook her head and stared down at it again. “Whatever you say, but I still don’t think so.” She stood up and folded the yearbook in her hands.  
I shrugged, picked my yearbook up, and we both made our way towards our group of friends. I cherished everyone in the friend group, they were all great friends, but Nicolle was my pea in a pod. We have both been there through each other’s struggles and triumphs, always helping each other whenever we could. She is the type of person that I could talk to about literally anything, which is what makes our friendship special.  
I got all my friends to sign my yearbook, and then I signed theirs in return. After that I soon sat down and read through a lot of them. “Hey! Have a good summer!” was a common one, and “Thanks for being a good friend!” too. That was the generic phrase that I knew everyone gave to those who were their friends, but not close friends. I still smiled at every one of them; I knew they were genuine.  
However, there was still someone’s yearbook signing that I hadn’t gotten yet, perhaps the most important one.  
I walked up to Nicolle and sat down. “Hey, would you please sign my yearbook?” I asked while holding up my pen for her to sign.  
“Of course! Would you also sign mine?” She took my yearbook away from me and started scribbling down some words.  
I watched her stop, look up, and then start writing down some more words. She had a focused expression on her face, and the pen was running quickly along the page. I heard the light brushing, the sound stopping, then the light brushing against the page again. I knew it would either be heartfelt or something to make me laugh; either one would have made me happy.  
I then lifted the yearbook that she had placed on the bleacher. I thought for a minute. One part of me wanted to write a heartfelt message, and the other part wanted to write a funny message. I seemed to be sitting on a fence; I couldn’t seem to figure out which side to choose.  My hand just suddenly had a mind of its own and started writing.  
“Hey Nicky! Thank you for being my best friend for these past two years. It’s nice to look back and see how we have changed so much. From strangers to friends, then from friends to best friends.  I’m grateful to have shared all these memories with you! I hope you feel the same. I don’t want to move apart, but I must. I promise to stay in touch! Have a good summer! Your best friend forever, Elle.” I reread through what I wrote, and then tears started rushing to my eyes. They didn’t fall though, they just stayed there for a while. It seemed that Nicky was done too, so we exchanged our books with each other.  
“Hey Elle. There are so many things to say, but I don’t want to take up the whole page. Firstly, thank you for being such a great friend to me. I have cherished every single moment, and I don’t want our friendship to end here. I just hope that you don’t forget about me when you move away. Secondly...” The tears rushed out from my eyes and landed on my cheeks. My cheeks felt as if it was actively under a waterfall. The water droplets slid down my face, making my skin feel wet and slippery. I took my cotton sleeve and tried to wipe the tears away, but the tears seemed to win this battle too.  
“Elle, are you ok?” Nicolle turned her head from her yearbook and showed a look of concern.  
“I just don’t want to go. I don’t want to leave here, our friends, and you.” I heard the little but noticeable sobs next to me. They sounded as if they were trying to stay alive, but actively being beaten down.  
“I know, I don’t want you to go either.” Her face showed a look of despair and hurt. Her eyes soon became glossy, as glossy as the eyes of a porcelain doll. “You won’t forget about me, right?”  
“I will never forget you, and that’s a promise.”  
*** 
Those last fifteen minutes were filled with the sobs and words of comfort from each other and our classmates. The whole thing created a hole in many of our hearts. A lot of us were leaving for next year, which meant that many of us would be leaving our best friends. For me, this was Nicky. I had also made lots of friends at that place, and it hurt knowing that I probably wouldn’t see them ever again.  
Too soon, it was the end of the school day. I hugged Nicky goodbye for the last time, then walked over to the family car for pickup. Once I sat down in the car, I turned my head and saw Nicky’s eyes meeting mine. Those eyes looked back at me with a sense of heartbreak and somberness. That last moment that I had with her still makes me tear up even to this day. I could never tell her how much she meant to me as a friend in words, and I probably never will be able to. That’s why I wrote this in dedication to her. I wanted to show her how much she means to me as a best friend, and how much I will cherish the memories we made together for ever and ever.