Friendship Journal

Mona Abdullahi
Friendship Journey
It was march, 24 2011 I started my new high school and everything was new. The only people I knew was my uncle Mahad and the girl who lived next door Fadumo. The boys were eating lunch upstairs in the cafeteria but you could have heard their loud voices downstairs. I have been in America for six months and just moved from Michigan to Minneapolis. Right after while a guy walk into the school who also went to register. His name was Yusuf by then he was just a stranger to me. However, when I started classes I had every class with him. We even took the same bus to and from school. It was kind of stranger since I never talk to him for the rest of the school year. We left for summer break without speaking to each other.
After while we went back for summer school and the last day of summer school changed everything. We were at Mississippi river as school trip. We took a boat and when we were there everyone was with their friend having good time. I was talking to some girls that I met at school that summer when my other friend Aar came join the conversation we were having. Aar was one of my first friend that I made in America we were not close, but we were friends. He was the crazy one in the group he would always found a way to annoy me or anyone else. We were joking and teasing each other because of where we from. They all from the same place and knew each other before they come here. I was the only one who come from North Somalia even though I grew up in Ethiopia it was not the same still. At that moment, Yusuf start talking to me more like teasing me. We talked the rest of trip whether we tease each other or talk like normal people. On the bus our way back to school I started teasing Yusuf and called him Kebribeyah as (the place his from). It was our last day of summer school, so we went our separate ways. The next day he added me on Facebook. Every day for that summer we talked to each other on Facebook. There were days that we would talk all morning but then still had something to talk at night. Over the summer, I have learned a lot from him and he learned a lot from me. For example, his mom was not here and he was living with his step mom and his dad. I was living with my aunt, he had a younger sister who lived with him. I lived with my cousins. He is social person and I was not that good with socializing. He grew up in Ethiopia, so did I. He was not the oldest and I was not the oldest. He just moved from other state to Minneapolis and, so did I. It was like I knew him for my whole life and not just that summer.
Yusuf was one of those friends who would do anything to make your day better day whenever you are having a bad day. After the summer break sophomore year, we still had the same classes together except history fourth hour. When we first started sophomore we met Hawo in our first hour which was science the whole class was just the three of us. The two of us knew each other before, but Hawo become part of our group. For same reason Hawo had every single class with us except Fourth hour which she had with Yusuf and not with me. I had history and they had foundation of Math. We had geography on second hour and in that class, there was some people who would make fun of me or the way I talk but he would always stand up for me. Like in geography class when Abdi and Mohamed tormentor me he stands up for and after that they did not bother me. Or in math class he always helps me deal with Omar and Hawo in English class. strongly our third hour teacher Ms. Rossiter would always have as work in groups and partner me up with Hawo. She would always put Hawo and I in the same group and put Yusuf in a different group. For some unknown reason Hawo and I never get along in that class. We would both argue for whom the teacher helps first. Half of the time we would waste our time arguing and Yusuf would always ask someone from his group to switch with me, so I can be in his group. This was our daily routine for that class which we had third and seven hour because we were learning the language, so we had to take to English classes.
Eight hour was crazier because we had Math algebra and mostly we spend the class time working by ourselves except some days when we were starting a new chapter. In math class, we met Omar. Omar was kind crazy in a good way. Omar would always come to me and say, "Hey Mona I will give a dollar if you do my homework" I never figured out him Why would he always said that. He was good at math when he put his mind into, but he did not like doing that. Omar would not leave me alone he would wait until Yusuf tells him to leave me alone. Omar was not a bad person he would just take the easy way to do his work. After me he would go to the other girls and tell them something to get the answer for the homework. I remember him doing this till senior year in algebra two. However, regardless of his craziness he manages to graduate and went to College. In that time, Yusuf and I had a great time we spend every day together at school and on the bus. The only thing different that we had was we both lived in different places. Regardless of how much time we had at school we would always chat online at night after we went home. We never missed doing it. If we did not do it was if something was wrong. It was like that every day. Since that summer, we become best friend regardless of our differences. We were unseparated or that is what I thought at least.
Until one day at the end of first queried for sophomore year. We were inform that we would get our report card from last year. During our normal day in third hour I was call in to the office to receive my report card. I thought Yusuf and I would earn the same create since we both started at the same time. However, I had transferred credits from my old school. Therefore, had earned full credits for that school year. Yusuf had also received his report card at the end of the day. On our way, back home on the bus Yusuf asked me if he could see my report card. I was sitting where I always sit right side of the bus. Yusuf was sitting his usual place in the row next to me. I did not think of much about it so I showed him. After he compare the two report cards he saw that our grades were, so much different than one another.
After that he thought the school did something wrong and did not give him the grades he deserved. He had soccer practice that night, so we did not talk. However, when we went back to school the next day he was there. I thought he was just out for some reason and did not had the time to tell me. A week went by without a word from him. I try to contact him online but no respond. After that Evening, he just disappeared. I have not seen him since that day.
Everything had changed there was no Yusuf anymore it was just Hawo and I that was left. He was not there when I argued with Hawo to tell us to stop or simply change the group so I could work with him instead of her. He was not there sitting second to the last in the first line of the circle in our geography class, encouraging me when I do not want to do anything and waiting for me when our class end so we could go to our next class together. He was not there to stand up for me when others said something mean or to back me up when I had a disagreement with anyone. He was not there in math class to help deal with Omar. He was not there in the bus sitting in the next row. He was not there to laugh and cry with me. He was not there every step of the way. He would not write note in my math book. Unfortunately, he would not be there anymore in my life. I felt hopeless and lonely and did not know what to do anymore. I have not heard from him since that day, nor have I seen him. I have tried everything in my power to get a hold of him but it was all useless. There was nothing that would bring him back no matter what I did. I finished sophomore year and started junior year without him where I met a lot of new friends and some of them become my best friends but they were nothing like him. No matter how many friends I made and how long it has been since he disappeared there was always a part of me that never felt the same way anymore. Even though I moved on and everything changed he always had a special place on my heart. Yusuf was the first friend I ever had in America and my first male friend in my life. We went through a lot we encourage each other when we felt the world was collapsing. We were there when one fall to pick them up. We were there when one needed a shoulder to cry on. When we were together it always felt, we were home and not some new place where we had to learned the language and everything to overcome our challenges. We were each other's save place. A place where we would go when the world turn their back on us. Therefore, there was no friend that could replace him no matter how many people I met and till today no one can replace him.
It been three years since he disappears and one day unexpectedly I run into him when I was going to work. It was the perfect day the sky was blue; the sun was shinny bright in the sky blue. I did not know what do I mean I did not knew what ask or what not to. Hi Yusuf, what are you doing here? That was the first thing I said to him I have seen him after three years and all I could say was what are you doing here? I most have hit my head or something. "Oh, hey Mona, what a surprise to see you here and I live this area, so what are you doing? You live here? I mean I always take that road when I am going to work for the last month and I only run into him today! I could not believe I was right in front of him. I am going to work I said. He was quite for a few second before he asked do start today? I told him I have been working there for a month now. How come I am only running into you today he says. I do not know maybe because you disappeared? I reply. No is not that I did not just disappear he says, so you just stop coming to school, talking to me, and have not seen you in three years? If that is not disappearing what is then? By that time, I did not knew what I was talking about but I was losing my temper and it was not a good thing. Therefore, I took his phone number from him and told him I would call him and we would talk. I get in touch with him couple of days later and as it was he left because of the report card and because he was mad we did not receive the same grade.