NO NEW FRIENDS BY DR. KISHA ROBERTS-TABB PHOTOGRAPHY: FRANCIS GLENN AN EXCERPT FROM "WHOSE LITTLE GIRL AM I"
I must admit high school was hard
For the first few months of school, I
and the students were cruel. I began
went back and forth regarding my
high school with a ready-made crew.
four-year friendship with these girls. At
We had all went to junior high school
some point, I decided that I had
together and believed that we were
enough. I remained friends with Rea
indestructible. We had spent nearly
but decided that the whole “crew”
every weekend together since the 6th
thing was just not for me.I began to
grade and new each other’s deepest
walk alone through the hallways and
secrets. We added a few members to
for the first time since I could
our junior high cohort and the crew
remember I was cool with that.
was formed. I thought that these would be my girls forever, forever lasted all of freshmen year. By the time we made it to the tenth-grade secrets had been told, relationships had been ruined, sides had been picked, and our unbreakable bonds had been shattered. When all the sides had been picked, I felt like an outcast. I had managed to hold on to Rea, who was one of the new members of our crew. She did not attend junior high with us but if you observed us, you would have never known. I knew it was rough on her because she was caught in the middle, still friends with them and still maintained her friendship with me. Although sometimes I wanted her to just pick a side, even at 15 years old I knew that wasn’t fair.
Kenwood had so many activities, I could tell Rea was having a hard time dividing herself between them and me. I decided to go to the basketball pep rally alone.As I approached the bleachers, I asked an unfamiliar face if anyone was sitting next to her. “You are now,” she said and laughed. I had never seen this girl before, but she had such a welcoming spirit. I sat down next to her. We laughed and joked the entire pep rally. I didn’t know it, but I had met one of my best friends that day. From that day forward, we were inseparable. We were in different divisions, shared no classes, no extracurricular activities, yet we were always together. Besides Natia, Neka was the only other person that I shared my secret with. She cut classes to go to the doctor with me and my mother.
My mother had to have a spinal tap, but I had a final exam and Kim also had a school commitment. Best friend to the rescue, she left school lied and told the doctors she was me and, held my mother’s hand during her spinal tap. You often hear people say that you meet your lifelong friends in college. Yes, I did Dekeila, Michelle, Tucora and Ebony, but the unbreakable bonds that were developed in the halls of Kenwood were irreplaceable. The experiences I have shared with Ardi, Kisha, Malinda, Nneka, Rea, and Toni, no one else would ever understand or even believe if we told them. This was “My Crew”, no judgment. We all came from different backgrounds, but no one cared, we had each other’s back. Like any other crew, there were members who were closer to some than others, but for me, these are the six women that got me through all my break-ups, celebrated my accomplishments, laughed at my flaws, held me down through tragedy, and took some of the pressure off Natia.
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