The Group Chat

Month 1: March

They say people come into your life in mysterious ways, strangers meandering the right place at the right time. They also say you never meet someone who didn't play a role in your life. To this, I can agree. Luckily, for me, those people came into my life in an upstairs yearbook room, at just the right time.

I was in the room before anyone else, something common for me. I had no second hour class so when the clock struck 10, and third period began, I was already here, working hard to produce my yearbook. I had the honor of being head editor, something that I looked back on for years to come. It was so rewarding, and taught me so much.

We were closing in on our final deadline for the book. Stress was high, and tensions flared, especially between me and the other head editors. I had two peers, two people who did not understand me, or respect me. But by this cold March month, I had learned the value of compromise, and quiet ethic. I had found comfort in surveying the room daily to avoid confrontation with the two; instead I found my time to be much better served helping our staff on their individual pages.

By this time, I found myself drawn to a couple members of our ream, a group that kept to their own in the back corner of the room. Not a quiet group of peers, but a standoffish group nonetheless.

First, there was Johnny Martinez. He was a junior, a year younger than me, and had always seemed rough around the edges. I didn't know him well, nor did I think I wanted to. There was an air about him that radiated carelessness. Still, there was something about him that made me curious, something that told me we had more in common than I may have thought we did.

Next was Suzy Galvez. I didn't know Suzy well at all, though she was in my own class. The senior had transferred earlier in the year to our school from our arch rival down the road. I was curious of her as well, mostly because I didn't know her. My fellow editors didn't like her or her witty sense of humor, expressing their discontent to me on many occasions. I merely shrugged them off, thinking to myself, "I'm sure there's more to her than they recognize."

Next was an old friend of mine who'd fallen away, Ethan Major. He was in my grade as well, and was someone I had a lot of old history with. I'd known him from a very young age when we were friends in grade school, but at the beginning of high school, our interests ushered us away from one another.

Last was Sasha Gonzales. Similar to Ethan, Sasha and I had been friends for years, but never very close. She knew me and I knew her, but she never was someone I told my darkest secrets to. Or so I thought.

I was doing my rounds one day, when I stopped to chat with the group I had tentatively befriended. Mostly, I enjoyed my venture to the back of the room to laugh at the funny pictures we all exchanged, called "memes". The group had no shortage of humor, maybe that's what drew me to them.

I pulled up a chair and found myself drawn to their comical nature. We laughed all hour, until we heard the familiar bell ring, right on time, as it did everyday.

"Ugh, I'm not ready for English," Ethan said, slinging his backpack on his shoulder. Ariel groaned in agreement. "We has so many more memes to share!"

We all stepped out the door together, venturing to our next classes down the hall as a group.

It was Sam's idea originally I believe, to create the chat. "Guys, let's just start a group chat!" I silently agreed with a smile, pulling out my iPhone.

"I'll set it up. Can't wait to send memes all the time now!" And so I did. When I made the group chat, I never expected I had opened up the door to the best friendship I could have ever asked for.

After a couple hours of discussion, we agreed to call the group "The OG Meme Team", a fitting name for our brash group.

We stayed up until late that night, exchanging jokes and pleasantries. I think i was the first to open up about personal matters.

To say I was prude would be a lie, but I didn't mind. At that time in my life I was acting out in a wild nature, partying, drinking, and particularly getting around a bit. But my rendezvous made for good stories, of which I indulged some in the group chat, shocking many of the memories. Gone was my reputation of boring prudence.

I gained my reputation in the group as the one to indulge my life's most particular tragedies and choice companions, but that's for another chapter. I had already learned a lot about the group members I didn't know.

Johnny and I did have a lot in common, including trucks, guns, and beer. Lots of beer, and bad decisions. Sam and I, well, we found ourselves lacking in willpower when it came to boys we liked, if you get what I'm saying. Sasha and Ethan offered innocence, curious as it was. Together, we all found a balance, and a shared love for Marvel Infinity Wars memes.

March was the beginning of our friendship, and really predated our most outstanding incidents as friends. As March ended, so did our lack of forthcoming details, we began explicitly sharing our stories among one another without any real filter. Maybe we should have been less forthcoming, but what fun would have that been. Personally, I'm not one to kiss and tell - with the exception of my new friends.