Having a best friend forever is fun indeed. Imagine having someone who’s willing to do everything with you. From the moment you open your eyes every single day, till you close your eyes again at the end of the day. Going to school, having your lunch together, talking about that brunet that had just gotten into your class yesterday. Every single thing is being done together. Maybe, having no partner is better than not having a best friend.

Rose, could relate to that. She had been experiencing a lonely life ever since she was born (maybe that is a tad too much) until now. Her father was a successful businessman and her mother was a renowned lawyer. Because of the fact that her parents were always busy, she was always being left alone on her own. She managed herself better than any 7-year-olds do. Her family was one of the richest families in the neighborhood. You might say that being rich is wonderful. Well, not for her though. Every time she went to school, looking at all those kids being escorted by their parents, a kiss on their foreheads before they head towards the school gate, really made her missed her parents even more. If she could, then she would exchange money for free time with her parents. She also rarely talked to the other kids unless there was something important, which was usually related to homework. When she got back from school, she would stay in her room, reading and reading books and that’s what she did every single day.

The situation did not change even when she got into a university. Every other girl started to try to look pretty in front of their crushes, wearing short skirts, dying their hairs and did a lot other things she would not do. While she was still with her natural dark brown hair being held tightly in a bun on top of her head, knee-length skirts and glasses. The other girls would not bother to talk to her since they thought she looked too old to be with them. Well, at first glance, you would think she was a librarian. Rose was also a very clever student, having straight A’s was just a piece of cake for her. She was every lecturer’s favorite student. Because of that, some of the students called her “nerd” and “” because they thought she seduced the male lecturers to get good marks. She did think of dropping out, but the teachers told her to stay. “You have a bright future,” the teachers told her. So she stayed.

Not long after that, a new student, a beautiful girl with almond-shaped eyes and also straight blonde hair, became her classmate. Rose became very attracted to that girl. Before this, she would not even bother looking to her new classmates for the second time. Such a waste of time, she thought. Now, she wished she could become the new girl’s best friend. After gaining some courage, she took the first step to get to know the girl.

“Hey.”

The new girl, known as Lalisa Manoban, did not even turn to look at her. Maybe my voice was too slow, Rose whispered to herself.

“Hello….Lalisa.” This time, Lalisa, or she preferred to be called Lisa, looked up from her book placed on her lap, titled Me Before You. That book would never be touched by Rose, even if it were given by someone she likes, a crush, maybe. She was never interested in romantic things, to the extent she was sometimes afraid that she might be an alien or something. She never had a crush on someone, for the whole 19 years of her life.

“Hello….”

“Chaeyoung. I’m Park Chaeyoung. But you can call me just Rose. Uh…can I sit?” Rose pointed to the empty spot beside Lisa.

“Oh, yes, sure, Rose.” She scooted over to give Rose some more space.

After Rose had settled down on the bench, both remained silent because they actually had no idea what to talk about.

“Hey-“ they said at the same time.

“I’m so-“ again.

They laughed. That was the most sincere laugh in Rose’s life. She had never laughed that heartily before. Even when she was with her parents, because, yeah, they never managed to spend time with her more than one hour. Usually when they were home, she was already asleep and when she woke up, they already went to work.

“We really have like, some kind of chemistry, you know?” said Lisa, catching her breath after such a long laugh.

“Yes, I noticed that too. My tummy hurts from laughing.” Rose said, barely audible since she was still laughing.

“I did not think that you are this cheerful before. I mean, you never lift your head up from your Mathematics book, uh, I cannot do that. I cannot even look at the book more than 5 minutes. I feel like it is going to give me a seizure.”

Again, Rose burst into laugh. “Lisa, you are funny.”

“What? I am saying the truth though. I’m not a clever student. I never get a GPA more than 2.5 here. I’m so stupid.”

“Hey,” Rose stopped laughing, “don’t say that. You are clever. You are bubbly and pretty and God, I think you are the epitome of perfection. You know what, I never talked to anyone, let alone to chat about unimportant things. You are the first one that I approach. See, you are so attractive! Plus, everyone has their own uniqueness. And regarding your study, I can help you if you need any.” Rose shrugged, tucking her imaginative hair behind her ear.

“Rose, do you read novels?”

“Um…no. Why?” Rose frowned.

“Because the way you talk…wow, you can write, you know, some motivational books sort of-ouch!” Lisa whined when Rose smacked her on her shoulder.

“You’re silly, Lisa!”

“No, I’m not!”

They started their own little fight before bursting into laughs.

“Should we become best friend forever then?” Rose batting her puppy eyes, eagerly waiting for an answer while wiggling her little finger.

“Sure thing, best friend forever.” Lisa linked her own little finger with Rose’s, smiling widely, happy that she had made a new friend on her first day.

Starting from that one sunny day, Rose finally got a friend, a best friend, to do girly things together. Everything had started to become colorful, instead of being dull. Rose was completely happy with her life. She even started to read novels, let her hair down and dress up the way teenagers usually do and better, she started talking to her classmates and now, they had become more comfortable with her. No more being called as “” or “nerd”.

Lisa on the other hand, had become a very clever student. With Rose’s help, she managed to score 3.5 and above for her final exam. They were also very competitive in class while remaining as best friends outside of the class.

They eventually managed to graduate with First Class Degree. It was a long-awaited day for everyone, except Rose. For her, graduating from university means leaving her friends, and leaving was not something that she like. Her parents had left her day and night for years, and she did not want to feel lonely anymore.

“Hey, Lisa.”

“Hey,