The last day of summer is never fun. Most people try to spend it the best way they can, including me. My mom took my brother, my friend Nick, and I to the pool and then to Korner Kone, an ice cream shop. I was ready to go back to school and see my four friends. As I got my ice cream, someone called, “Hey Mikaela!”


I turned, it was Sarah, one of my best friends. I hadn’t seen her all summer. I was super excited to see her. We talked for a while about our classes how nervous we were for starting the 7th grade.

“Time to go Sarah,” said Sarah’s sister Maria coming from around the corner.


“Aw man, see you tomorrow!” Sarah said happily. As I waved good-bye, she smiled. I finished my ice cream and climbed into our car. As my mom drove out, an ambulance came by and she had to move quickly to get out of the way.

I watched the ambulance go and turned toward Nick and my brother, “Wonder what that was for.” They both shrugged. The rest of the way home I thought nothing of it. Since it was the day before school, we had orientation that night. That night when we went, I saw my three other friends, Makenna, Megan, and Sonya. I didn’t see Sarah, but I knew she was somewhere. As we headed over to the elementary school for my brother’s open house, a police car with flashing lights blocked the road past it. I didn’t really think to much about it.

When I got home, I enjoyed my final day of freedom. Then, I got a phone call from Sonya, that was weird because Sonya always texts me instead of calling me. “Hello,” I said in a confused voice.


“My mom needs to talk to your mom right now,” answered Sonya quickly.



“Mom phone,” I called. As I handed her the phone and went downstairs, I listened and heard only one word “Makenna”. My first instinct was that Makenna was hurt, or worse. But then my parents came downstairs.


“Honey, turn off the TV,” my mom paused,” Sarah died in a car accident.” As my eyes filled with tears it hit me, the ambulance, the police car, they were both for Sarah. Then I realized something else, besides her two sisters that were in the car with her, I had been the last person to see Sarah alive.


“Sonya’s coming to get us and then we’ll go to Makenna’s house,” my mom said. A few minutes later Sonya arrived at our house, her eyes filled with tears. When we got to Makenna’s I was nervous, what would my friends think about me being the last to see her. As Sonya, Megan, Makenna, and I talked about our memories of Sarah, I finally got the courage to tell them. They just hugged me and I felt better.


That day I thought of it as more as an honor. My friends
hadn’t seen her at all that summer. I had. I think about Sarah a lot. I will never forget Sarah, the girl who was nice to everyone and was always smiling.