It’s fourth grade. An overweight short girl with a bob cut is sitting alone at lunch wishing for a friend and hating her new school. She has a book clutched to her chest for protection. At her old school she was the most talkative kid in every class, but here she’s barely said a word all day. She’s dying to speak, but there’s no one around to listen. A boy and girl come over and sit with her. The lonely girl can’t believe it. They introduce one another as Carrie and Brandon. The girl called Carrie has long blonde pigtails trailing down her back. Brandon, the boy, is about a foot shorter than Carrie with dark curly hair, and deep brown eyes that shine with excitement. Immediately the three kids launch into conversation. The lonely girl doesn’t notice that the boy’s hair is the frizziest of any boy in the school. She doesn’t notice Carrie is the loudest person in the lunchroom. The girl loves them both immediately. She thinks Carrie is the nicest person she’s ever met. She thinks Brandon is the funniest person she’s ever met. In fact he makes her laugh so much she sprays chocolate milk out of her nose all over him. Immediately she is sad again. She just knows they are about to call her weird and leave. Instead they both laugh even harder as the boy cleans himself up. The girl’s face breaks into another smile. The three of them are inseparable for the rest of elementary school.
Its sixth grade and all the girls are starting to care about how they look; except for the lonely girl who isn’t so lonely anymore. She is still overweight. Her hair is longer now, but a still a complete mess. Her best friend still sports her long blonde pigtails even though pigtails are for little kids. The two girls don’t care what they are supposed to do.  The boy is still tiny and his brown eyes still seem to hold all the happiness in the world. All three of them are in different classes. At the beginning of the year the girl is able to stay very close to her twins. Then, before they know what’s happening Carrie and the girl see Brandon drift away. All of a sudden he doesn’t see them as his girls, but he sees a new girl. She became his only girl. He fell in love.  The best friends watch helplessly from the sideline as Brandon’s heart is broken. Together they wish for the trio once more. By the end of the year, the lonely girl barely knows the boy anymore. Even though she has many new friends, her heart still feels a little lonely without the first boy in her life.
Its seventh grade and things are much different. The girl has grown taller and lost weight. She holds her head high and wakes up an hour earlier every morning to tame her hair. Carrie is still in another class, but Brandon isn’t… and neither is the girl that broke his heart. The first day of seventh grade the girl feels alone again so she gravitates back toward the boy who first saved her so many years ago. She never would have guessed that she would fall in love with him. He still teases her about the milk. He’s almost as tall as the girl now, and his hair is much more controlled. Slowly the boy and girl build a friendship again. Their bond is nothing compared to the blonde and brunette best friends, but slowly it is coming together. Over the course of the year, the two attempt to build back what they once had. The girl is overjoyed; she has her twins back.
It’s eighth grade, and the girl’s appearance has never been better, but her happiness has never been worse. She no longer wakes up an hour earlier, but forces her body from the bed each morning. She needs the twins from fourth grade all the more. Support from Carrie helped, but it never brought happiness. The girl needed Brandon more than she ever had before. Just like that day in fourth grade he makes her smile. She loves him. She loves his sister. Through them she begins to love herself again. That summer the trio was fully reunited. Late nights, scary movies, loud laughs, and constant teasing returned after so many years. The three of them were together constantly before high school. They knew they would need one another. The trio was whole again except for one complication; the girl’s love for Brandon.
It’s ninth grade and the trio is dropped into a whole new world. The two girls have grown to be beautiful and friendly. The boy has grown taller than both of them. His eyes still shine with happiness in the midst of a scary new world.  Even though the trio is just as strong as it once was, stronger bonds have been built; the doubles. The girl and Carrie are best friends and do plenty without the boy. Brandon and the girl are also best friends who do things without Carrie. The girl had long accepted the fact that the boy would never love her the way she loved him and began to move on. Then something crazy happened. All at once the bridge between just friends and something more was crossed. He held her hand. He said he loved her. She said she loved him. Everything made sense. The girl was completely happy. The next morning she woke up to a heartbreaking message: he didn’t know what yesterday was. Once again they were just friends. The girl’s heart shattered. The one boy who had mended her heart so many times finally was the one to break it. Now the boy and girl are together but apart. The trio stands strong; but splits into equally strong or possibly stronger doubles. The two girls are sisters who know everything about one another and love each other unconditionally. The boy and girl are a constant pull between strangers, lovers, and friends. So much has passed from such a simple meeting. The lonely girl sitting alone in fourth grade had no idea her saviors would continue saving her forever.