How the “Innocent” Can’t Always Do Right…
(A story dedicated to & of my Best Friend)

“You’re the girl that likes my brother, huh?” Those were the first words that came from her responding to me. Her name was “Callie.” She was very shy, quiet, & a really nice, young girl when we first met. We went to middle school together so that’s how we started talking. At first, she was the one to always stick to herself & never have any kind of problems with anybody & well for me, I was the TOTAL opposite. To explain me… I was the more outgoing one, kind of nice, REAL talkative, & had a few problems with a couple of people. That was just the sixth grade though.
By the time we had gotten to seventh grade, she was basically like me- More outgoing & all. Not “quiet” anymore, that’s for sure. I remember that year, we’d do everything together & I mean practically everything. We were like stuck to each others booties that we could never do anything apart from one another. Toward the end of that year, I started dating her brother, who was about two & a half years older than me. I ended up getting caught & getting in a lot of trouble ‘cause of the fact that I was with him & for some other things. When we were in the eighth grade, we were still “Inseparable”, except for the fact that we really didn’t spend that much time together anymore. Callie was in “Love”, thinking she had found her Prince Charming, or she thought. That was the year that I remember her always being at my shoulders with her tears. She would go to school crying, telling me about him & how he was acting towards her. I told her that “No tears for a Guy would solve the problem, but only to make things worse”, but little Miss Callie never took my advice & winded up with everything happening all over again.
I still remember the time that she came into our class to tell me something that I couldn’t have ever expected to happen to her. Callie came in, sat right next to me, staring at the floor, as if she was nervous or scared about something. “Callie, are you okay?” I asked calmly. “I trust you with everything, so you can’t say anything to NO ONE…. I’m PREGNANT!!!” she said with the eyes of a snake, which you just knew she wasn’t playing around. They were filled with tears, afraid of what I might think of her.
Those were the words that shocked me so much; it was like my heart had stopped beating. I didn’t even want to accept it, but I had too… I knew she wasn’t lying. From the young girl, who was always quiet & SO smart, to go & make a mistake like this just didn’t seem to be right. But that’s just life….
I was there for her whenever she needed me. In the summer, I would go with her to the clinic for her check-ups & all. I was there the moment the nurse told her what she was going to have. “It’s a baby Boy!!!” It was really a good thing that it was a boy too because Callie had wanted a boy. She didn’t want it to be a girl & go through life, making the same mistakes she had made.
Callie stayed in school & winded up keeping the baby. She told her parents when she was about three to four months. They were disappointed in her because she was the only girl in her family and she was still a "little girl" to them, but they eventually got over it. They were going to have to accept the fact that there was a little one coming & they couldn’t do anything about it.
We started school together last semester. I was really nervous to be there in a new school with a lot of older people, but I think so much more was running through Callie’s head. She was nervous just to be there with the people she’d been with practically all her life & for them to see her like this. She wasn’t really bothered by what other people thought of her, but it did hurt her when people would come up to her and ask her things like, “Are you happy to be having a baby at such a young age?” or “Why did you go & do this kind of thing?” I’m sure she didn’t plan OR want this to happen to her at such a young age. It was just something that happened. She probably saw herself graduating at the top of her class, going to college, & then when she was finished with all that, settle down & get married, then have kids. It was just something she had to live with until the day came for her to go.
About the beginning of November, she was having a lot of contractions, which was freaking me out because she was in pain & I didn’t know how or what to do to help her out. I was always there for her & I think you could say I was the one that was there for her the most. On the ninth of November, my mami had gotten a call from her mom at about midnight, telling her that they were at the hospital ‘cause it was time. It sucked because I had to go to school to take some test for Spanish & I couldn’t be there with my Callie when she was going through all that pain. But my mami had told me that I could go & take my test, and then she could go check me out so that I could be with her. Well turns out that when I was at school, Callie had had her baby, so I wasn’t there. She named him Rodrigo. He was born at 8:28 a.m. & weighed 6lbs. & 8oz. I was like so excited because I was practically a Tia or aunt. I’ve been through everything with this girl & I’m so close to her, I counted her as an older sister, which would make me a Tia….
The moment I held him, it brought back all these memories of Callie & I, like the times when we spent the night at each others houses, when we would go “skipping” in the bathroom together, when we were in a quince together, when we were there for each other, when we had to cry our eyes out, when we went to the fair just to eat the food, & when we were at her baby shower acting like the “NERDS” I know we are. Plus, I wasn’t going to be able to call her my “Fatty” anymore. I knew that all that was going to change now. She was a mother now & had to take responsibilities in her own hands. She wasn’t going to have time to play around with her friends anymore. I felt like crying, but I couldn’t let Callie see me that way after she had just had her baby.
It’s now February of 2008, and Callie isn’t here with me anymore. She had some problems going on in her family, so she moved away to El Paso, along with her parents. I miss her to death, I mean I’m not saying that I don’t hear from her or see her anymore. I do, she’ll come down here every once in a while & we spend time together. We catch up on all the “good” & “bad” things in our lives. It’s like we still see each other all the time & that we’re not hundreds of miles apart from each other. The last time she came down was last month, I think, & she tried to lie to me & tell me that she wasn’t down here, but I saw her at Wal-Mart….. She said she was going to surprise me & just show up to my house. Well I left with her from there & we went to Bang-Kok to eat chicken fried rice & dancing shrimp. Rodrigo is still so cute, but now he’s so “Big” as in fat. He’s a really happy baby you can tell ’cause all he does is laugh. I look at him & I see Callie when she was younger. I don’t really know how, but that’s what I see in my eyes.
Well that’s the story of my Best Friend, Callie. She’s taught me a lot from everything that we’ve been through together. I’ve learned that no matter what people think of you, you always keep your head up high. That to be strong & never give up, to make the right decisions & at some time & point, you’ll get that credit you’ve been waiting for. BUT most of all, I’ve learned to never be ashamed of who you are & of the mistakes that you’ve made. I mean after all, from a “Bad Situation”, something always comes out good from it. I mean look at Callie, for example. She had a baby & is working her butt off to give little Rodrigo everything he needs, but for the most part, she wants to make sure she’s being a good mother.
All I have to say now is Thanks for everything you’ve given me & taught me.
I couldn’t ask for anything more than what you’ve offered….